The glasses that claim to make the world “clearer and more alive” don’t do either. The HD Vision sunglasses are a complete failure at everything they attempt to do.

Seen mostly in television advertisements, the HD Vision sunglasses are a pair of sunglasses that are supposed to guard the wearer’s eyes from the sun, while being clearer than a regular pair of sunglasses so much so that the world is in glorious high-definition.

When I put them on the world did not become clear. Instead the Earth was tinged in yellow and as I looked around the parking lot the yellow skin of the people walking around made me feel like I was in an episode of “The Simpsons.”

The glasses also seem to intensify the reds and blues in colors. So much so that traffic lights became turquoise when I wore the HD Visions. The odometer arrow began to glow red, as if I were in a scene from “Tron: Legacy.”

It’s a neat feature but it gets distracting, and a little sickening, after seeing parks filled with blue-green grass and candy-apple red cars surrounded by washed out browns and dingy whites.

The biggest tragedy of the HD Visions however is that they fail at the most basic function of sunglasses. Sunglasses are supposed to protect the eyes from the sun. The HD Visions do not.

Instead they seem to make things like glare and bright light a little worse, not only making them more blinding, but hurting the eye more. While driving to school in the morning I am usually able to ignore the slight glare from the sun, when I wore the HD Visions the shine became a distraction.

The glasses are completely ineffective at guarding the eyes of the sun compared to other budget sunglasses found at mall kiosks and gas stations.

There’s also a problem of glare. Light reflects off lenses into the wearer’s eyes. This seems a little dangerous as glare directly into the eye while driving or walking across a busy street could cause an accident.

The HD Visions also made my eyes hurt. After wearing the glasses for about 15 minutes my eyes began to hurt and I developed a slight headache.

The glasses are comfortable though, and don’t look too bad for $10 sunglasses. I even got a compliment while wearing them. A friend told me, “they look nice, if you’re from Oildale.”

There’s also a problem with the name. A high-definition television’s clarity and resolution isn’t as good the real world’s.

If the glasses did as they claimed and showed the world in HD, they would make everything look worse.

The HD Visions can be purchased online or at various retailers in town for about $10. They come in a variety of styles and offer wrap-around style shades for those with regular glasses, but they aren’t worth the price and should be avoided.

HD Visions sunglasses are terrible. I would rather stare into the sun without them on than see the world in high-definition again.