OMG! 3D viewing on your computer monitor? It is easy, and cheap.

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay, last week or so, I remember telling you guys I went to see Prometheus in 3D. Well, I kept the glasses and took them home thinking I might just be able to view some of my already downloaded video, or perhaps find something online where I could see it in 3D. I learned a lot in a short time. First of all, the 3D in theaters is something you cannot get from a computer monitor or HDTV. This is a physical limitation, not a barrier put up to protect the technology. Those glasses (in my case, they were RealD 3D) work by using filters to multiplex images which are projected side by side to achieve the effect. If you have taken 3D glasses off during a 3D movie, you will know what I mean. They cannot be used at home.

So, how do you get 3D on a computer monitor or a large screen TV without shelling out the bucks? :icon_e_geek:

If you have an Nvidia graphics card which is a GeForce (not all of them), you most likely have a setting in your Nvidia control panel which refers to "Stereoscopic 3D". It is disabled by default, but you can go in there and turn it on.

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But before you think of doing this, you will need a pair of Red/Cyan glasses, better known as red-green 3D glasses. Perhaps you already have an old pair of paper ones around. If you bought a 3D movie, then you already know what to expect, and you would have a pair of these. But if you really want to play your games in 3D or watch some of the 3D movies on YouTube, or download 3D stuff, you will need a sturdier, more durable pair.

41-5JJsFLxL.jpg41Gg-TNXXqL.jpg

I bought a pair of these (above) here: http://www.amazon.com/Red-blue-Anaglyph-Simple-Glasses-Upgrade/dp/B003LWYGPE/ref=pd_cp_e_2 for only $1.57 each, and they are GREAT! :). I just got them today. So, I went into my Nvidia control panel as shown above, and enabled my 3D. Then I clicked the wizard.

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You need to choose the one that says "Discover Glasses" like shown in the picture. Once done, the screen will flicker a bit, and then will go back to normal. So where is the 3D? If you open Word or any of your programs, they will look no different, and you do not need any glasses to do anything. Everything looks normal. But what happens if you open a game? In my case, I opened Starcraft II and OMG. :icon_eek: :daniel_new_anime021 The game automatically went into 3D mode, because I could see the weird anaglyph images (split into red and cyan). So, I grabbed the glasses, and I have to tell you that the graphics were STUNNING in 3D. I have been playing this game regularly several times per week since it was in Beta stage, and this 3D experience was just not expected at all. I was blown away. I noticed that my RAM spiked to double usage, and the CPU was also spiked while in 3D mode. I have enough power to handle it, but I am thinking perhaps others might not. If you have a high end video card, it wont matter much since the memory is on the card itself.

3D on YouTube is more amateurish, but the demo 3D stuff from Nvidia is what best shows the capability. So, for only a minor investment of less than 10 bucks, I can enjoy very realistic 3D from your same old monitor, and play your games in a 3D mode you never knew existed for them (already built into the game). Chances are if you see the Nvidia logo in the beginning of your game, it will have a built in 3D mode you dont know about unless you have it enabled on your card. Pretty cool! :)

You can disable the 3D by un-ticking the box in the Nvidia panel. Ticking it back will re-enable it. No hotkey toggle yet.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
This video found on YouTube has such great 3D with these glasses! I have been having fun using them. But prolonged use can give you a headache!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq2awQCkyfg&feature=related

Still, the game 3D blows me away. :)
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
This is fun. I guess nobody here has any 3D glasses to test the anaglyph effects. But with these special pictures, you do not need 3D glasses. :) You should easily be able to see the 3D effects.

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This effect uses your eyes and a slightly different image taken just inches apart from the first one. The wiggle effect tricks your perception so that you get the 3D effects. But the glasses are still providing lots of fun in my games and in photos of foreign places. There is even 3D material from the Mars rover! The high resolution 3D photos are breathtaking. The wiggle thing is a cool trick, but after staring too long your eyes will start feeling strained. Still a very cool effect!
 

Illiterati

Council Member & Author
Can't manage 3D on my desktop or laptop yet. Looking forward to being able to do so, as I'm really interested in 3D gaming.

That said, I got to watch the 3D BBC feed of the opening of this year's Olympics, and really enjoyed it. Apparently, they are showing the games commercial free, but only a relative few events will be broadcast in 3D.

Once we got tired of watching it in 3D, which converted the feed to 2D. Gotta love that feature on the thing. LOL
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Can't manage 3D on my desktop or laptop yet. Looking forward to being able to do so, as I'm really interested in 3D gaming.

That said, I got to watch the 3D BBC feed of the opening of this year's Olympics, and really enjoyed it. Apparently, they are showing the games commercial free, but only a relative few events will be broadcast in 3D.

Once we got tired of watching it in 3D, which converted the feed to 2D. Gotta love that feature on the thing. LOL

How are you getting your 3D? I did not want to shell out money for that fancy new LG 3D TV. Also, I wanted to avoid proprietary technology for 3D. For me, the red/cyan route was the way to go, since each pair of 3D glasses (shown above) cost less than $2.00. It turns out MANY of my games already had a built in 3D mode I was unaware of. Starcraft II, Grand Theft Auto 4 and San Andreas, Diablo II, etc.
 

Illiterati

Council Member & Author
How are you getting your 3D? I did not want to shell out money for that fancy new LG 3D TV. Also, I wanted to avoid proprietary technology for 3D. For me, the red/cyan route was the way to go, since each pair of 3D glasses (shown above) cost less than $2.00. It turns out MANY of my games already had a built in 3D mode I was unaware of. Starcraft II, Grand Theft Auto 4 and San Andreas, Diablo II, etc.
I spent a truly ridiculous amount of money on a 55 inch Samsung 3D tv a couple years ago. There was a package deal, so we bought two pair of 3D glasses to go with them.

Before someone says something bitchy/nasty about having to wearing glasses to watch 3D tv...

Not everyone out there is blessed with perfect eyes, so we're already going into this wearing glasses. Thus, it's not really a huge deal for us.

And before you ask, yes, the 3D ones fit nicely over our existing prescription glasses.

I love this thing. LOL
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I spent a truly ridiculous amount of money on a 55 inch Samsung 3D tv a couple years ago. There was a package deal, so we bought two pair of 3D glasses to go with them.

Before someone says something bitchy/nasty about having to wearing glasses to watch 3D tv...

Not everyone out there is blessed with perfect eyes, so we're already going into this wearing glasses. Thus, it's not really a huge deal for us.

And before you ask, yes, the 3D ones fit nicely over our existing prescription glasses.

I love this thing. LOL

If you have that, you are getting the same sort of 3D technology you get in the theater as well as the LG 3D TV. It is called "passive polarized" (your Samsung and the LG 3D) "active shutter" uses a different technology, where the glasses are powered and they require an IR control unit (Nvidia 3D Vision). But each manufacturer uses a different shutter rate and a different take on the (proprietary) technology:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/225218/active_3d_vs_passive_3d.html

The red/cyan glasses is the oldest, most accessible 3D technology. Anaglyph images can be made with any camera, and can display on any TV or phone or tablet or even in a magazine. As long as you can get each eye to see a different picture, you can create 3D effects. :)
 

Illiterati

Council Member & Author
If you have that, you are getting the same sort of 3D technology you get in the theater as well as the LG 3D TV. It is called "passive polarized" (your Samsung and the LG 3D) "active shutter" uses a different technology, where the glasses are powered and they require an IR control unit (Nvidia 3D Vision). But each manufacturer uses a different shutter rate and a different take on the (proprietary) technology:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/225218/active_3d_vs_passive_3d.html

The red/cyan glasses is the oldest, most accessible 3D technology. Anaglyph images can be made with any camera, and can display on any TV or phone or tablet or even in a magazine. As long as you can get each eye to see a different picture, you can create 3D effects. :)
The glasses we use do have batteries, and are called "Active Glasses", according to the sleeves we keep them in. So, no, they're not the "passive" variety.

http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs-accessories/SSG-2100AB/ZA

And contrary to the comment in the article, I really don't notice a weight issue.

The batteries are replaceable, so you aren't having to hook them up for recharging. That said, these have had the same batteries since we bought the set a little over 2 years ago. They're the round, skinny kind of batteries.
 
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