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DDD TriDef 3D Ignition 3.5.18 Beta 4 Software Now Available

Bloody — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:38:11 +0000

DDD has just released a new beta version of their TriDef 3D Ignition software for playing games in stereoscopic 3D mode (it is just the Ignition software, not the whole TriDef 3D package) and it is something that you might want to try out, especially if you play Battlefield 3 in stereo 3D. TriDef 3D Ignition 3.5.18 Beta 4 provides a better stereoscopic 3D profile for Battlefield 3, it also adds profile for the recently released Diablo 3 and fixes some other things.

TriDef 3D Ignition 3.5.18 Beta 4 changelog:

- Added new game profiles for Diablo 3 and other games.
- Improved performance of Power 3D in DX10/11.
- Fixed a few visual bugs in Battlefield 3 and Batman Arkham CIty.
- Fixed a game launch issue in Windows 8.
- Added a search box in the Add Game dialog.

According to a just published stereoscopic 3D review of Battlefield 3 over at MTBS3D, the profile for Battlefield 3 in the latest beta of Ignition makes the stereoscopic 3D experience while playing the game with DDD TeiDef 3D Ignition better looking than using the game’s native stereo 3D rendering on AMD HD3D and Nvidia 3D Vision. With the best part being the lack of “flatness” when you are in a vehicle or in the cutscenes, something that is happening when using the native stereo 3D rendering from the game. And although this might’ve been something made intentionally by the game developers, most stereoscopic 3D gamers usually prefer to have more depth than to have things appearing “flat”. Another thing that apparently works quite well with the game is the Shift One Eye, Dominant Eye feature also recently introduced by DDD. If you try the new beta software with Battlefield 3 feel free to share your feedback below and the same goes if you are already playing Diablo 3 and want to test it with the new profile added in TriDef 3D Ignition 3.5.18 Beta 4. And just a reminder, this is a beta software, so there could be some issues.

- To Download and try the new TriDef 3D Ignition 3.5.18 Beta 4 software…

Don’t Miss Meant to be Seen’s Birthday Bonanza Contest

Bloody — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:18:17 +0000

If you still haven’t entered in Meant to be Seen’s Birthday Bonanza Contest for the website’s 5th birthday, don’t miss your chance as to do so and maybe ween some cool 3D prizes. The contests was supposed to end today, but it has been extended by a week and the end date is Monday, May 21st, so do take a look at the website for more information if you still haven’t done so.

- Here you can find more information about the contest being organized by MTBS…

What Has Happened with Roxio’s Cineplayer BD With 3D Software

Bloody — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:40:16 +0000

There have been only four software Blu-ray 3D players for PC available allowing you to play Blu-ray 3D movies on your computer running Windows operating system – Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre, Corel WinDVD, Cyberlink PowerDVD and Roxio CinePlayer BD. But now it seems that Roxio CinePlayer BD with 3D is gone for good and it has been “replaced” with Roxio CinePlayer with 3D as if the Blu-ray 3D-capable software never existed. If you are wondering what is the reason for that, well it is most likely due to the fact that Corel bought the Roxio product line earlier this year and they have probably decided to kill the Roxio CinePlayer with 3D software in favor of their Corel WinDVD Pro 11 solution that plays back Blu-ray 3D movies…

So a the moment you only get to choose between three different software solutions if you want to be able to play back Blu-ray 3D movies on your computer and these are: Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre 5, Corel WinDVD 11 Pro or Cyberlink PowerDVD 12 Pro/Ultra. If I have to rate those three personally I’d go first with Cyberlink PowerDVD 12, then Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre 5 and the third one would be Corel WinDVD 11 Pro. Which one of these are you using and is there someone still with Roxio CinePlayer BD with 3D that is not very happy with Corel practically getting rid of that product after acquiring the Roxio product line?

New GPU from Nvidia Announced Today, the GeForce GTX 670

Bloody — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:23:50 +0000

After the announcement of the top models from the new Kepler architecture – GeForce GTX 680 and GTX 690, Nvidia has just announced another a bit more affordable, but still high-end GPU in terms of features and performance. Today comes the announcement of the new GeForce GTX 670, definitely an interesting product coming with a $100 USD lower recommended end user price and a just slightly slower than GTX 680. The new GeForce GTX 670 should still be a bit faster, in terms of performance, as compared to a GeForce GTX 580 – the previous generation’s top model single GPU graphics card, as well as being with lower power consumption and thus producing less heat and noise. At $399 USD the GeForce GTX 670 should be very attractive alternative to the $499 USD price of the GeForce GTX 680, and with a performance difference of up to just about 20% between the two. Not to mention that overclocking the GeForce GTX 670 you should be able to achieve similar performance to that of a stock GTX 680 and even surpass it with a bit, so definitely a good deal. Now, what we only need is Nvidia to actually provide enough GPUs on the market, so that there won’t be shortages like with the GTX 680 that will also push the price of the GTX 670 higher than the recommended one…

Specifications of GeForce GTX 670:

Graphics Card – GeForce GTX 670 2GB
CUDA Cores – 1344 ⁺⁸⁶⁴
Texture Units (TMU) – 112 ⁺⁵²
Raster Operator Units (ROP) – 32 ^-8
Graphics Clock (Base) – 915 MHz ⁺¹⁸³
Graphics Clock (Boost) – 950 MHz
Texture Fill Rate (Bilinear) – 102.5 billion/sec ^+58.6
Standard Memory Configuration – 2048 MB GDDR5 ⁺⁷⁶⁸
Memory Interface Width – 256-bit ^-64
Memory Clock – 3004 MHz (6008 effective) ^{+1104 (2208)}
Memory Bandwidth – 192.2 GB/sec ^+40.2
Fabrication Process – 28 nm ^-12
Transistor Count – 3.54 Billion ^+0.54
Connectors – Dual-Link DVI-I, Dual-Link DVI-D, HDMI 1.4 High Speed, DisplayPort 1.2
Form Factor – Dual Slot
Power Connectors – 2x 6-pin PEG
Power Consumption – 170W TDP ^-49
GPU Thermal Threshold – 97 degrees Celsius
Bus Interface – PCI Express 3.0

* The numbers in red and green represent the upgrade or downgrade of the specific parameter in the GTX 670 as compared to the GTX 570!

The GeForce GTX 670 based on the same GK104 GPU that is being used in the GTX 680 with the difference being that the GTX 670 has one SMX block disabled. This means a bit less CUDA cores, fewer texture units, and a GPU clock frequency a bit lower in the GTX 670, although the memory clock frequency and amount available remain identical. This results in 25W of power consumption less in the GTX 670 (under maximum load), while at the same time the performance does not suffer a lot and can be compensated with a bit of overclocking as the new GPU should also be very capable in terms of overclock like the GTX 680. And just like its bigger brother, the new GeForce GTX 670 cards do come will all the new features introduced with the GTX 680 such as GPU Boost, Adaptive Vertical Sync, FXAA and TXAA, Single card driving up to four monitors and capable of running 3D Vision Surround setup and so on. And although a single GeForce GTX 670 supports 3D Vision Surround I’d still recommend to go at least for two such cards if you plan on building a three 3D-capable display gaming setup in order to be able to play comfortable even in more demanding games with high details.

If you plan on playing games in stereoscopic 3D mode with a single card on a single 3D monitor, then the GeForce GTX 670 should be more than enough for most people, performance wise, and although a GTX 680 could be slightly better, you should be Ok even with a GTX 670. But the real question is if you should upgrade your old GPU to a GTX 670 and the answer is it depends. If you have a GTX 570 or GTX 580 already an upgrade to GTX 670 would not bring that much of an improvement, sure you will get some extra performance combined with lower power consumption, but the difference probably won’t be that high and you might get up a bit disappointed in the end. If you have a GTX 470 or GTX 480, going for a GeForce GTX 670 video card would definitely help more, and I’m not talking only about performance improvement, but the more important advantage would be in the fact that you’ll be getting a much cooler and more silent operating video card. Upgrading from a GTX 460 or a GTX 560 / 560 Ti would really bring up a lot of extra performance that would definitely improve the experience when playing games in stereoscopic 3D mode. If you are in the GTX 460 / 560 domain however you might want to wait a bit more and get the GTX 660 that will very likely be the next thing that Nvidia will be announcing sooner than later if they continue to follow the traditional logic in launching new products. And a GTX 660 based on the Kepler architecture might prove to be among the best price/performance options (for stereo 3D gaming as well) on the market if/when launched, because the GTX 670 is still considered a high-end card with a high price. Looking at the simplified design of the reference GTX 670 cards you can expect that the GTX 660 will be with the same PCB and will have another SMX block disabled, couple that with a price of $249 and things might be looking very good. Now, we’ll have to wait and see some benchmarks from the new GTX 670 in stereoscopic 3D mode as well as the new cards should be immediately available on the market starting today…

- The GeForce GTX 670 is available in Newegg, while GTX 680 is still out of stock…

More About the Portable 3D Notebooks Availability on the Market

Bloody — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:07:29 +0000

You may have noticed that I was a bit absent from the blog the last 10 days and the reason for that was a critical hardware failiure of my work laptop, so I’ve had to get a new one install it and recover all the data and backups to it… and it took me some time, but now everything is back to normal. But more importantly, I was again looking for some portable laptops with 3D-capabilities, something that I’ve talked about not too long ago here on the blog. This time my idea was to actually get a portable 12 or 13 inch 3D-capable laptop with a 3D display, not a gaming solution, but something that can be used to preview 3D photos and 3D videos and of course to do some testing of different stereo 3D software on it as well. Unfortunately I still could not find a good solution that fits my requirements, probably they are too specific, or I’m in need of something that is still considered a way too niche product for anyone to make it. So in the end I’ve ended up getting a good 2D laptop, namely the HP EliteBook 2560p – a great portable, yet very powerful and feature rich system that pretty much offers all that I need, minus the stereoscopic 3D support. So again a pair of anaglyph 3D glasses gets packed in my laptop back for use whenever I need to preview something in stereo 3D or test something and I don’t have my stereoscopic 3D-capable desktop test systems available. Maybe I’ll have more luck the next time I’m replacing my laptop… hopefully by then there will be more 3D-capable portable solutions actually available on the market. For now most 3D-capable laptops are intended for gaming or multimedia use and go with a larger display size and powerful discrete graphics, instead of being designed for stereoscopic 3D use on the go… and we actually need a bit more diversity.

GeForce GTX 690 is a New Dual-GPU Video Card from Nvidia

Bloody — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:22:06 +0000

Nvidia has been teasing us for a while now about going to introduce something new and they did it – the new GeForce GTX 690 dual-GPU graphics card, based on the new Kepler architecture. I could easily say that the GTX 690 is a worthy successor to the GTX 590 from last year, but since the 590 had some issues at first, I better say that the GTX 690 is more like the GTX 590 done right – much better cooling, less power and heat, and a lot more performance. But let us look at the specs first, before continuing talking about the new Dual-GPU card…

Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 Specifications:

Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 690 4GB
Graphics Processing Clusters: 8
Streaming Multiprocessors: 16 ^-16
CUDA Cores: 3072 ⁺²⁰⁴⁸
Texture Units: 256 ⁺¹²⁸
ROP Units: 64 ^-32
Graphics Clock: 915 MHz (1019 Boost) ⁺³⁰⁸
Memory Clock (Data rate): 6008 MHz ⁺²⁵⁹⁴
Total Video Memory: 4096MB GDDR5 ⁺¹⁰²⁴
Memory Interface: 512‐bit ⁺¹²⁸
Total Memory Bandwidth: 192 GB/s per GPU⁺³²
Fabrication Process: 28 nm ⁺¹²
Transistor Count: 7 Billion total ⁺¹
Connectors: 3x Dual‐Link DVI, 1x Mini-DisplayPort 1.2
Form Factor: Dual Slot
Power Connectors: 2x 8‐pin PCI-E Power
Recommended Power Supply: 600 Watts
Thermal Design Power (TDP): 300 Watts ^-65

* The superscript numbers in green and red show the change as compared to the specs of GTX 590.

So, looking at the specs it is pretty much two GTX 680 GPUs on a single card, though the operating frequencies of the GPU (the normal and the boost one) are lower than on the GTX 680, but that is something needed in order to fit in the 300W TDP. And the GTX 690 should is able to handle quite a bit of overclocking like the GTX 680, so you should be easily able to compensate the difference in frequencies. So if you still haven’t upgraded to GTX 680, you might want to consider going for a single GTX 690 instead of two GTX 680s in SLI, or why not even two 690s in Quad SLI.

The question here however is what would you need a GTX 690 for when talking about stereoscopic 3D gameplay, clearly if you plan to play games in a triple display setup using 3D Vision Surround going for a GeForce GTX 690 (or two GTX 680 for that matter) is a must, even though a single GTX 680 is capable of supporting a 3D vision Surround. For a surround setup you not only need the outputs, but also the performance to back the tripled resolution as compared to using a single 3D display, and while a single GTX 680 can do a very decent job, playing at maximum detail levels on more demanding games would be more comfortable with two cards or the new Dual-GPU solution. The GeForce GTX 690 is also a great choice for everyone thinking about playing on 2D displays with higher resolutions such as 2560×1600 with maxed out graphics settings.

The recommended end user price of the GeForce GTX 690 is $999 USD, and the first cards are expected to be available starting May 3rd in limited quantities, with more coming up on May 7th, so just a few more days left. And considering the price is pretty much the same as of two GTX 680 cards, the GTX 690 could indeed be a good alternative, but lets see some in-depth reviews of the card first before making the final decision as it has only been just announced from Nvidia and there are no reviews available yet.

The Multimedia Player KMPlayer Now With Stereo 3D Support As Well

Bloody — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:41:42 +0000

When talking about a good general audio and video player three names quickly come up in my mind – Media Player Classic, GOM Player and KMPlayer. All powerful both in terms of features and options available to the user and easily playing back most audio and video formats, but this goes as far as 2D video. The it seems that these players could soon also support 3D video playback, for example the GOM Player has gotten stereo 3D subtitle support some time ago and more recent beta builds of the KMPlayer also do come with support for stereo 3D subtitles as well as stereoscopic 3D video playback capabilities as well. Have in mind though that when talking about stereo 3D subtitles support with these players it means support for plain text file subtitles used for 2D videos that are just being played back properly at screen depth in 3D mode. Regarding the supported stereo 3D input formats the KMPlayer can handle videos in Side by Side or Top/Bottom (Over/Under) and can display them in multiple anaglyph output modes as well as Row or Column Interleaved format. So you wither need a pair of anaglyph 3D glasses or a passive 3D display that can work with direct Row/Column Interleaved input such as LG’s 3D monitors and 3D HDTVs, unfortunately there is no support yet for 3D Vision for example. So next up is Media Player Classic starting to get some stereoscopic 3D support as well…

The KMPlayer also has some sort of an online service for accessing 3D videos called 3D Movie Plus, however I was not able to see any videos available as in the example screenshot above, so this may only be working in Korea for example. And while neither the GOM Player, not the KMPlayer are yet even close to offering what the Stereoscopic Player supports in terms of stereo 3D video, they are still much better in 2D video playback. So if you have never used Media Player Classic, GOM Player or KMPlayer, then I’d recommend to check them out at least because of their 2D multimedia playback capabilities.

- For more information and to download the latest KMPlayer with stereo 3D support…

Press and Industry Joining Forces to Set 3D Standard

Bloody — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:24:46 +0000

Stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) games and displays have been pioneered by the innovations of manufacturers, technology enablers, and game publishers, but despite their success, the concepts of quality assurance, customer satisfaction, and especially the 3D experience are largely divided and inconsistent. Especially for media, the lack of standardized stereoscopic 3D quality and performance benchmarking tools are equally challenging and more often than not the result is in the form of biased and somewhat negative opinions about stereo 3D technology mostly coming from different media. As for technology press, traditional performance and quality benchmarks don’t apply well to stereoscopic 3D products, and standardized tools have yet to be developed in this area and this can really be a problem.

“As a tech journalist who has written articles about stereoscopic 3D hardware and software, I can say from firsthand experience that it’s a complex subject. I’ve seen credible websites post misinformation caused by a lack of understanding, and I think all journalists would benefit from a standardized and objective method of comparing these solutions,” said Don Woligroski, Senior Editor & Technology Reviewer at Tom’s Hardware.

So in order to improve on that the S-3D Gaming Alliance (S3DGA) is forming a Press Steering Team comprised of leading media and industry representatives to jointly define the methods for testing and reviewing 3D games, 3D displays, and related 3D products in a measurable and objective way. Subjective opinions of journalists and artistic choices of the developers will of course remain unaffected, as the goal is to just provide the right tools and methodology for properly testing and reviewing the products.

“Testing standards are a critical step in the evolution of stereoscopic 3D for gaming. With a clearly defined way of measuring 3D hardware and software, developers will be able to improve the quality of their games and players will be able to make informed decisions about what to buy,” according to Philip Harris, Group Technical Director at EA Sports (Electronic Arts Canada).

S3DGA’s consumer arm Meant to be Seen released GameGrade3D in October as a proof of concept. This community driven database measures PC game compatibility with the different stereoscopic 3D technologies offered by Nvidia, DDD, AMD’s HD3D, and others. But GameGrade3D is just one step in the right direction, and building on top of this and providing other similar tools for media to use will benefit everyone interested in stereoscopic 3D technology.

“The goal of game developers is to put the best products they can into the hands of consumers. The press plays a pivotal role in the growth and understanding of new technologies. Having a consistently applied yet evolving set of standards will help consumers and developers avoid confusion, and ensures that expectations can be quantified and met. It will create a win-win situation,” said Alan Price, President of S3DGA and former CTO of Electronic Arts Canada.

The S-3D Gaming Alliance is non-profit and non-proprietary. The 3D industry is welcome to join and participate with this steering team and media participation is free, however membership is subject to approval of S3DGA’s Board of Directors. Preference will be given to publishers with a demonstrated history of covering stereoscopic 3D technology.

You can count me in as I’m already applying for a place in the Press Steering Team. For example I’ve been trying to develop a methodology for testing stereo 3D-capable displays as you can see in the reviews I’ve already published here on the blog as well as for other 3D-capable products, and I can tell you that it is not an easy task for a single person. Hopefully this joint effort will help make things develop quicker and the work done by the Press Steering Team to be really helpful not only for the press, but also for everyone involved in developing 3D-capable products.

- Here you can find more information about the S-3D Gaming Alliance (S3DGA)…

Sony’s 24-inch PlayStation 3D Display Now Available in Europe

Bloody — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:22:40 +0000

Sony has finally made available their 24-inch PlayStation 3D Display in Europe after first releasing it a couple of months ago in the US (back in November last year). The European version of the 3D display comes bundled with the Platinum versions of Gran Turismo 5 and Killzone 3, two top game titles supporting stereo 3D on the PlayStation 3 and two pairs of 3D glasses, while the US version came bundled only with MotorStorm: Apocalypse and just one pair of 3D glasses. The recommended end user price of the Sony PlayStation 3D Display for Europe is 499 Euro and that is actually a bit high, considering that at the moment you can get the display in the US for less than $400 USD. Not to mention that you can also find some bigger size 3D HDTVs for the price of the PlayStation 3D Display, though with it you also get the SimulView feature for playing multiplayer games with separate views for each player. You’d however need to play games that support that features as not all multiplayer games would be able to take advantage from that feature. Just as a reminder, the PlayStation 3D Display uses HDMI 1.4 interface for the stereoscopic 3D support, meaning that you can use the display not only with the PS3 console for 3D, but also with other 3D capable devices using HDMI 1.4.

- For more information about the features and specs of the PlayStation 3D Display…

Asus VG23AH is a New 23-inch Passive 3D Display with IPS Panel

Bloody — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:47:53 +0000

It seems that Asus is interested in trying out the passive 3D (FPR 3D) monitor market as the company already has a two active 3D monitors on the market. Their first FPR 3D model to hit the market is the 23-inch Asus VG23AH that uses an IPS LCD panel with LED backlight, promising high viewing angled and better color reproduction in 2D as well as 3D mode. The monitor features built-in 2D to 3D autoconversion mode and supports 3D over HDMI 1.4 only, even though the display has a VGA and a DVI port that apparently don’t work with 3D (unless of course you are using Row Interleaved stereo 3D output to the display that should work regardless of the interface). You get the monitor bundled with no HDMI cable however, so make sure you have a spare one, so that you can immediately start using it in 3D mode

Asus VG23AH Specifications:

Panel Size: 23.0″(58.4cm), Full HD 1920×1080
Panel Type: IPS LCD, LED backlight
Pixel Pitch: 0.2652mm
Brightness(Max): 250 cd/m2
ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR): 80000000:1 (dynamic)
Viewing Angle (CR>=10): 178°(H)/178°(V)
Response Time: 5ms (Gray to Gray)
Display Colors: 16.7M
3D Technology: FPR 3D Technology
Signal Input: 2x HDMI 1.4, D-Sub, DVI-D
Power Consumption: <40W (Typical), Power Saving/Power Off Mode <0.5W
Phys. Dimension with Stand (WxHxD): 550.2x419.5x250mm
Net Weight (Esti.): 6.5kg

The monitor supports HDMI 1.4 frame packing for automatic stereo 3D input as well as Side by Side and Over/Under available for manual selection and of course the built-in 2D to 3D conversion that you can activate. One thing that Asus fails to mention however is if they bundle the monitor with some kind of software that will allow you to play games in stereo 3D mode or you have to arrange that yourself. No mention in the press information, the product page, even the manual does not clearly say anything, although the manual mentions a few times that the monitor is 3D Vision ready (no mention about it being “Optimized for GeForce” certified product). The good news is that since the monitor is passive 3D you should be able to directly output in Row Interleaved stereo 3D mode on it and putting the 3D glasses you should be able to see the stereo 3D image. Meaning that it should work just fine with the iZ3D driver or the TriDef 3D software, although you might need to get separately a license for these middle-ware solutions (if you don’t already have one). The fact that the monitor supports HDMI 1.4 might make it compatible with Nvidia’s 3DTV Play, although probably not officially since this is clearly a 3D monitor and not a 3D HDTV. And the last option would be the support for the Nvidia “Optimized for GeForce”, although not very likely.

- For more information about the 23-inch Asus VG23AH Passive 3D monitor…

3D Vision Blog » General 3D News

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