Way back in September 2008, I watched the movie Journey to the Centre of the Earth on a giant screen at IBC in Amsterdam. It was filmed in 3D and you had to wear special glasses in order to get the effect. This kind of thing has been around for decades, and flops each time. Part of the problem is that you have to look at the screen within a limited field of view or the picture is blurred. Frankly, I wasn't that impressed. Not only was the 3D effect distracting, it clearly was over-used in this plotline. Watching Ratatouille with a 4K cinema projector (read super high definition in 2D) was ten times better.

It is some time since I have revisited the topic of virtual reality glasses. It must be about 10 years ago that I tried a pair of Sony glasses, which were a rather crude set of video displays mounted in a set of glasses. It was like watching a movie through a camera viewfinder.

Just before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a company called Shopstoppers organises a fair of highlights in a Barcelona hotel. This year I got chatting with David Lock of Vuzix and took the chance to see what this US company is up to. Actually, if anyone can popularize the video glasses market - as well as 3D movies, it will be Vuzix. I was personally very impressed with the glasses they are working on for launch later in 2009. Note, that I was just curious - I have no commercial connection with these guys.