- Sep 4, 2007
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Well i just spent the better part of the last 24 hours tinkering with Nvidia's 3DTV Play add-on for existing Nvision owners on my Samsung LN46C750 46-Inch 1080p 3D LCD HDTV and I must say I am impressed. While the 3D Play software did not recognize Aliens vs Predator as a supported title, it really stood out in the games I tested. At one point I literally ducked when a steel beam looked as if it were going to hit me in the head. That said i was sitting about 36 inches away from my screen making the experience that much more immersive. I am not however without my compliments.
As a PC gamer at heart...Playing games at a lower resolution then I am normally accustomed to drives me absolutely crazy. To elaborate I have been gaming at 1080P for some time on a large screen. While 3D HDTV's do have 1080P screens when you go to 3D game mode the image is dropped to 720P@60hz per eye. Lets just say no amount of filtering could get rid of the jaggies we PC gamers SOO strive to get rid of or at least minimize. Though for the record this is a limitation of the TV's hardware and HDMI 1.4 spec.
I tried many settings and configurations in games to eliminate this problem...even running at 24hz per eye so I could achieve 1080P which hdmi 1.4 does allow. I could get games to load and they did look gorgeous as long as you didn't move; at such a slow refresh rate games were unplayable as I suspected they would be. Though it was a nice to get a taste of whats down the potential pipeline for displays in what I hope is the very near future. Can we say 3DTV Play @1440P please???
Dispite the inability to play games at 1080P which is hardly an Nvidia issue, 3DTV play is an outstanding product if you have the hardware to support it. I had previously had an Nvision kit and setup was as easy as attaching my sensor and downloading the the latest graphics, 3Dvison drivers and a couple clicks in nvidia's control panel was all it took.
You don't need Nvidia's 3dvision glasses for this to work just your TV's. In fact they don't work for this at all rather it this was an attempt not to jade early adopters of 3dvision. If you don't have a kit you you have to pay for the use of the software, if you do its a freebie. I'd say thank you to nvidia but honestly as avid purchaser of their cards I think the software, just like physx, should be free for all who purchase their video cards. Its that freedom of choice that so many of us on PC stay on PC gaming for and I feel nvidia is shooting themselves in the foot if they keep this as a long term strategy unless conversely we don't take hit when the 3D games wave does hit. Many publishers have gone on the record saying 3D games may be as much as 10 to fifteen dollars more then regular titles on the PS 3 for example.
Unfortunately, not all my games would work (I am looking at you EA over Crysis) and others struggled to render both the frames at playible frame rates like metro 2033 unless I lowered my settings a little. Which surprised me at 720P considering I run a direct X 10 machine with 3 sli'd gtx 285 FTW's fed by a 4ghz i7 920 Cpu with 12 gigs of ram. When running in “2d” I have no trouble with maxing out metro 2033 so a heads up for those who want take the full 3D leap...your going to need some decent hardware for newer or resource hungry games at least. I am guessing two GTX 285's or preferably two GTX 460's since they have similar horsepower plus the added benefit of direct X 11.
Anyways I thought I would post this for all the technophiles who are thinking of a 3DTV to add to their PC for the holidays. If your on the fence and your OK with 720P for 3D games I would say its worth every penny and jump when your funds allow you too
As a PC gamer at heart...Playing games at a lower resolution then I am normally accustomed to drives me absolutely crazy. To elaborate I have been gaming at 1080P for some time on a large screen. While 3D HDTV's do have 1080P screens when you go to 3D game mode the image is dropped to 720P@60hz per eye. Lets just say no amount of filtering could get rid of the jaggies we PC gamers SOO strive to get rid of or at least minimize. Though for the record this is a limitation of the TV's hardware and HDMI 1.4 spec.
I tried many settings and configurations in games to eliminate this problem...even running at 24hz per eye so I could achieve 1080P which hdmi 1.4 does allow. I could get games to load and they did look gorgeous as long as you didn't move; at such a slow refresh rate games were unplayable as I suspected they would be. Though it was a nice to get a taste of whats down the potential pipeline for displays in what I hope is the very near future. Can we say 3DTV Play @1440P please???
Dispite the inability to play games at 1080P which is hardly an Nvidia issue, 3DTV play is an outstanding product if you have the hardware to support it. I had previously had an Nvision kit and setup was as easy as attaching my sensor and downloading the the latest graphics, 3Dvison drivers and a couple clicks in nvidia's control panel was all it took.
You don't need Nvidia's 3dvision glasses for this to work just your TV's. In fact they don't work for this at all rather it this was an attempt not to jade early adopters of 3dvision. If you don't have a kit you you have to pay for the use of the software, if you do its a freebie. I'd say thank you to nvidia but honestly as avid purchaser of their cards I think the software, just like physx, should be free for all who purchase their video cards. Its that freedom of choice that so many of us on PC stay on PC gaming for and I feel nvidia is shooting themselves in the foot if they keep this as a long term strategy unless conversely we don't take hit when the 3D games wave does hit. Many publishers have gone on the record saying 3D games may be as much as 10 to fifteen dollars more then regular titles on the PS 3 for example.
Unfortunately, not all my games would work (I am looking at you EA over Crysis) and others struggled to render both the frames at playible frame rates like metro 2033 unless I lowered my settings a little. Which surprised me at 720P considering I run a direct X 10 machine with 3 sli'd gtx 285 FTW's fed by a 4ghz i7 920 Cpu with 12 gigs of ram. When running in “2d” I have no trouble with maxing out metro 2033 so a heads up for those who want take the full 3D leap...your going to need some decent hardware for newer or resource hungry games at least. I am guessing two GTX 285's or preferably two GTX 460's since they have similar horsepower plus the added benefit of direct X 11.
Anyways I thought I would post this for all the technophiles who are thinking of a 3DTV to add to their PC for the holidays. If your on the fence and your OK with 720P for 3D games I would say its worth every penny and jump when your funds allow you too
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