And Why the Industry Misses the Point

I am going to take a somewhat unpopular stance: I really like stereoscopic 3D. I also expect to change your mind and get you excited about stereoscopic 3D too - unless of course a circumstance such as monovision interferes with your ability to see 3D at all. I expect to accomplish where the industry has failed simply because I will not ignore the benefits of 3D in my explanation.

Firstly - we see a crisp image when our brain is more clearly able to make out objects in a scene.

We typically have two major methods of increasing the crispness of an image: we either increase the resolution or we increase the contrast of the picture. As resolution increases we receive a finer grid of positional information to place and contain the objects in the scene. As contrast increases we receive a wider difference between the brightest points and the darkest points from a scene which prevents objects from blending together in a mess of grey.

We are also able to experience depth information by comparing the parallax effect across both of our eyes. We are able to encapsulate each object into a 3D volume and position each capsule a more defined distance apart. Encapsulated objects appear crisper because we can more clearly see them as sharply defined independent objects.

Be careful with this stereoscopic 3D image. To see the 3D effect you must slowly cross your eyes until the two images align in the center. This should only be attempted by adults with fully developed eyes and without prior medical conditions. Also, sit a comfortable distance away so you do not need to cross your eyes too far inward and rest your eyes until they no longer feel strained. In short - do not pull an eye muscle or something. Use common sense. Also move your mouse cursor far away from the image as it will break your focusing lock and click on the image to make it full sized.

Again, be careful when crossing your eyes to see stereoscopic 3D and relax them when you are done.

The above image is a scene from Unreal Tournament 3 laid out in a cross-eyed 3D format. If you are safely able to experience the 3D image then I would like you to pay careful attention to how crisp the 3D image appeared. Compare this level of crispness to either the left or right eye image by itself.

Which has the crisper picture quality?

That is basically why 3D is awesome: it makes your picture quality appear substantially better by giving your brain more information about the object. This effect can also play with how the brain perceives the world you present it: similar to how HDR tonal mapping plays with exposure ranges we cannot see and infrared photography plays with colors we cannot see to modify the photograph - which we can see - for surreal effects.

So what goes terribly wrong? Read on to the article to find out.

From Viewers Like You...

About two months ago, a viewer of the podcast that Ryan co-hosts on the This Week in Tech network, This Week in Computer Hardware, wrote in with some information that immediately excited the staff here at PC Perspective. Ryan for a long time has been of the opinion that the proliferation of 1080p displays, and prohibitive cost of high resolution monitors has been holding the industry back as a whole. With talk of 4K displays being introduced for consumers this year, a major topic on the podcast in the weeks prior to this viewer email had centered around why we haven't seen affordable 2560x1440 (or 2560x1600) displays.

This brings us back to the knowledge which the listener Jeremy bestowed upon us.  Jeremy brought to our attention that various eBay sellers were reselling and exporting generic 27", IPS, LED backlight, 2560x1440 monitors from South Korea. What is remarkable about these displays however is that various models can be found for just around, or even under $350. Everyone listening, including Ryan and his co-host Patrick Norton became immediately interested in these monitors, and I went into research mode.

Continue reading our review of the 27-in Achieva Shimian 2560x1440 monitor!

You don't have 3D Vision 2? Loser.

In conjunction with GeForce LAN 6 current taking place on the USS Hornet in Alameda, NVIDIA is announcing an upgrade to the lineup of 3D Vision technologies.  Originally released back in January of 2009, 3D Vision was one of the company's grander attempts to change the way PC gamers, well, game.  Unfortunately for NVIDIA and the gaming community, running a 3D Vision setup required a new, much more expensive display as well as some glasses that originally ran $199.

While many people, including myself, were enamored with 3D technology when we first got our hands on it, the novelty kind of wore off and I found myself quickly back on the standard panels for gaming.  The reasons were difficult to discern at first but it definitely came down to some key points:

• Cost
• Panel resolution
• Panel size
• Image quality

The cost was obvious - having to pay nearly double for a 3D Vision capable display just didn't jive for most PC gamers and then the need to have to purchase $200 glasses made it even less likely that you would plop down the credit card.  Initial 3D Vision ready displays, while also being hard to find, were limited to a resolution of 1680x1050 and were only available in 22-in form factors.  Obviously if you were interested in 3D technology you were likely a discerning gamer and running at lower resolutions would be less than ideal.  

The new glasses - less nerdy?

Yes, 24-in and 1080p panels did come in 2010 but by then much of the hype surrounding 3D Vision had worn off.  To top it all off, even if you did adopt a 3D Vision kit of your own you realized that the brightness of the display was basically halved when operating in 3D mode - with one shutter of your glasses covered at any given time, you only receive half the total output from the screen leaving the image quality kind of drab and washed out.  

Continue reading our preview of NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 technology!!

Introduction to the Dell U3011

The days of “Dude, you're getting a Dell” might be long gone but when you are talking about monitors it suddenly becomes apropos again. Dell has been making good quality, large size monitors for long enough to be recognized as a major player in the field and the 30” Dell U3011 is a perfect example of why. Anyone who has seen a true 16:10, 2560x1600 display has probably had the temptation to tell a smug owner of a 50”+ 1080p LCD TV that their computer monitor goes up to 1600p. That jump in resolution has far more effect on your enjoyment than slapping on 3D glasses to watch golf with golfball sized pixels.

This particular display is a CCFL backlit H-IPS TFT, using an LG LM300WQ5 panel and does indeed have a full 30” viewing area, the actual monitor is over 32” horizontally with the bezel included, something to keep in mind if you plan on using multiple displays. With that great size comes some difficulties, while nowhere near the weigh of a large sized CRT the over 20lbs of the U3011 can make removing it from the box and positioning it interesting to say the least. Also something to keep in mind is that according to Dell, in regular use this monitor draws 110W and can pull up to 250W when USB drives are in use and you’ve bought and installed a Dell Soundbar.

Overview

Today we take a look at the Asus Designo Series MS238H LCD Display. Have the innovative design choices Asus has made with this monitor paid off? Read our review inside to find out.

A Fistfull of Dollars...

Tired of waiting to dump that old CRT based TV and get a shiny, new widescreen LCD panel? Well, the time may finally be here to do that for a large portion of consumers. With LCD panel prices dropping, and old models being phased out for new. I was able to get my hands on the LG 47LH30 widescreen high definition TV for a very attractive price, and thought that I would share my experiences with our readers.

Introduction, Features, Specifications

When I'm on the go covering technology events or press conferences, my 15" laptop rarely has enough real estate compared to when I'm at the office using my dual 24" LCDs. Sometimes, I just need a few more inches of space to monitor e-mail, instant messaging, and even my MP3 playlist. One relatively inexpensive solution to this dilemma is Lilliput's 7" mini USB monitor.

Introduction and Specifications

The ASUS line of LCD monitors continues to impress us with their lineup of features, performance and low price. The new VW266H display is a 25.5-in offering with a 1920x1200 resolution that includes HDMI, component, DVI and VGA inputs with support for coaxial digital audio output or you can use the integrated 2-channel speakers. All of this at an incredible price as well!

Introduction and Specifications

Viewsonic has a value monitor that comes in at 22 inches and a price point that should get most gamers to finally move on from the 15-19 inch displays. Read our review to get the highs and lows of moving up in the world!