Nvidia 3D Vision

[Sky]

I heard about that last night and was interested in what it meant. Unfortunately, I don't think my glasses will work with the tv without the pc, and I don't think the older sets have dedicated glasses like the new Samsungs. So I guess I'm also in the computer viewing boat.

[Cyrrex]

Yeah, I don't think our shutter glasses currently work with any television set up (though I sure as hell hope Nvidia is working with these people), so it'll have to be computer streaming for now.  Not even sure how that's going to work yet, but hopefully it will become apparent.

[Sky]

Just open the URL in your 3d video player, apparently.

[Cyrrex]

I'm trying to recall if I even have the video player installed.  Guess it was on the cd.

[Cyrrex]

Installed the player.  Maybe I'm being super dense, but I don't see an option to paste in a URL...it was supposed to be under the File menu, but it isn't there.  Ideas?  By the way, here's the URL if you're interested (though it only works at certain times of the day, apparently):

mms://a424.l858442423.c8584.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/424/8584/v0001/reflector:42423

[Sky]

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3D_vision_video_player_1.5.5a.html

# Adds online 3D streaming capability via File > Open URL

Also:

2010 Masters Tournament 3D Live Broadcast Schedule (from www.masters.com/3D)
All times are Eastern Daylight Time. Check your timezone to ensure you don’t miss it.

    * Wednesday, April 7: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
    * Thursday, April 8: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
    * Friday, April 9: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m
    * Saturday, April 10: 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m
    * Sunday, April 11: 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

[Cyrrex]

Awesome....except, it wasn't so awesome.  It was in very poor quality/resolution, and there was no way to adjust the depth.  If this is what 3D TV is going to look like, then regular HD beats it all sideways.

[Sky]

The tech definitely has potential, with the drawbacks you mentioned to surmount. Slight choppiness in crowd shots, but it was also really cool. If they broadcast the NFL in 3d, even with that amount of compression, I'd consider watching it. I imagine they'll fix some of the compression issues for tv, but I'm not sure you can stream a 1080p 120Hz signal over the internet.

It does look cool, though. Welcome to being an early adopter :) I remember the days of less than a dozen HD channels.

[Prospero]

I got my 3D stuff setup today. All I can say is 

[Sky]

GTA IV gets a couple big thumbs up. As with HUD games, have to dial back convergence so the HUD elements aren't out of depth. Need to turn off shadows, but the shadows were pretty wonky anyway. Main drawback is having to dial back texture res to medium, it put the memory usage on my 8800gtx (756MB) into the red on high textures. Still, it would chug in some spots; raining at night in a full-on police chase was a bit chuggy...but also completely awesome. I just started running people over because the effect was so cool.

For the health of my gpu, though, I think I'll stick to 2D. Pushed the heat levels into Crysis realms, 87C. Sizzle mah gpizzle.

[Sky]

DiRT2 - Game looks good, with some pretty major flaws.

In the 'menu' areas, it's all 3D stuff, with the camera pulled super close. Looks great...with convergence dialed way back. Way back. Might even think about dialing back depth (which I leave at 65%), if not for the second issue...it cheats on the effects. 2D lights, shadow and well, dirt. That last one really hurt playability imo, since it's a major portion of the gameplay (unless you're always in the lead, then nm). A few minor issues with HUD depth in the menus as well, but not game-breaking.

Ran really well, but the cheating on volumetrics is probably a game-breaker for most people. Far Cry 2's cheating is overlookable in most situations, but DiRT2 probably isn't.

[Sky]

Needed a change of pace from GTA4 (which I'm not playing in 3d due to the demanding engine, I might try to revisit it after tweaking down settings at some point). Popped in Dragon Age to pursue my career as an evil elven mage bent on destruction of all humankind. Games looks damned nice in 3d, though as with Dawn of Discovery, there are some issues reading the small fonts.

Just read that Mafia II is going to be 3d vision-ready. I'm probably going to need a new gpu at some point Shouldn't bitch, though, my 8800gtx is still performing quite respectably after more than three years of service!  Only GTA4 (in 3d) or Crysis put the sizzle on it.

I don't think anyone else is using a DLP, are you? Mitsubishi just announced a kit to make all their '3d-ready' DLPs compliant with the new standards. I'm trying to find out how much of a pita that's going to be, but there probably won't be solid solutions until later in the year (kit rumored to be released next month). My only fear is having to get behind the set to swap out emitters: nvidia emitter for pc gaming and the mitsu emitter for cable tv and movies.

Maybe if I can get a compliant blu ray drive for the pc it will only be a swap out for cable. So much fun being an early adopter...but it really is nice playing with the toys.

[Sky]

Finally got to Overlord from the xmas sale :) It's not a listed title, but it works well with 3d Vision. There's some issue with environment effects (heat shimmer and fog), not a game-breaker, not as bad as the fire and smoke in Far Cry 2, for instance. I have the amBX or whatever enabled, which is supposed to be some effect thingie, I keep forgetting to test the game with it off.

3D looks great and the game seems to be well-suited to it, static distance to your avatar, the minions point out of the screen, etc. The glasses + gamepad make this a great experience, just a nice, fun, mindless diversion after a day working out in the yard.

Didn't try ME2 in 3D, with 90º and 80%rh conditions in the living room, it was sizzling my gpu without 3D Vision enabled. Going to need a new gpu at some point for newer games.

[Cyrrex]

Semi-necro.

Ordered the $2.50 version of KOTOR off of steam, for no other reason than to see if I could get that version of it to work with 3D Vision.  No dice.  I don't get it.  It's supposed to work well with this game, but I cannot even force it on for some reason.

[Tale]

Do you guys realise this (3D shutter glasses used with 3D video cards) has been on the market for over a decade? They were boxed together for a while in the late 1990s when I was a PC magazine reviewer. I've still got an old GeForce 2 box with the glasses and I used to play Quake 1 this way. It worked exactly the same as it does now, exactly the same experience.

The companies have dug out their old tech, which was a fad in 1999 and is a fad now. Yes, it works, yes, there is depth perception and yes, it's pretty. But no, you won't play games or watch TV like this long term because wearing the glasses is a hassle, it doesn't add any fun and it can have negative effects on real life depth perception (e.g. driving after playing a 3D game all day) when you do it longterm.

[Cyrrex]

Do you guys realise this (3D shutter glasses used with 3D video cards) has been on the market for over a decade? They were boxed together for a while in the late 1990s when I was a PC magazine reviewer. I've still got an old GeForce 2 box with the glasses and I used to play Quake 1 this way. It worked exactly the same as it does now, exactly the same experience.

The companies have dug out their old tech, which was a fad in 1999 and is a fad now. Yes, it works, yes, there is depth perception and yes, it's pretty. But no, you won't play games or watch TV like this long term because wearing the glasses is a hassle, it doesn't add any fun and it can have negative effects on real life depth perception (e.g. driving after playing a 3D game all day) when you do it longterm.

I sort of knew that, but so what?  For starters, I doubt they were operating on decent monitors at 120hz....Nvidia themselves have said that they stopped with the old tech for exactly that reason.  Second, games looked like ass back then compared to today.  Third, I'm sure the technology has improved all around (the glasses, the drivers, the games, the monitors).

I downloaded the Tomb Raider: Underworld demo yesterday (the one Sky has been on about), and it looks amazing with this stuff.  Mind blowingly good. 

You're probably right about the effects it can have, but this isn't the kind of thing you do all day. 

[Sky]

My 3d glasses killed a homeless guy.

[glennshin]

*Necro*
3d is way to sweet (when it works) to let this die.

Per your recommendation, grabbed Underworld  a handful of other Tomb Raider games during this Steam sale. The wife was hooked & replaying all of them. Underworld looks friggin amazing. I watched her play for a bit. Got accused of staring at 3d ass. Guilty.

Anyway, please to be having more 3d recommendations!

Octodad worked fairly well in 3d.
Diablo3 is ass - apparently need a Helixmod.

Has anyone gotten Skyrim to work?

[Sky]

I need to dig the glasses out and see if they are working with my current setup. Sure, it's gimmicky, but when I'm in the mood for it, it's aaaamazing. Most of my recommendations should be here already, it hasn't worked in a couple years.

Don't remember if I mentioned Far Cry 2, that was good, iitc. I enjoyed driving in 3d in that one. Speaking of which, I bet Euro Trucker would rock in 3d...

[Cyrrex]

Left for Dead worked well for it as well.

[glennshin]

For me, it's a little more substantial than a 'gimmick'. When it works, it's pretty fuckin immersive. So much so that I'm hard pressed to buy anything that doesn't support 3d anymore. (one finger death punch exempt).

Hell, we're about to upgrade to 4k tvs, but I told the wife I'd rather have bigger 3d than higher res 2d since it's just a more unique experience.
It's the closest I'm going to get to the Holodeck dammit.

Ya Far Cry is pretty. Any game that has actually geometry for foliage feels nice (Just Cause 2).

[Sky]

I agree, I don't really consider it a gimmick when it's working well. It's really amazing, but I guess it's a matter of taste.

Games like Tomb Raider Underworld it's so far beyond gimmicky, playing it in 2d seems like a massive downgrade. I like a pretty healthy convergence spread, though. Lots of depth to it, I push it as far as I can without side effects.

[Sky]

I was poking around trying to troubleshoot (again) the issue I had back when. Seems it might be a faulty IR transmitter. As I said, I'll have to hook it up to all the new stuff and see if it works now...but a quick look at online stores shows it out of stock almost everywhere. Did nvidia orphan the project? Answered - https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/793191/3d-vision/3d-vision-2-kit-supply-vanishing-/

Also, this might be dated, but a good list nonetheless: http://lists.bo3b.net/s3d/index.php

This also seems like a good site to bookmark: http://helixmod.blogspot.com/2013/10/game-list-automatically-updated.html

[Sky]

Found my emitter in 1 minute. 2 hours later, no idea where the glasses are.

 

[glennshin]

That's a nice list.

I didn't realize the 3d catalogue goes pretty far back (psychonauts).  So many games to re-install and test now. W/ the Helix mods, this'll keep me busy well into next year.

I tried Never Alone - and the s3d works, just crashes after awhile. Some guys on the geforce forum are already working on it though.

On a productivity note - I can't find any solid leads to getting 3d creation software to display stereoscopic. I was at a Siggraph & asked Nvidia reps directly. They just kept telling me to buy Quadro cards. There's a couple links that show it works on Quadros, but I don't have that kinda of disposable cash. There's just got to be a way on consumer GPUs.

[Sky]

I'm starting to get really fucking pissed I can't find those goddamned glasses now.