3D Vision Blog

If you were waiting for a more affordable 3D-capable DLP projector that can provide you with native 1080p resolution, than Optoma might have just the right thing for you, their new Full HD 3D projector with model number HD33. Most certainly Optoma HD33 is not the first Full HD 3D projector out there, however it is the most affordable one that combines the high resolution with 3D support and that is actually the most interesting thing. The end user price of the Optoma HD33 should be about $1,499 USD, and that is something very attractive indeed considering that most other more-affordable alternatives with similar features are at least twice or even three times more expensive.

Now, before getting too excited about being able to play games in Full HD resolution in stereo 3D mode on your PC, I should make it clear that this projector (like most other such) relies on HDMI 1.4a interface, something that is both good new for some users and not so good for others. Since the Optoma HD33 projector does not feature a Dual-Link DVI interface you can forget about being able ot use it with 3D Vision for gaming in stereo 3D mode at 1080p resolution. The projector might however get added as a supported product in the 3DTV Play software, however it will not be compatible with the 3D Vision active shutter glasses. You’ll need to use a pair of DLP Link active shutter glasses or Optoma’s new BG-3DRFGLASSES 3D-RF glasses (actually looking exactly like Monster Vision Max 3D made by BitCauldron). Apparently the projector has been developed for entertainment purposes, Blu-ray 3D movie watching or for console gamers willing to play in stereo 3D mode for example and not with PC gamers in mind.

The HD33 should support all the HDMI 1.4a mandatory 3D formats, including of course the most commonly used Side-by-Side and Top & Bottom formats, and to further enhance 3D compatibility, Side-by-Side and Top & Bottom formats can be manually enabled to allow other non-HDMI 1.4a compatible devices, such as older set top boxes, Xbox 360, or PCs to display 3D via the VGA or HDMI ports. The HD33 projector offers two HDMI 1.4a ports, one VGA port, as well as connections for component video, composite video, RS-232, a +12V trigger, and a VESA 3D Port. The maximum brightness offered by Optoma HD33 is 1800 ANSI lumens and the contrast ratio is 4000:1, the projection lamp is rated to last up to 4000 hours in standard mode or 3000 hours in bright mode.

- The Optoma HD33 1080p 3D DLP projector is ailable for pre-order at Amazon…

It seems that the Optoma 3D-XL adapter may have a cheaper alternative that can be available on the market earlier, but with a bit more limited functionality. There is a new company called Video Innovation Products (VIP) that should soon start shipping their VIP 3D-Gamer conversion adapter that can have HDMI 1.4(a) stereo 3D input and output frame sequential stereo 3D that can be understood by 3D DLP projector. This means that you should be able to connect your PlayStation 3 console via this adapter to a 3D DLP projector and play games in stereo 3D mode. The adapter is just converting between the formats, so for the projector you would still be using a pair of traditional DLP Link glasses. The adapter might also be able to turn your 3D DLP projector into a compatible with 3DTV Play for gaming as well, although that needs to be verified if it will work when the converter becomes available in the beginning of February. The price announced for the VIP 3D-Gamer video conversion adapter is $199 USD and you can buy it also bundled with a pair of DLP Link glasses for $259 USD (the glasses do look very much like 3D Vision) or a separate pair of glasses for $79 USD each.

The VIP 3D-Gamer product is designed only for gamers and supports only the 720p 50Hz/60Hz 3D modes as input over HDMI 1.4(a), it is however not compatible with the 1080p 24Hz 3D resolution used for movies. This simply means that you will not be able to use this adapter together with a standalone Blu-ray 3D player to watch on your 3D DLP projector, but the company apparently has another more flexible solution for 3D movie lovers. They should also soon start offering a 3D-Displayer and 3D-Theater products that will offer more features and support both the gaming and movie playing in stereo 3D coming from all kinds of 3D-ready devices using HDMI 1.4(a) and being played back on a big screen supplied by a 3D DLP projector, as well as some other ore advanced features. But these products will probably be more expensive and will probably compete with the Optoma 3D-XL adapter both in terms of features and price and they will most likely be released at the same time too.

But back to the coming very soon VIP 3D-gamer product. Aside from only supporting 720p 50/60Hz 3D input you will also need to have a 3D DLP projector that has and HDMI input and that is with native resolution of 720p (able to output 720p in stereo 3D mode) like for example the Acer H5360 or Optoma HD66. The adapter itself is apparently powered over a mini-USB port, so you will probably need to have a device to plug it in or an USB power adapter, but the USB port might as well be usable for lets say firmware upgrades. You should also have in mind that that Side by Side or Above/Below inputs are not being supported as of this moment as only the HDMI 1.4(a) frame packaging format can be translated into frame sequential stereo 3D. And as will all image processing devices you should be aware of the fact that adding the VIP 3D-Gamer adapter may introduce slight additional lag on top of any possible lag that the projector may already have. Now let us wait a bit more and see what the first people that get the device will report about it…

- You can check Video Innovation Products’ (VIP) official website for a bit more information

I’m getting a lot of questions from people that bought a 3D DLP projector how to make it work with 3D Vision and when I see the device model I immediately notice that it is not in the list of 3D Vision-certified DLP projectors. This means that you will not be able to just connect the projector, install the drivers and everything to start working with 3D Vision, it normally means you cannot make things work, however you are not out of options. You can make a simple modification that will make things work somewhat, but there might also be some side effects, so you should be careful. Most of the 3D DLP projectors use the DSUB15 analog connector for connecting and transferring 3D data, however the more recent Nvidia-based video cards do come with digital DVI outputs only. So in order not to destroy the VGA cable, you will also need a simple VGA to DVI adapter like the one on the picture above (in this case a single link DVI-A) to make things work, but you can also use a single or dual link DVI-I (DVI-D will not work). Then you just have to break the two pins that are pointed out with red arrows on the picture and you are almost ready to go…

The two pins you are going to remove from the adapter are used for the Extended display identification data (EDID), a standard that is used to identify a monitor connected to a PC and what the display is capable of (resolutions and refresh rates). Without those two pins the computer will not be able to automatically recognize the projector you are connecting and it will be treated as a generic analogue display (CRT), because you are using the adapter connected to the projector through a VGA cable. And since the 3D Vision drivers actually do support all sorts of CRT displays if they can manage to provide you with at least 100Hz refresh rate, you can pass the 3D Vision Setup Wizard and have 3D Vision working. But before that you will need to load up some sort of a driver to let windows know what modes or refresh rates your “CRT display” actually supports. I prefer to use the Nvidia Control Panel and add a custom resolution at 120Hz refresh rate and work with that, instead of loading a driver for Acer H5360 for example for other 720p capable not officially supported 3D DLP Projector.

As I’ve mentioned already, this method works in order to allow you to enable the 3D Vision to work with pretty much any 3D DLP projector, treating the projector as a CRT display. The problem that you might get is related to the fact that you may get the left and right frames reversed and that can ruin the experience, unless you want to wear your glasses upside down. There are some measures to help you counter that issue, like reversion the left and right frames of a video from the software player you may be using or the photo viewer for 3D photos, some projectors also have a built in mode to reverse the left/right frames although that does not always work and so on.

List of 3D Vision-Ready DLP Projectors:

- Acer X1261-3D
- Acer X1130P
- Acer H5360
- Acer X1110
- BenQ MS612ST
- DepthQ HD 3D Projector by LightSpeed Design, Inc.
- DQ-3120 by LightSpeed Design, Inc.
- Optoma GT360
- Optoma GT720
- Optoma HD67
- Optoma HD66
- Optoma HW536
- Optoma IS500
- Optoma XE149
- NEC NP216
- Sanyo PDG-DWL2500
- ViewSonic PJD6531w
- ViewSonic PJD6220-3D
- ViewSonic PJD6210-3D
- ViewSonic PJD5351
- ViewSonic PJD5111
- ViewSonic PJD6381
- ViewSonic PJD6211
- ViewSonic PJD6221
- ViewSonic PJD6241
- ViewSonic PJD6251
- ViewSonic PJD5112

What I would recommend however is to save a lot of trouble and just go for a 3D Vision certified 3D projector if you are now going to buy one from the list above, especially when talking about gaming in stereo 3D mode. Obviously going for Acer, Optoma or Viewsonic should be the best choice as they already have a wide product line that supports 3D and you can choose the best model that fits your requirements better. But if you’ve already bought a 3D DLP projector that is not officially supported and you don’t want/have additional money to spend for a new one, then the above method might help you get things running…