As Seen on TV review: HD Vision sunglasses
Filed under: Consumer Ally
The Product: HD Vision Sunglasses
The Price: HD Vision Ultra, online $10 plus $6.99 shipping and handling: $9.99 in some retail stores: HD Vision WrapAround, online $14.99 plus $7.95 shipping and handling: $9.99 in some retail stores.
The Claims: Reduces glare; enhances color and clarity
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 3 out of 5
HD Vision glasses are making hay from the current "high definition" craze.
In TV land, high definition means employing a couple of million pixels to make television look more like life. In the world of sunglasses, HD means ... well, who the heck knows what it means? Making life look more like life?
HD sounds impressive. And the line of HD Vision glasses by Idea Village -- including HD Ultra Sunglasses worn alone, and HD WrapArounds worn over prescription glasses -- does change the way we see things in certain lighting and settings.
On low-light days, these plastic glasses with amber lenses do make colors seem more vivid. Greens look greener, blues bluer. On hazy days, when everything looks washed out, HD Vision glasses make everything pop.
Amber lenses, which increase contrast and clarity during low-light conditions, do not represent cutting-edge technology. Skiers have always used amber to help them see moguls on cloudy days, and Ducks Unlimited puts its logo on amber shooting glasses that help hunters blow birds from the skies at dawn and dusk.
Although HD Vision glasses do protect eyes from damaging ultra violet rays, they do not block the sun on bright days as well as dark-lens sunglasses. And they do not cut water glare as well as polarized lenses. For instance, I can see fish swimming in a trout stream with my polarized fishing glasses, but not with the HD Vision Ultras.
HD Vision glasses boast "Euro-Style Design." But, I'll warn you, the 24/7 fashion paraders in Rome and Paris will laugh you off the streets in these graceless glasses with black or tortoise shell frames. Whose "Euro" are they talking about anyway?
The bottom line on HD Vision glasses: Put on a pair during the hazy days of summer. But when the light's bright, you will see clearer with standard-definition dark sunglasses.
Read more of our As Seen on TV product reviews.
The Price: HD Vision Ultra, online $10 plus $6.99 shipping and handling: $9.99 in some retail stores: HD Vision WrapAround, online $14.99 plus $7.95 shipping and handling: $9.99 in some retail stores.
The Claims: Reduces glare; enhances color and clarity
Buy-O-Meter Rating: 3 out of 5
HD Vision glasses are making hay from the current "high definition" craze.
In TV land, high definition means employing a couple of million pixels to make television look more like life. In the world of sunglasses, HD means ... well, who the heck knows what it means? Making life look more like life?
HD sounds impressive. And the line of HD Vision glasses by Idea Village -- including HD Ultra Sunglasses worn alone, and HD WrapArounds worn over prescription glasses -- does change the way we see things in certain lighting and settings.
On low-light days, these plastic glasses with amber lenses do make colors seem more vivid. Greens look greener, blues bluer. On hazy days, when everything looks washed out, HD Vision glasses make everything pop.
Amber lenses, which increase contrast and clarity during low-light conditions, do not represent cutting-edge technology. Skiers have always used amber to help them see moguls on cloudy days, and Ducks Unlimited puts its logo on amber shooting glasses that help hunters blow birds from the skies at dawn and dusk.
Although HD Vision glasses do protect eyes from damaging ultra violet rays, they do not block the sun on bright days as well as dark-lens sunglasses. And they do not cut water glare as well as polarized lenses. For instance, I can see fish swimming in a trout stream with my polarized fishing glasses, but not with the HD Vision Ultras.
HD Vision glasses boast "Euro-Style Design." But, I'll warn you, the 24/7 fashion paraders in Rome and Paris will laugh you off the streets in these graceless glasses with black or tortoise shell frames. Whose "Euro" are they talking about anyway?
The bottom line on HD Vision glasses: Put on a pair during the hazy days of summer. But when the light's bright, you will see clearer with standard-definition dark sunglasses.
Read more of our As Seen on TV product reviews.
AP
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-22-2010 @ 8:32PM
Virginia said...
HD glasses are also good for driving against the glare of headlights at night. They cut glare without being too dark, the way normal sunglasses are. The one color that is not enhanced is blue..but they are still worth it. Everything looks better with them. I am truly addicted to them. The world looks blah without them.
Reply
7-22-2010 @ 8:57PM
Kathig said...
When I ordered mine I even paid the extra for the advanced style with the mirror lens. When I received them they were NOTHING like the description. They didn't even have the mirrored lens that I paid extra for. I sent them back the very next day.
On a scale of 1-10 I give these a 1 and that is being generous.
Reply
7-22-2010 @ 9:14PM
George said...
I see where the old blue-blocker snake oil sunglass Hawkers have gone!
Reply
7-22-2010 @ 11:26PM
HG in MN said...
We thought the exact same thing when my husb & I saw it on TV the other day. We laughed because we remember the BlueBlocker commercials of our youth in the 70's & 80s, & the idiots looking around going, "WOW, I really can see everything SO MUCH MORE CLEARLY NOW!" I think they found the original scripts on Ebay or something.
7-22-2010 @ 9:34PM
behomeby11 said...
The misuse of "HD" these days is amusing.
The first commercial use (to my knowledge) of the term High Definition was for high end audio components made back in the 70's by Audio Research. It was printed on the front plate of their amplifiers. This was also around the time that the first commercial use of the term High End was used, in underground audio magazines.
Today you'd think that HD means "better than reality". At least the way these glasses are marketed. At least the TV usage of the term makes sense, because it's a closer reproduction of reality than previously possible. But with glasses you're not looking at a reproduction.
Now I'm waiting for HD people. Or ice cream.
Really, people.
Reply
7-22-2010 @ 10:21PM
lislesaum said...
I am happy with my so-called "HD's". Two pair of glasses for about twenty, not a bad deal. I bough them before I saw the reading glass bi-focal addition, but they are a good deal at twenty. The only bad part of them is anyone can see what you are looking at, if you know what I mean. I never saw any advertisement for reflective glaze.
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7-22-2010 @ 10:35PM
Will said...
Look the HD glasses are just polarized glasses. I bought a pair at walmart in the fishing department (most of the time these glasses are used for fishing because they are able to penetrate below the glare off the water which allows one to see about 3-4 feet below the surface). The glasses I bought were only about $3 and they have lasted longer than any other glasses I've owned. I use them for everything fishing, hunting, and just normal sunglasses. They do make a large difference in bad weather and low light conditions.
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7-22-2010 @ 11:04PM
Mary said...
Yawn. As someone else said, these are the BlueBlockers from many many years ago, just another fly by night product dragged out of the closet to find the next patsy. When the sales slow to a crawl they'll put them back in the closet with all the Christmas fruitcakes. They're just sunglasses, nothing great or "new".
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7-22-2010 @ 11:32PM
bushwacker said...
I would love a pair of stylish wrap arounds, but I have to settle for the HD's for protection.... Why??? Because I wear glasses like millions of others and HD's fit over them...
So when I jump on my Harley, on go the HD's
Any of you sunglass manufacturers listening to this rant???
Reply
7-22-2010 @ 11:41PM
pg1171 said...
Remember Blue Blockers? SAME THING! They just couldn't sell them all and someone thought "Hey! If we put HD on these things, I'll be we can sell the rest of these things and clean up!" And guess what? THEY WERE RIGHT! No thanks. I had a pair of blue blockers. I'll stick with my 10.00 polarized fishing shades from Wal*Mart.They work just fine. AND THEY ACTUALLY LOOK COOL! Not dorky ; )
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 5:16PM
Honest John said...
Snake Oil Salesmen, Jewelry and T.V. Racketeer's believe "You can fool some of the people some of the time - And usually that's enough."
SAVE MONEY shop WALMART for certain items and save. WM is a place to shop for certain items at a lower price. WM's RETURN POLICY is pretty good too.
Yes, there is a sucker born every second and theres someone standing by - just waiting to take their money. I only wish some TV racketeer would let us in on the profit margin based on a national TV sales ad...... geeez I might even change careers if the money is that good.
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 12:47AM
MARY said...
tHEY ARE SEELING THEM AT DOLLAR TREE AND THEY ARE GREAT NO LIE CHECK OUT YOUR DOLLAR STORE BEFORE THEY ARE ALL GONE .
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 10:18AM
LaVonne said...
They're tight, not really comfortable! I can't keep them clean because my eye lashes brush them. I don't think they were worth a tenth of the money. I certainly don't recommend them. Can't imagine why I didn't right around and end them back. Guess it's because my favorite sunglasses broke the day before they arrive. Ah well...
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 1:54AM
scott mccowan said...
ok what about HD/digital radio is that just an other term for satellite radio
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 7:11PM
Karado said...
Yep, these are just like the 'Blublockers' from years ago.
NOT the same company, but the same 'product'.
I do own a pair, but I wish they at LEAST had several 'styles'
to choose from as mine seem a little too big for my head...lol.
I'm not a fan of the ''one size fits all'' dept.
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 4:13AM
gary said...
P.T. Barnum said it best, "There's a sucker born every minute." Another truism I live by, If it sounds too good to be true; it usually isn't.
Reply
7-23-2010 @ 2:46PM
LaVonne said...
Gary, I wish I'd read your reminder before buying. :)
Reply
7-25-2010 @ 10:21AM
Diane said...
If you want better vision, go for polarized lenses in gray or brown.
Reply
7-25-2010 @ 4:03PM
Shawna said...
Well, I am nearsighted & just got new glasses. I get the crizale (SP?) lenses & the style I get also have a magnetic sunglass piece that just "snaps" onto the frame. This is the second pair I have bought like this & they are great. I have noticed lately that everything is looking SO different, especially colors, when I have them on (especially the sunglass part). Of course they aren't going to be for everyone b/c not everyone needs prescription glasses, but mine works awesome for me. They are also very stylish. That is one thing I didn't want was something huge & ugly that I would have to wear over my regular glasses.
Reply
8-09-2010 @ 2:16AM
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