3D Vision Blog » amd

The Meaning Behind the AMD HD3D Technology Gold and Silver Logos

Bloody — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:45:03 +0000

Similar to other AMD products the AMD HD3D Technology apparently also got Gold and Silver logos that are meant to show the level of experience that you should get with products certified to work with AMD’s stereoscopic 3D technology. The difference between the gold and silver is actually quite simple, with AMD uses the Gold AMD HD3D Technology logo for products that have been tested by AMD and the Silver logos for products tested by their partners to meet AMD’s standards. So in short you should be looking for the Gold logo, here is how AMD describes the difference:

The AMD Gold logo depicts products tested by AMD to provide the best possible experience while using AMD technologies like Eyefinity, HD3D and CrossfireX.

The AMD Silver Logo showcases products, tested by our partners to AMD standards, that enhance the user experience when using AMD technologies like Eyefinity, HD3D and CrossfireX.

Here is the list of recommended 3D displays by AMD, the ones that have been tested by AMD and have received the Gold certification from the company. And here you can download a PDF file with the additional compatible displays, the ones that should be compatible and got the Silver logo (apparently not directly tested by AMD). If you are looking for an active 3D display that has the Gold certification you’ll be pretty limited to the Samsung SA 750/950 models and the only other option is the Viewsonic V3D241WM–LED that is with the Silver logo. The interesting thing here is that only one 3D-capable projector made the Gold certification and that is Optoma GT720 and among 3D HDTVs only Samsung’s TA750 series made it and these are 3D-capable monitors with a built-in TV tuner limited to HDMI 1.4 input. On another page on AMD’s website I’ve also noticed the Sony HMZ-T1 Head Mounted Display listed as a recommended 3D display, but that page did not include any information about Gold/Silver certification. The list of Silver logo products that you can find in the PDF linked above is more extensive of course…

Interview with AMD About Stereoscopic 3D Gaming at CES 2012

Bloody — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:18:06 +0000

Neil Schneider from MTBS interviews Roger Quero, Senior Technical Marketing Manager of Displays for AMD. In this stereoscopic 3D video interview Roger Quero talks about the new Radeon HD7970 GPU with the updated higher bandwidth HDMI, multi-monitor Eyefinity 3D setups, Crossfire in stereo 3D mode. And apparently AMD has been demonstrating these new features during CES 2012, however the company still hasn’t released an official driver for the new Radeon HD 7970 GPUs and now the first cards based on the slightly slower Radeon HD 7950 are around the corner. So if you want to be able to take advantage of all the new stereoscopic 3D features so of which will be supported also on older generation Radeon HD-based video cards, you should wait a bit more for the drivers that will be able to provide you with these.

- You can visit MTBS’ website for more stereo 3D video coverage from CES 2012…

AMD Improves the Fusion APUs, adds HDMI 1.4a Stereo 3D Support

Bloody — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:49:47 +0000

AMD has updated its lower power consumption Fusion C-Series and E-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), or with other words chips that have both the CPU and GPU on the same silicon. The new chips should be offering enhanced HD graphics capabilities and performance boost with enhanced memory thanks to the support of DDR3 1333MHz memory according to AMD. They should also bring DisplayPort support as well as improved battery life when used in mobile devices, providing up to 12 hours of usage on a single battery charge for the C-Series APU and up to 10.5 hours for the E-Series.

But the most interesting new features in the updated AMD Fusion C-Series and E-Series APUs is the addition of HDMI 1.4a interface that also means these will be able to also support stereoscopic 3D output to compatible display devices. Of course considering that these chips do not have that much graphical performance you can forget about being able to play games in stereo 3D mode, however watching 3D videos and 3D movies as well as going over 3D photos should not be a problem for them. And thanks to their low power consumption they can turn out to be a great choice for a small and silent, but powerful enough stereo 3D-capable multimedia system, no matter if it is in the form of a netbook, notebook or a small form factor PC.

You can say that AMD is quickly catching up to Intel with their Fusion platform, by offering better graphical features and performance as compared to what the latest generation of Intel integrated GPUs can offer. And although Intel’s mobile platforms may still be ahead in terms of CPU performance and features, AMD is getting ahead with a better GPU support, so this way they are compensating the difference and nowadays the GPU becomes more and more important. Just as a reminder, the latest generation of Intel integrated graphics in the Sandy Bridge platform also does have support for HDMI 1.4 output, but also offering performance capable for only 3D photo and 3D video. But even the least powerful Sandy Bridge-based mobile processors are not as power efficient as what some of AMD’s Fusion APUs can offer you and that is very important thing when you are in a need of not so powerful, but more energy efficient solution.

And all this talk about AMD’s APUs reminds me to ask if any one of you is actually using a Fusion-based device of any kind at the moment or at least has considered in getting such for whatever purpose?

AMD HD3D Technology in 60 Seconds on Video Using a 3D HDTV

Bloody — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:42:56 +0000

AMD just released two short videos promoting their stereoscopic 3D solution, but interestingly enough the focus is only on 3D HDTV and not on monitors (there is actually only one supporting shutter glasses anyway and it is not very nice looking). In the first video AMD’s Shane Parfitt is setting up AMD HD3D gaming in 60 seconds on an AMD Radeon graphics card using DDD’s TriDef 3D middle-ware, but the video card is not the just announced Radeon 6990 though. The game used for the demonstration is Medal of Honor which BTW is not that great in stereo 3D mode.

On the second video AMD’s Shane Parfitt (the product manager also responsible for HD3D) shows how to enable 3D Blu-ray playback on an AMD Radeon graphics card using ArcSoft’s Total Media Theatre software for the actual Blu-ray 3D playback. With AMD being not very active on stereo 3D technology in general, these two videos are interesting and are at least showing that the company did not completely forget that it is also providing some support for that technology as well. However if you’ve read my recent post comparing the different solutions for gaming in stereo 3D mode, you should’ve seen that AMD’s middle-ware partners like DDD with the TriDef 3D software and iZ3D with their iZ3D Driver are also not very active in releasing improved and updated versions lately. And we can only hope that things will finally start moving a bit faster in regards to AMD’s HD3D technology…

ViewSonic V3D241wm 3D Monitor for AMD HD3D Technology Review

Bloody — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:18:53 +0000

I’ve spotted a short review of the ViewSonic V3D241wm 3D monitor, the only 120Hz model so far that compatible with AMD HD3D technology over at TrustedReviews. They’ve taken the display for a quick spin and although they did not go into a lot of detail and testing regarding things such as the level of crosstalk/ghosting and stereo 3D performance in general, it is still interesting to read. Their verdict however is not very positive about the product, so if you are considering to use this together with an AMD/ATI-based GPU, then you should be prepared and take a look at the review. Here is a quote of the TrustedReviews’ verdict below:

Cheap but not so cheerful, ViewSonic’s V3D241wm may offer decent hardware, but frankly it was difficult for us to tell through iZ3D’s buggy software. Hopefully these issues will be ironed out soon, but until then this is not a 3D display we can recommend.

I’m still struggling to find this product in my region in order to get one for more on-depth testing, but unfortunately it is still not available within the local ViewSonic distributors, so the wait is still on. What I’m not very happy though is the fact that AMD is not being very active into stereoscopic 3D support lately, they are kind of keeping it silent since the lets say official announcement back in the end of October last year. Maybe they are waiting for stereo 3D to become more popular and the demand from the users to increase and then to push more into the technology, but somebody has to push things with hardware manufacturers and software developers in order things to move forward…

- To read the ViewSonic V3D241wm 3D monitor review over at TrustedReviews…

AMD With New 6800 series GPUs and the AMD HD3D Technology

Bloody — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:31:21 +0000

AMD is talking stereo 3D again and their stereoscopic 3D support, based on the open stereoscopic 3D initiative they’ve announced a while ago, and now they have given it a name – it is called AMD HD3D Technology. The list of supported hardware includes all the Radeon HD 5000 and the two new announcements from the HD 6000 series, although apparently only the new Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 support GPU-accelerated Blu-ray 3D playback. Still, considering the fact that AMD is dependent on their partners like DDD and iZ3D for the actual software that creates the stereoscopic 3D output from games, you can use even older hardware with most of the supported 3D viewing solutions. However if you want to take advantage of the new active shutter glasses and a 120Hz LCD monitor, then you should have one of the newer video cards that also have built-in driver level support in order to ensure good synchronization with the shutter glasses.

On their website AMD is still not giving out a lot of information, but they do have a big list of supported 3D HDTVs, 3D DLP projectors, as well as a few of the first solutions that do utilize an AMD GPU, along with stereoscopic 3D support and shutter glasses. These we already know of, but just to mention them again: the new HP Envy 17 with 5850, the MSI Wind Top AE2420 AIO PC with 5730, and the new Viewsonic V3D241wm-LED monitor. Of course there are a few other solutions that do not use active shutter glasses already available that can be used with AMD GPUs and these are the iZ3D display, Zalman’s Trimon passively polarized monitors, some laptops with passive polarization from Acer and Lenovo and quite a few other commercial or custom built products that can be used to provide stereoscopic 3D support.

One important thing again related to the new Radeon HD 6850/6870 GPUs is the fact that they do come with DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4a connectors that both do support stereoscopic 3D output. Of course we are yet to see some 120Hz LCD monitors that do use DisplayPort, however the availability of HDMI 1.4a ensures compatibility with all the 3D-capable consumer hardware such as 3D HDTVs already available and the upcoming 3D home cinema projectors with the same interface. So the new GPUs do have support for HDMI 1.4a and the frame packing specifications used for stereo 3D content distribution over the interface, however you still need to have something to provide the 3D content, so you still need the iZ3D Driver or TriDef’s Ignition software to convert games for example, or a software Blu-ray 3D player to output the movie.

One related announcement to the new AMD news is the fact that the new DeusEX: Human Revolution game, supporting DX11 will also have stereoscopic 3D support available. And AMD is claiming support for over 400 game titles in stereoscopic 3D mode through its two main software partners for the gaming in S3D part – iZ3D and DDD. With the company also promising more native stereoscopic 3D games to come out in 2011 (we already know of some like Crysis 2). On the Blu-ray 3D software players support AMD is working with the same major companies like Nvidia is doing with Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D going to be the first to provide the support for hardware accelerated Blu-ray 3D playback of movies from your PC. This will happen on November 5th through a software update that is expected to be released by Cyberlink.

There are however still a lot of unanswered questions like for example will we be able to use lets say an older 120Hz LCD monitor that was introduced with 3D Vision support with AMD’s solution with a new pair of shutter glasses. Will there be only shutter glasses available and not as a bundle at all and who will be selling them or we are going to go for an “open” initiative with 120Hz LCD monitors that are only going to be usable with AMD’s stereo 3D solution and that need to be bought with the glasses bundled. AMD is currently talking about 3D gaming and 3D video, but what about 3D photography that is also gaining more interest… is there support for viewing 3D photos without having to resort to third party software that may or may not work? And what about Eyefinity with stereo 3D support? DX 10 and DX11 support are still quite a bit of a problem for both iZ3D, who have beta support that is kind of working, and DDD who still don’t have anything available to support DX10/11 games. And more and more and more… I’m hoping to soon be able to test the HP Envy 17 laptop to get some first hand impressions from the active shutter glasses support that AMD is starting to offer, because I’ve already had some experience with other stereo 3D products based on both iZ3D and DDD. And I’m eager to get more information from AMD about their stereo 3D support…

- For a list of AMD supported GPUs and other hardware for stereo 3D support…

3D Blu-Ray with GPU-Acceleration for Nvidia and 3D Vision Owners

Bloody — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:22:07 +0000

Some good news for the owner of 3D Vision stereoscopic setups that just came form NVIDIA. It seem that NVIDIA has been working closely with the leading movie playback software developers, including Arcsoft (TotalMedia Theatre), Corel (WinDVD), Cyberlink (PowerDVD Ultra) and Sonic (Roxio CinePlayer BD), to ensure seamless support for 3D Blu-ray titles when they are ready to ship in 2010. These software players for PC should be compatible with 3D Vision for watching 3D Blu-ray movies when they become available – first half of 2010 positively thinking or the second half negatively thinking. There should also be a GPU-acceleration in the decoding of the AVC-MVC compression that is going to be used by the 3D Blu-ray discs by compatible GeForce-based video cards. And this is to be expected as in order to achieve stereoscopic 3D at Full HD resolution you’ll have to increase the video data up to doubling the information, which in turn will be making it harder to decompress in real time without additional acceleration. The good thing is that the 3D Blu-ray specifications should be able to take advantage of different 3D display technologies, such as frame-sequential with active shutter glasses like 3D Vision and line-sequential or side-by-side with passive polarized glasses. We are all expecting for the 3D Blu-ray specifications to be finalized by the end of December, but there is still a possibility for delays…

Over the last few weeks, NVIDIA has successfully demonstrated playback of 3D content encoded with the AVC Multi-View Codec (or AVC-MVC), the codec that is expected to become the foundation for how 3D content is encoded onto Blu-ray discs. 3D Blu-ray content encoded in AVC–MVC can be decoded in real time on select NVIDIA GPUs — resulting in a home 3D experience that is equal to or better to what is offered in movie theaters today. NVIDIA GPUs that can decode 3D Blu-ray content include the GeForce GT 240 ($99 U.S. MSRP), as well as upcoming next-generation GF100 GPUs based on the NVIDIA “Fermi” architecture. This will allow consumers to build desktop PCs powered by GeForce GPUs and NVIDIA 3D Vision active shutter glasses for under $1000 in total, making them the ideal platform for watching 3D Blu-ray movies, viewing 3D photographs, browsing 3D Web sites, or playing more than 400 PC game titles in 3D.

NVIDIA will be demonstrating 3D Blu-ray playback running on NVIDIA GPUs and NVIDIA 3D Vision technology at the CES trade show in Las Vegas from January 7 to 11, 2010. If you are visiting CES, you shoudl be able to see 3D blu-ray demo on Nvidia’s booth #35912 in the South Hall 4.

Few days ago AMD also announced that it plans to demonstrate the new Blu-ray 3D standard that is “due to arrive on commercial discs in the second half of 2010″. It seems that AMD has partnered with CyberLink to do a preview of the Blu-ray stereoscopic 3D technology during the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. But unlike NVIDIA’s 3D Vision, AMD hasn’t got its own stereoscopic 3D hardware to present with and there is no information regarding the availability of GPU-acceleration of the AVC-MVC decoding process on ATI GPUs. AMD will be located in the Grand Lobby (GL-8 and GL-10) of the Las Vegas Convention Center, so you better go and take a look if you are visiting CES for more information.

3D Vision Blog » amd

The Meaning Behind the AMD HD3D Technology Gold and Silver Logos

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Interview with AMD About Stereoscopic 3D Gaming at CES 2012

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AMD Improves the Fusion APUs, adds HDMI 1.4a Stereo 3D Support

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AMD HD3D Technology in 60 Seconds on Video Using a 3D HDTV

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ViewSonic V3D241wm 3D Monitor for AMD HD3D Technology Review

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AMD With New 6800 series GPUs and the AMD HD3D Technology

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3D Blu-Ray with GPU-Acceleration for Nvidia and 3D Vision Owners

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