With so much TV tech on show at CES, standing out from the crowd can be tricky. Panasonic's solution? Unveil a pair of Ultra HD virtual reality glasses that allow wearers to binge-watch their favourite TV shows in HDR.
The steampunk-style VR specs feature micro OLED displays with support for High Dynamic Range (HDR). To ramp up the immersive experience, audio is piped into your ears via silicon-tipped buds stuffed with Technics drivers.
Aside from improving picture quality in VR, Panasonic says the lightweight glasses will prove more comfortable than hefty VR headsets that require headbands – and that "users will feel as if they are wearing eyeglasses".
The dinky micro OLED panels were developed with Kopin Corporation2, which manufacturers displays for VR goggles. To optimise performance, Panasonic swiped the optical technology from its Lumix camera division and the picture processing tech from its TVs and Blu-ray players.
According to the Japanese tech giant, the quirky goggles offer a "smooth and natural" image, free from the pesky "screen door" effect (the lines between pixels that become visible in a screen that is positioned millimetres from your eyeball).
As for content, Panasonic is banking on the rise of 5G mobile networks to provide wearers with live, on-the-go sports streams (possibly during this year's Tokyo Olympics), as well as virtual travel experiences.
Excited? You'll need to be patient. The glasses are currently at the prototype stage and there's no word on either price or release date. In the meantime, why not check out our roundup of the best Panasonic products at CES 2020?
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