Wall-Sized 3D Gaming With Nvidia 3D Vision

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Status
Not open for further replies.
dabbled in 3d vision. eyestrain and random tearing was painful. Dead space was a thrill in 3D but since some friends came over to the house and crushed my glasses im out of the game.
DLP's are the easiest and cheapest way to go 3D.
 
Why was this 3D crap installed when i updated my nVidia driver. Why can't i choose to install it rather than having it forced on me cluttering up my harddrive.
 
People wearing glasses, or who don't see properly with both eyes can't enjoy the nvidia option right?
I know the cheap passive paper glasses you could get in the stoneage worked when added to existing glasses, but I don't think the shutter ones fit over right?
 
So when are they going to come out with a 720p projector that supports 1.4 hdmi for 3D playback straight from 3D Bluray Player, or PS3?
 
[citation][nom]neiroatopelcc[/nom]People wearing glasses, or who don't see properly with both eyes can't enjoy the nvidia option right?I know the cheap passive paper glasses you could get in the stoneage worked when added to existing glasses, but I don't think the shutter ones fit over right?[/citation]

Nope! 3D Vision glasses fit perfectly over my prescription glasses.

All of the experience I had during my review was using the 3D Vision glasses over my prescription glasses in fact.
 
[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]3D DLP televisions can only offer a half-resolution 3D experience because they use the 'checkerboard' format.See here:http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 636-5.html[/citation]

That article states (with regard to DLP's):
[citation]The end result is a fairly good 3D image, considering each eye only receives half-resolution, but it still doesn't hold up well to full-resolution solutions like Nvidia's 3D Vision.[/citation]

DLP TV's fully support Nvidia's 3D Vision (which looks fantastic)... So, I'm a bit confused as to wtf the article is saying.
 
[citation][nom]hebe[/nom]DLP TV's fully support Nvidia's 3D Vision (which looks fantastic)... So, I'm a bit confused as to wtf the article is saying.[/citation]

What the article is saying is that while 3D Vision is fully supported, the resulting 3D image you get from a DLP television is only half resolution because it is delivered in a checkerboard pattern.
 
Don't get me wrong. I think Monoprice is awesome. But I'd be careful with a $15 projector mount. You are talking about hanging a $1000+ piece of equipment from the ceiling after all. Plus, most every projector needs routine maintenance, like cleaning the air filter and such. So you want a mount that has a quick release system if you. The more expensive mounts, like chief mounts, are also sturdier and don't shake when the bass gets really loud, and have easier to use adjustments. That's just my $0.02 though.
 
Don't have time to read through all 4 pages of comments, so if this has been said already, I apologize, but:

How is a dual projector setup at all cool? The only, ONLY plausible pro I can come up with is that you could get 1080p output. But if the non-Nvidia drivers are worse for gaming and you can't do Blu-ray 3D period, what's the point of having the extra pixels?

I'm utterly perplexed by this notion of a "3D gaming party" where you have 15+ people in a room all watching one person play a game. As nerdy as I am, I struggle to think of a case where you would ever, ever want to do that outside of a promotional event. I feel weird enough having one person watch me play a game, to say nothing of having 15. You would need a truly massive room to have seating space for 15 people in the area where 3D won't look distorted and weird. We're talking a purpose-built room at this point. And so... so what? So you can invite your friends over and they can watch you do a raid on WoW (oh wait, no mouse). Maybe an exciting match of Starcraft II (wait! No mouse!)? I guess you could play... Modern Warfare 2? Maybe I just don't have enough friends, but I couldn't get 15 people to watch me play any game for any length of time. And when you factor in that about half the population of nerds seems to be disgusted at the idea of 3D, with or without glasses...

I just don't see how it's practical in the slightest. The main use of cheap glasses and large crowds of people, I have been lead to believe, is for watching the upcoming wave of Blu-ray 3D movies. You can't do that with the drivers that support dual projectors.

By the numbers, there's a $1500 discrepency between the Nvidia solution and the competing solutions. $1500 = 10 more pairs of polarized glasses at today's prices, probably 15 pairs if you do your setup in a year's time. I would be genuinely shocked if there were even 1000 people in the entire US who EVER had groups of 11+ people who simultaneously wanted to watch somebody play a game in 3D.

So it seems that the dual projector setup is less cost-effective, more complicated, has worse game support, has no 3D movie support, and requires a dozen 3D enthusiasts to be in a single room before it yields a single benefit.

Am I missing something here?
 
3D is a good idea, but not at the current state - it may result with big helth detoriation for about 30-40% of the users.

The problem is not in the technology used, but in the basic approach - 3D simulation with fixed angle between viewpoints - but different people eyes have different eyes distance and look at screen/vjnitor from different distance, so need different viewpoints angles. The approach is espesially dangerouse for children and people with narrow eyes distance.

The user should be able to set the angle corresponding his eyes distance and the distance from the screen/monitor (impossible for cinemas!) to get no-harm view.

Else headaches is only a minor result for some.
 
[citation][nom]Twile[/nom]So it seems that the dual projector setup is less cost-effective, more complicated, has worse game support, has no 3D movie support, and requires a dozen 3D enthusiasts to be in a single room before it yields a single benefit.Am I missing something here?[/citation]

I guess the only thing you missed is that you've essentially paraphrased the last page of the article.

3D Vision was given a recommended buy award at the end, and dual-projector setups weren't...


 
It's too expensive for any average gamer to afford a projector and all those 3d hardware. I prefer gaming on my HDTV with a 5.1 surround sound system though.
 
[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]I guess the only thing you missed is that you've essentially paraphrased the last page of the article.3D Vision was given a recommended buy award at the end, and dual-projector setups weren't...[/citation]

No, I read that. I'm just trying to figure out how other parts of the last page make any sense at all. I don't understand what's cool or fun about a dual projector setup, and I don't understand how or why anyone would ever have 12 people wanting to view a 3D PC game outside of, say, a game development studio or promotional event. Saying that the Nvidia 3D projector setup is right for the average gamer is silly. A 3D projector setup for PC gaming is an obscenely premium experience that a fraction of a percent of gamers will experience in the near future.

I guess it's just a difference in writing styles and opinions. Personally, I'd conclude that Nvidia's solution is superior for every conceivable reason and scenario short of something which will almost certainly never happen, and that even the admission that such a scenario could happen is giving it more emphasis than it deserves. But that's just me. Otherwise, good article.
 
[citation][nom]Twile[/nom]No, I read that. I'm just trying to figure out how other parts of the last page make any sense at all.[/citation]

Well, you're glossing over 3D Vision's detractors: the price of the glasses primarily, even if you're only buying a few pairs do you really want to trust a 6-year old with them? ON the contrary, giving kids cheapo polarized glasses causes no worry whatsoever.

As someone who has tested this in my home, I can say without reservation that if you have a 3D projector setup, it is a communal experience. People come over and want to play with it, a couple buddies will want to crash cars in Burnout over a few beers, my kids often invited their friends over. With polarized glasses this was a worry-free proposition to me, with 3D Vision not so much. A lot more anxiety involved for sure.

Dual projectors are also a lot brighter, and as far as 3D Blu-ray, even though it might not get official support in the near future someone will probably make it happen somehow. 1080p 3d would be nice.

In the end, I gave 3D Vision the recommended buy because it deserves it. But dual-projectors do supply some benefits that 3D Vision lacks. It's premature to dismiss it out of hand unless you've tried it.
 
Cleeve,
In the Dual projector test the projectors cost 900$ each, while here the Acer projector costs 650$.
If you were to use Dual polarised Acer projectors it would save 500$ on the final bill.
We're still looking at prices starting at about 2000$ (which is still very high) but I think the difference is significant enough to be mentioned. It requires less friends (or broken glasses) to justify the price difference.
Can you update the article to add this information ?
 
Enthusiasts could consider two Acer H5360's, in a polarised setup.

You could use nVidia 3D Vision [1 projector] or a polarised setup [2 projectors] - depending on your mood.
 
One complaint that I heard from a friend about 3D glasses recently is that they tend to do a poor job of fitting over regular perscription glasses. My friend wears perscription glasses when he watches TV or plays games - I wonder if there are decent 3D glasses out there which do a good job of fitting over perscription glasses.
 
There is a program called 3DBDBuster that will rip 3D bluray movies and output them as side-by-side or over/under or interlaced etc. that can be played back on dual projector setups.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.