3D Vision Blog

There was a lot of talk and rumors going around about a new version of the 3D Vision glasses being worked on by Nvidia, and apparently these were all true as Nvidia today announced officially 3D Vision Pro. However these glasses are intended only for professional users that also have Quadro cards and are not intended and will not work with GeForce GPUs, at least for now, but there is probably nothing that prevents Nvidia from releasing a consumer version of these new glasses in the not so distant future…

Anyway, lets take a look on what is new and different in the 3D Vision Pro glasses as compared to the normal 3D Vision glasses that you can also currently use with Quadro or GeForce GPUs. First of all the infrared (IR) transmitter is now gone with all its negative sides and is being replaced by a radio frequency (RF) communication system. This removes the need of having a direct line of sight between the glasses and the transmitter and should also get rid of any interferences with other infrared devices that might cause an annoying flicker of the shutters. The RF communication is also not a single way one like with the IR transmitter just sending a synchronization signal, but it is now two way communication that allows the glasses not only to receive the sync signal from the PC, but also to report their status to the computer. The RF communication should also allow more problem free use of multiple 3D Vision Pro equipped systems packed in smaller spaces and should also allow increased range of up to about 30-45 meters (100-150 feet). The drawback coming from that change in communication (the most likely reason) is that the battery life you get with a single charge is halved – from 40 hours with IR to 20 hours with RF, but that should not be such an issue for most people… these are still rechargeable batteries.

What is not yet clear is if the shutter glasses will actually be improved to allow faster response, to pass more light etc. important things or they will be pretty much the same as what the current generation of consumer 3D Vision glasses offers. I really do hope that we are soon going to see improved glasses, and not only in terms of communication with the PC, but in terms of improved quality and user experience too. Another interesting thing is the mentioned accelerometer and digital compass that can be used to track the user’s head movement (not clear if they will be present yet) and the data from them can really help in improving immersion if it is used for interaction with the applications. And if we consider it for gaming, the potential there is even higher for making even more realistic experiences when playing your favorite games in stereo 3D mode…

And now the not so attractive part – the pricing, which is a bit high, but considering this is a professional product the higher price is expected, however a consumer implementation should be much more affordable. So the Nvidia 3D Vision Pro stereoscopic solutions will be available in October directly from Nvidia and from authorized resellers such as PNY Technologies with a recommended price of $349 USD for the shutter glasses, and $399 USD for the RF transmitter hub.

Nvidia is currently demonstrating 3D Vision Pro stereoscopic solutions at SIGGRAPH 2010, so if you are at the event and can pass by the NVIDIA booth, #717, South Hall, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, from July 27-29, 2010 you will be more than welcome to share some more details and your experience from the new glasses here… ;)

- Visit the official 3D Vision Pro website for more information…

If you are tired of wearing those uncomfortable and ugly looking disposable passive polarized 3D glasses that you get each time in the cinema, then you have some options. There are already a few companies that offer much better looking, better built, even better performing and of course more expensive passive polarized 3D glasses designed for movie theaters using RealD technology for projecting and viewing the 3D content (circular polarization). Among the most recent companies that started to exploit this new market are Gunnar Optiks and MicroVision Optical…

Gunnar Optiks currently offers only two different models of 3D Movie glasses from its Attache collection – the Anime and Phenom. Both models are with a price of $99 USD, which you can consider a bit high, but I like more the design of these glasses and the build quality is better. So if you go to watch 3D movies more often and prefer to watch them in a 3D Cinema equipped with RealD, then these glasses may be completely worth it instead of using the cheap plastic ones that you get in the cinema. Gunnar Optiks is claiming that their glasses are also superior in terms of optical quality thus making the 3D experience even better when watching a 3D move with them…

Microvision Optical offers a bit bigger assortment of RealD-compatible 3D Movie glasses. They have total of 29 different models that are separated in 8 product lines, so you have a lot more options here to choose from. These glasses are all plastic and a bit cheaper than the Gunnar Optiks’ models, Macrovision Optical’s 3D glasses cost between $30 and $35 USD a pair. Microvision Optical claims to have superior optics in their products as well as that their 3D glasses can be worn like a normal pair of sunglasses when you are not watching a 3D movie. The reason for that being is the fact that the lenses they use also block 100% the UVA and UVB ultraviolet light from the sun, just like a good pair of normal sunglasses, but unlike other traditional 3D glasses.

- More about Gunnar Optiks’ 3D Glasses Technology…
- To see MicroVison Optical’s 3D Movie Glasses Collection…

Everyone is talking about their 3D glasses not blocking as much light as the competitors or not stopping any light at all etc., but does anyone know how much light gets actually blocked when you wear a certain type of 3D glasses? I did a little quick and dirty test to check just that by placing a light meter at a distance of 20 inch (about 51 centimeters) away from display in a completely dark room with no other light sources. Then on the display (120Hz ViewSonic VX2268WM) was shown a completely white image (jps) displayed on the whole screen and I’ve taken out measurements of the light reaching to the sensor of the light meter directly and trough a few different types of glasses. The light was measured in Lux units as this way I could measure the intensity of light that reaches your eye without any glasses and when wearing a certain type of 3D glasses based on different technologies…

And here are the results:
- 22″ ViewSonic white, no glasses – 47.2 lux
- 3D Vision active shutter glasses – 41.3 lux (shutters constantly open)
- 3D Vision active shutter glasses – 5.9 lux (per eye with switching shutters)
- Passive circular polarized glasses – 32.1 lux (the glasses from Acer Aspire 3D)
- Anaglyph anachrome red-cyan glasses – 21.9 lux (for red), 22.3 lux (for cyan)
- And a with pair of plain black sunglasses – 15.4 lux

And a little update with more:
- Plain paper anaglyph glasses red-cyan – 7.4 lux (red), 21.3 lux (cyan)
- 3D Vision Discover (anaglyp red-cyan) – 6.3 lux (red), 17.8 lux (cyan)
- Pulfrich paper glasses (clear-black) – 3.5 lux (black lens)

As you can see there is a significant difference in terms of the amount of light that reaches the eye of a person when using different kind of glasses for viewing 3D content with 3D Vision getting the least amount of light passing trough. This is normal because of the switch on/off cycle of the shutters in these type of glasses, this however dos not mean that the technology is bad or something like that… it means that just like with other tech you need to compensate with more brightness of the image coming from the screen. But with a passive polarized glasses like the ones from the Acer Aspire 3D you can get more light to the eyes of the user and this is quite important as usually the screens of the laptops are offering less brightness than their desktop counterparts. The comparison with the plain sunglasses is also important, so that you can get a general idea on how things look trough the different types of 3D glasses by just taking a look over trough your sunglasses and taking into consideration the numbers above. Another thing to note is the difference between the light passing trough both color filters on a normal pair or paper anaglyph glasses compared to plastic anachrome glasses (the later have better color reproduction).