Wall-Sized 3D Gaming With Nvidia 3D Vision

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A couple of months ago, we built a 3D dual-projector system, just like in movie theaters. Now, we're comparing it to Nvidia's 3D Vision projector-based setup to see which option offers the best consumer-level 3D experience for your living room.

Benchmark Results: Dungeons And Dragons Online

Dungeons and Dragons Online is a quality product that has something no other major MMO can boast: free play. We take Turbine's free MMO out for a spin in stereoscopic 3D to get a feel for the epic environments. The game doesn't disappoint and provides a richness that surprises us.

We use the following settings for our tests: 1280x720 (native projector resolution), ultra-high details (DirectX 10 disabled), and 4x MSAA.

While the 3D Vision drivers allow us to enable DirectX 10 and 11 if the graphics card supports it, we turn it off to benchmark for this title so that the performance results are comparable to the dual-projection numbers. 

Game Experience using 3D Vision:

The 3D Vision information states that this game is not yet rated for 3D Vision use. But if it were, the game would easily achieve a good rating. Everything looks fine, and shadows are lovely. The only problem is that the sky texture is seen from a different angle with each eye, but this can be fixed by adjusting the convergence.

Comparing with the Polarized Dual-Projector Drivers:

Since the TriDef driver crashes when we try to use it with this game, we can only talk about the iZ3D driver, which produces results that are visually identical to the 3D Vision driver as far as we can tell. The only problem is that the iZ3D driver only displays the mouse cursor for one eye. It is workable, but because of the cursor issue, it's not as pleasant as the 3D Vision option.

The only visual issue of note here is the sky texture. Each perspective seems to show a different version of the clouds

Dungeons and Dragons Online 3D Stereo Performance:

As you can see, 3D Vision performance is similar to iZ3D performance on the GeForce GTX 260, but boasts the added bonus of being able to see the mouse cursor with both eyes.

Don Woligroski
84 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hemburger
    I'd rather wall sized 1080p playback than wall sized 3D playback. = )
    Reply
  • Lmeow
    I would love to have a 3D system like this, unfortunately it's nCredibly expensive...
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    I don't care about 3D.
    Reply
  • infodan
    What about DLP 3D? the projector supports it, DLP-link glasses are cheaper and dont require a transmitter like the nvidia glasses.
    Reply
  • TheStealthyOne
    "The whole experiment consisted of about $2500 worth of hardware and software, NOT including the PC driving the displays."

    I cringed.
    Reply
  • kolsky
    I own a acer h5360 and I agree, it is awesome watching 3d movies on it. 1080p? Dont even notice pixellation at 115 inch screen. 720p is fine and at a great price. 1080p 3d projectors will be extremely expensive for average consumers.
    Reply
  • proxy711
    kolsky 3d is extremely expensive for average consumers.
    Fixed.
    Reply
  • Rickyw972
    Is this projector better than the Mitshibshi 73" 1080p dlp for $1100?
    Reply
  • kolsky
    Im sorry, but 3d is NOT expensive. The acer 5360 can be bought for as low as 580 and the nvidia vision glasses kit can be bought for as low as 150. That is under 1,000... less than the cost of a 3D TV.
    Reply
  • DaFees
    Interesting read, but ultimately all this 3D talk leaves me with a big question. I have a PS3 and if I upgrade my PC to a 3D vision enabled PC is there a projector (perhaps the one discussed in this article) that would allow me to enjoy the 3D from my PS3 and my PC? I understand if I would need a switch between devices or manually switch cables. I know NVIDIA is working on a 3DTV play tech that let's you use the glasses of 3D enabled HDTV to enjoy NVIDIA 3D Vision, but is there a similar option for projectors?
    Reply