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3D: Coming to a screen near you

Posted on 15 May 2009 at 16:04

Until now, polarisation has been the main type of 3D available to gamers, thanks to Zalman's Trimon monitors. We tested them in 2007 and were impressed by the lack of eyestrain and the depth in the games that were supported. But that support was the key stumbling block: the list of compatible games was short and lacked any recent blockbusters, while the adapted Nvidia driver was based on 18-month-old code and only worked with last-generation graphics cards. Being a low-key components manufacturer rather than a major graphics player, Zalman found it tough to persuade games developers and Nvidia to play ball.

What 3D really needed was a major name with the clout to prompt both the gaming world and the monitor market into action, and at CES this year it got it. Nvidia announced its GeForce 3D Vision project, which takes advantage of its relationship with the world's biggest games developers to overcome a major issue that's held back 3D. Put simply, the biggest factor in determining the overall effectiveness of 3D is the starting point. Converting a flat 2D image to 3D will never be truly accurate and effective because, without information about the positions of the objects in the scene, all depth must necessarily be estimated.

In contrast, GeForce 3D Vision is centred on the inherent advantage today's games hold over existing films: they're generated on-the-fly, which means with a few tweaks it's possible for the Nvidia graphics card in your PC to convert the game engine into ready-made 3D before it renders the image. So, by reading the z-buffer (depth) information in the code, 3D Vision knows precisely where objects should be in the scene and can dynamically alter their position to produce two images that accurately represent the perspective of each eye. The difference this makes to the 3D effect is enormous, and must be seen to be truly appreciated.

Nvidia has opted for active-shutter technology, which is a gamble. Unlike the interlaced image of a polarised screen, this produces a full-resolution image for each eye, so it pushes the graphics card harder than usual. Nvidia claims the frame rate should drop only between a quarter and a third, but you'll still need a decent PC to run it smoothly. And then there's the primary reason Nvidia has waited until now to enter the arena. Today's desktop TFTs refresh at 60Hz, which is fast enough to avoid flickering and eyestrain, but as active-shutter technology works by alternating two images the effective refresh rate is halved to 30Hz. To achieve the same 60Hz smoothness a 120Hz display is therefore required, which is why Nvidia has partnered with manufacturers to bring the next generation of TFTs to the market.

Samsung's SyncMaster 2233RZ and ViewSonic's FuHzion VX2265wm are the UK's first 120Hz desktop TFTs, and will be available in a bundle with Nvidia's GeForce 3D Vision kit. Initial prices will be high: Nvidia is talking £130 for its glasses and transceiver kit, and Samsung intends to charge at least £300 for its 22in monitor. That may seem like a major barrier, but Nvidia is taking the long-term view.

"This is initially about getting the product out there for early adopters," said Ben Berraondo, Nvidia's UK PR manager. "But with products like GeForce 3D Vision to drive demand, we can see all mid to high-end TFTs being 120Hz as early as 2010."

The biggest problem will be getting people to see for themselves how good current 3D looks, and in this task Nvidia may rely on another major player already taking those steps: Hollywood.