New Set of Eyes for Couch Potatoes

For those unfortunates condemned to spending minutes on end away from the television, a Seattle-area concern has introduced Virtual Vision Sport, a pair of five-ounce sunglasses with a miniature display in the corner. The $895 device, billed as a step toward convenient virtual reality, allows you to watch TV or videos virtually anywhere.

Scary as that may be, Redmond, Wash.-based Virtual Vision insists that its new “eyeware” will actually encourage social interaction, since viewers can watch their fill while riding the bus or cooking dinner, leaving more TV-free time for friends and family. The company does not, however, recommend wearing the glasses while operating vehicles or machinery.

Glancing down with the glasses on, a viewer sees a big-screen color image that appears to float about 10 feet away. Headphones are connected to a belt pack with a battery, TV tuner and interface system that plugs into VCRs, camcorders and cable TV.

The images are two-dimensional, so the company says spectators presumably will not confuse real life and the mobile TV screen existing side-by-side in their field of vision.