Steve Kelley
"I'm having trouble seeing the TV," is one of the most frequent remarks from clients with low vision, during an initial low vision assessment. Of course, the simplest solution is to just move closer to the TV and reduce as much glare as you can. This isn't always possible. Vision Buddy, a relatively new wearable, takes a whole new approach to TV watching with low vision: put the TV screen right in front of your eyes on a headset.
The Vision Buddy headset is worn like virtual reality goggles. The headset has a built-in camera for looking out into the environment with added magnification, and a display on which your TV can be streamed and the image magnified. The headset is easy to operate right out of the box, does not require Wi-Fi or an internet connection to work, and is wireless, so the user is not restricted by a cord while watching TV.
Vision Buddy Basics
Ease of operation is one of the biggest features of Vision Buddy. With the headset on, the Power button, located on the bottom right side, powers Vision Buddy on in about 15 seconds and displays the Magnifier mode, a live view through the camera. This is one of the three main feature modes available: Magnifier, Reading, and Television. Cycling through these three options is done by pressing the Features button, the largest of the three buttons on the right side of the headset. Above the Features button is the button to zoom in, and below it, the button to zoom out.
On the bottom left side of the headset are the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons. To the right of these is a standard audio jack for earbuds or headphones. Next to the Power button on the bottom right of the headset is a magnetic charging port. The internal battery is reported to last 2.5 hours, and an external battery is also included that will last up to 6 hours.
The Vision Buddy appears to be built from a Pico G2 Virtual Reality headset, which weighs in at just under 10 ounces, making it one of the lighter wearables. In addition, the headset is fitted with a counterweight on the back of the head strap to make it feel more comfortable.
Camera Magnification
There are two camera modes for the Vision Buddy, Magnifier and Reading. In both, you can zoom in up to 10 times for magnification. Reader mode inverts the colors, so, for example, when looking at black print on white paper, the image is changed to white text on a black background. In both Magnifier and Reader modes the image quality was best in daylight or bright light. With ample light, the auto focus worked quickly and the image was sharp at lower magnifications. As magnification increased the image began to pixilate a bit. In dimmer light, the auto focus took longer to adjust, and the image quality was a bit more pixilated, even at the lower magnifications.
While viewing in Magnifier mode, built-in optical character recognition (OCR) is available by pressing and holding the Function button. When doing so, a rectangle appears on the screen and Vision Buddy prompts you to put the text you wish to read within the rectangle and release the Function button to process the text. This processing uses software on the Vision Buddy itself, so an Internet connection is not required. Text is processed within a few seconds and appears as white text in a darkly shaded rectangle and is read out loud by Vision Buddy. The text size cannot be enlarged by zooming in. The OCR works best with bright light, but overall accuracy is not the Vision Buddy's strongest feature, though it may be adequate for spot reading of short text, such as mail.
Watching TV
Included with the Vision Buddy is a transmitter box that connects to the TV and streams the TV signal to the headset wirelessly. It may sound complicated but it's not. During the review, this transmitter was connected to both and Apple TV and Roku. Both worked well and were easy to connect. Vision Buddy is not limited to these two services; it will work with almost any cable or streaming setup.
To set this up, the HDMI cable that connects the TV display to the streaming device (Apple TV, Roku, etc.) goes first to the Vision Buddy transmitter. An included HDMI cord then goes from the transmitter to the streaming device. Once the transmitter is plugged in, the television signal is broadcast over two small antennas attached to the transmitter and picked up on the headset when it's in Television mode.
Watching TV on the Vision Buddy is immersive with a sharp image. The image can be enlarged using the Zoom In button, and for many viewers with low vision, this will be a great improvement over watching TV from across the room or even sitting right in front of it. The headset also has two speakers built into the bottom, so the sound can be adjusted for the wearer.
During the review, on both the Apple TV and Roku there was a delay in the TV signal on the headset, so the audio coming from the TV display did not sync with the headset. To remedy this, if watching TV alone, turn down the audio on the TV and use the audio through the headset, which synch with the display. If watching with others who are not wearing a Vision Buddy, plug in a set of earbuds or turn down the external audio on the headset and listen to the TV audio. The TV audio will be slightly ahead of the image appearing on the headset. This bit of a lag also made it necessary to slow down when using the remote to navigate the menus in either the Apple TV or Roku because that delay made it easier to make the wrong selection.
While watching TV through the headset, the display is centered in front of the viewer's eyes. Several times when lifting the headset or adjusting it, the angle or position of the display changed. Pressing and holding the Zoom Out button or switching to another mode using the Function button and then returning to Television mode re-centered the view. For those accustomed to using a computer screen magnifier, where you can scroll to different parts of the screen to read smaller print or detail, this is not the way the magnification works on the Vision Buddy—you see the whole screen magnified and will need to move your eyes around as opposed to moving your head, to focus on the extreme edges of the display.
The Vision Buddy transmitter is not limited to just TV displays. Although this was not tried during the review presumably anything that has an HDMI port or can be connected to an HDMI port, computer or tablet, can be displayed through the headset.
Conclusion
Vision Buddy really adds a whole new dimension to watching TV for the low vision user. The immersive view attained in the headset, additional magnification, speakers built into the headset, and the wireless connectivity make it a device worth checking out for the TV aficionado. Users looking for more options with magnification, like additional color filters in the reading mode or more accurate OCR, will want to do some comparison shopping. Extra features often complicate the usability of a device. By keeping it simple, Vision Buddy certainly is one of the easiest to use wearables.
Vision Buddy is available from the Vision Buddy website for $2,995 and comes with a 30-day money back guarantee according to their website. The website offers videos and a downloadable copy of the User Guide and Setup Guide. In addition, a contact phone number (833-787-2020) is listed for any additional questions.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
