3D Vision Blog

Some good new for Christmas, it seems that LG is also very interested in the future of stereoscopic 3D game development with LG Electronics officially becoming a member of the S-3D Gaming Alliance. Now, if you remember not long ago there was an official announcement that LG Display is ready with 23″ 120Hz 3D-ready LCD Panels with Full HD resolution, although we are still yet to see the fist monitors utilizing these new panels. Also it seems that LG already has some 3D-ready HDTVs available, but only on the Korean market so far and we are hoping to have them soon available in other markets too.

- To the official S-3D Gaming Alliance website for more information…l

ViewSonic is at it again with yet another 3D compatible DLP projector that should also be compatible with Nvidia’s 3D Vision active shutter glasses (still not certified, but probably will soon be). This projector is with XGA (1024×768) native resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio, but what is improved here is the brightness and contrast levels, along with the lap life when compared to the other 3D models from the company. The lamp life is 4000 / 6000 hours (normal/eco-mode), with the projector capable of providing brightness of up to 3200 ANSI lumens and contrast ratio of 3200:1. The recommended price of the projector is $1249, which is a bit expensive, but is expected with these specs… normally this model is designed to provide bright enough and visible projected image in brighter environments.

As you can see from the back picture of the ViewSonic PJD6241 projector, it is still relying on analogue DSUB15 connectors for use with the PC and you need to use this way to connect the device to your computer in order to be able to use it in 3D mode. What is required to view the projected image with 3D Vision glasses is to setup the projector to work on the supported 120Hz refresh rate, like it is with all other 3D DLP projectors out there (not that there are too much). It seems that ViewSonic has prepared this model to be used for educational purpose in not so dark classrooms, but nothing will prevent you taking it home to enjoy playing games and watching movies in stereoscopic 3D mode…

- For more information about the new ViewSonic PJD6241 projector…

Today, almost accidentally I’ve learned that BenQ has released 6 new DLP projectors on the market that are 3D Ready, meaning 3D DLP Link compatible (active shutter glasses), meaning that they should also be 3D Vision compatible. Now what the hell did BenQ do (or actually didn’t do) so that the word regarding its new interesting 3D-capable projectors didn’t get out and not a lot of people know about them about two weeks after their announcement and they seem to be already available on some markets? They did a release of the type “by the way” not focusing on these projectors and their 3D capabilities at all and that just because they’ve labeled the projectors as models suitable for Education…

The six new 3D Ready models from BenQ are the standard throw MP626, MP670, MP776, MP777, and the ultra short-throw MP772 ST and MP776 ST. They are all with native XGA resolution or with other words 1024×768 pixels (4:3 aspect ration, not wide) with brightness ranging from 2500 do 4000 ANSI lumens. As I’ve already mentioned BenQ labeled these projectors as suitable for educational purposes, just mentioning that they do have 3D capabilities that are good for illustrative needs in schools etc. Ok, this may be nice, but considering that these projectors start at quite affordable price, although a bit more expensive than the ViewSonic’s similar models, things may start to look good for all the 3D enthusiasts out there.

Checking through BenQ’s website I could not find a lot of details regarding especially the 3D capabilities of the projectors, but from what little info I could find and after looking through the manuals of the above six new models I can conclude that these are based on the same DLP technology that the ViewSonic models I’ve written about use. This of course means 120Hz refresh rate and active shutter glasses that will separate the frames to 60 per eye, so that the brain can build the stereoscopic 3D image from the two frames showing a bit different view. This of course means that the projectors should also be compatible with Nvidia’s GeForce 3D Vision, but I still don’t have access to any of the new models to test it myself, but in general you should be able to get 120Hz refresh rate by using the analogue DSUB15 connectors. Then in the 3D Vision driver setup you should choose CRT display and you should be able to start enjoying videos, pictures and of course games in stereoscopic 3D on the big screen provided by these projectors. Unfortunately I still don’t have access to any of these new models, so that I cannot confirm their 3D Vision compatibility at 100%, but it should be there…

Update: I just got a confirmation that BenQ MP670 does indeed work with GeForce 3D Vision form someone that already has the projector (although they are not officially certified as 3D Vision compatible), but there were some problems getting the projector to work at 120Hz. So it was needed to force it at 1024×768 resolution with 120Hz refresh rate in order to make it work, but no problems after that, otherwise only up to 60Hz refresh was selectable. So the other 5 new 3D Ready projectors from BenQ should be compatible too, but you can expect having trouble setting them up, so be prepared for problems!