3D Vision Blog

Just yesterday I’ve shared the information that the game Just Cause 2 will be 3D Vision-ready title and today we already have the demo of the game available on Steam. The good news is that the demo also works just fine with 3D Vision, so you can get a feel of what to expect form the full game when it is out later this month, however there are a few issues that you should be aware of regarding the demo. The game really looks great in stereo 3D mode with 3D Vision even with all the additional effects enabled so it is really done with S3D in mind, but the demo however has some minor issues. You should start with the installation the 3D Vision driver included in the just made available 196.75 drivers as these drivers are the first ones that do include a 3D Vision profile for the game. Not that if you use older driver without the game profile you’ll have some issues as the default convergence level in the game is just fine, it maybe needs just some fine tweaking for optimum results, but that also depends on personal preferences. If you have an SLI system with two or more Nvidia video cards you should disable the SLI before running the demo of the game if you plan to play it in stereo 3D mode as it seems that the demo has some issues with SLI and 3D Vision working together. With SLI enabled when you switch to stereoscopic 3D mode by enabling the 3D Vision the left frame in the game (right when taking a 3D screenshot) is almost completely dark creating a very weird feeling and making the S3D mode unusable until you disable SLI. The last thing you should be aware of is that the demo and probably the final game is quite demanding in terms of graphical performance, especially if you wish to play it in stereoscopic 3D mode.

- To download the demo of the game Just Cause 2 over Steam…

Recently there are some interesting hings happening around Nvidia’s 3D Vision solution for stereoscopic 3D gaming and movie and photo viewing, so here is what is new in brief…

You know that the game Dark Void has been out for a few days already and it is the latest title to support PhysX and 3D Vision, however the profile in the 3D Vision drivers rates the game as Good and not Excellent as you’d expect from an official (?) 3D Vision title. The game has been developed by Capcom, the same guys that made the Resident Evil 5 – the first official 3D Vision-optimized title that came out (the PC version only).

Some of the issues that Dark Void has are due to the use of Unreal engine ant it is not handling perfectly well in stereoscopic 3D mode, so basically most of the games based on it have some issues that need to be fixed afterwards. A good example for a game that is also based on the same Unreal engine, but has been constantly improved to offer good stereoscopic 3D support for 3D Vision is Borderlands. The developers from Gearbox have been constantly improving the 3D Vision support and they just released a new patch version 1.21 that adds 3D crosshair in the game instead of the 2D one when playing in S3D mode.

After five days or exactly on February 9th the game Bioshock 2 should become available. And this is supposedly to be another 3D Vision-ready title and if you ask me is much more interesting and can look really great in stereoscopic 3D mode if it is done right. And especially after the success of the first BioShock, everyone is expecting a lot from the sequel.

Another interesting game title expected next month, March 16th is Metro 2033. This game is supposed to be something like a post-apocalyptic FPS with some RPG elements, with the action going on underground in the Russian Metro, the year is 2033 and what is left of the humanity is just trying to survive in the harsh post-apocalyptic world. This game should support DirectX 10, take advantage of PhysX and officially be 3D Vision-ready, so you should put it in your to look forward to list of games.

Some other games that might be officially 3D Vision-ready are the upcoming on February 16th Aliens vs Predator with its multiplayer demo just released and available for download over Steam (this one is supposed to be DirectX 11 and ATI Eyefinity title, so official 3D Vision-readiness is a bit questionable). There is also the expected to be released on March 2nd Battlefield: Bad Company 2, another first-person shooter that is currently undergoing a beta testing stage.

Finally if you already own a 3D Vision kit you might complete a short survey that Nvidia is currently conducting regarding the accessories that come with their shutter glasses. So if you have a spare minute you can fill in the few simple questions, absolutely anonymous, providing some feedback on how you use the product and this way maybe help improving the next version of the 3D Vision….

- To fill in the 3D Vision Accessories survey currently being conducted by Nvidia…

While we are still waiting for Acer’s first 120Hz LCD gaming display (beginning next year if there is not additional delay), the company is going to make us happy with making available the first affordable wide format 1280×720 (720p) native resolution projector with support for 3D Vision and DLP 3D. The projector was one of the recently announced three new Stereo 3D compatible models from Acer that got officially certified by Nvidia. The projector started appearing on some markets already and is expected to be widely available in December… and at a good price point.

What is making this model interesting for people wanting to watch movies and play games in stereoscopic 3D is the fact that H5360 is with 720p native resolution… finally a wide aspect projector with 3D capabilities. There is also an HDMI connector present with the projector also accepting 1080p signal, but of course downscaling it to 720p, although I’m not yet sure if the HDMI will be able to accept 120Hz signal from the PC in order to be used in S3D mode. So far the other 3D-compatible DLP projectors have used the analog D-sub connector for sending the 120Hz video signal to the projector, but this needs to be verified.

The main specifications of Acer H5360:

Display Technology: DLP, Digital Light Processor
Native Resolution: Native 720p (1280×720)
Compressed Resolution: Maximum UXGA (1600×1200), 1080p (1920×1080)
Typical Colors: 1.07 Billion Colors
Brightness (ANSI lumens): 2500 ANSI Lumens (Standard), 2000 ANSI Lumens (ECO)
Contrast Ratio: 3200:1
Throw Ratio: 58″ at 2 meter distance (1.55 ~ 1.70:1)
Noise Level: 32 dBA (Standard mode), 27 dBA (ECO mode)
Lamp Life: 3000 Hours (Standard), 4000 Hours (ECO)
Lamp Type: 200 W user replaceable P-VIP lamp
I/O Connectors: Analog RGB/Component Video (D-sub) x 1 Composite Video (RCA) x 1 S-Video (Mini DIN) x 1 Component (3 RCA) x 1 HDMI (Video, Audio, HDCP) x 1 PC Audio (Stereo mini jack) x 1 RS232 (Mini DIN) x 1
Dimensions: 268 x 192 x 80 mm (10.6″ x 7.6″ x 3.1″)
Weight: 2.2 kg (4.9 lbs)

- More information about the Acer H5360 3D-capable 720p projector…