Saturday, April 29, 2017

3D Gaming: Nvidia 3D Vision, PC Games on Passive TV, Splitscreen & Co.

If you want to enjoy stereoscopic 3D games from the PC on the monitor with Nvidia 3D Vision 2 or on the (passive) 3D TV with polarization technology, you will find all the information in this 3D guide.


3D Gaming & Co .: Basic Requirements


In 2010, Stereo 3D was the big trend at the IFA - the International Radio Exhibition. Not only have TV, monitors, Blu-ray players, AV receivers and, of course, PCs and game consoles been able to cope with the enormous amounts of data and the formats used, thanks to transmission standards such as HDMI 1.4a currently. A suitable HDMI connection is now found in almost all current devices for entertainment electronics.


3D Gaming: Case 1 - Nvidia 3D Vision 2 at the PC


Lesetipp: HDMI wireless - so it's


3D Gaming: Case 2 - Nvidia 3D Vision 2 with Polarization TV + 3DTV Play


In this article, we will focus on the latest 3D techniques. In conjunction with the PC, we will focus on Nvidia's "3D Vision 2" technology. We cling to the obsolete and somewhat unsatisfying anaglyph technique with red-cyan, red-green or red-blue spectacles. The current techniques are, on the one hand, the active shutter technology and, on the other hand, the polarization technique known to you from the 3D cinema.


3D Gaming: Case 3 - Nvidia 3D Vision 2 with Passive TV and EDID Override


In the former technique, a screen display rapidly alternates between the left and right eyes, requiring at least 120 hertz at the refresh rate of the monitor. An active pair of glasses with correspondingly synchronized locks for both eyes ensures that every eye gets the right picture in a fast change. Advantage: There is no loss of brightness and as a rule, the user enjoys real Full HD. Disadvantage: The glasses are expensive - a Nvidia 3D Vision 2 glasses to be retrofitted costs about 100 euros.


In the case of the passive polarization technique, a screen divides the vertical resolution, the two necessary individual images for the 3D effect are arranged line-wise and alternately. The screen illuminates one line with normal, and the next line with polarized light. Glasses with a "normal" glass and another glass, which only transmits polarized light, ensure that the eyes see the correct single image.


Then the brain can recognize the 3D effect and interpret it accordingly. It does not require 120 hertz on the screen. Advantage: The glasses are considerably cheaper. Disadvantage: The full-HD resolution of a Blu-ray is only half the vertical, and usually a more or less diminishing brightness loss, because each single frame in practice is only half the LCD illumination of the screen


At least one HDMI connection with the specified HDMI 1.4a specification for each device involved is essential if you want to use Stereo 3D in conjunction with classical entertainment electronics such as TV and AV receivers. If only the PC is involved, with a given hardware - we chose Nvidia 3D Vision 2 - a dual-link DVI cable as a connection cable between PC and monitor. This is usually included with the corresponding monitors. In this technique, you need an Nvidia graphics card.


Of course, the performance of the PC should not be too tight: for stereo 3D a computer has the double load - it has to calculate in parallel two individual images for one eye each. Where an ordinary office PC would be enough for movies, game components such as Battlefield 4 and Crysis 3 would require hardware components from the high-end area to enjoy 3D in combination with the best possible visual appearance Code>



Depending on which games you want to enjoy in 3D, take a look at the respective official system requirements. The default values ​​always refer to classic 2D games. Count on it generously, so that the 3D gaming experience does not hinder too little hardware. Otherwise, it is often helpful to have a look at the official forums for the respective game for more specific information.


Nvidia 3D Vision or the improved edition Nvidia 3D Vision 2 is based on Active Shutter technology. A monitor with at least 120 hertz alternates the image for the left and right eye. To synchronize the shutter glasses, a dongle or a certified monitor, which has already installed such a transmitter, is required. The Asus VG278HR with a built-in 3D dongle and supplied Nvidia 3D Vision 2 glasses is recommended.


If the hardware is connected and the monitor is detected, you only need to call up the Nvidia system control and activate Stereo 3D. In games, many are supported by the house, call the 3D mode with the standard key combination "CTRL + T". With "Ctrl" + "F3" and "Ctrl" + "F4" you can adjust the depth effect. A 3D laser guide helps you to select the screen center. This makes sense with ego-shooters - you do not always want to go past.


Nvidia 3D Vision 2 supports only certified monitors, which can provide the 3D glasses with enough pictures (at least 120 hertz). If you want to use a polarization TV, the world of Nvidia 3D will not be closed. If a passive TV is connected to your graphics card via HDMI, change the screen output under Windows to "Duplicate". Then the Nvidia driver detects a connected polarization TV and automatically provides 3DTV Play mode.


3D gaming: special case - Splitscreen gaming


This mode is used to operate 3D TVs with their own 3D technology together with Nvidia hardware in the PC. The driver reaches the video signal in the right format to the TV and you enjoy stereo 3D on your home television. If you own the Nvidia 3D Vision 2 Kit with glasses and dongle, the 3DTV Play driver is integrated. There will be a separate payment of 40 euros.


However, there is also a trial version that works two weeks before you are prompted for payment. The disadvantage of this variant is that you can operate the 3D signal only in 1.920 x 1.080 with 24 hertz or in 1.280 x 720 with 60 hertz. This is fine for movies. With games and with a full-HD screen, however, you will not achieve satisfactory results. Instead, the next section is likely to be of interest to you.


If you want to play in the correct resolution on your TV, we recommend the EDID Override method. This takes advantage of the fact that Nvidia 3D Vision not only supports only active 3D monitors. There are few models of Acer, Asus or Zalman with polarization technology that support Nvidia 3D Vision officially.


The EDID Override, an article in the following, describes how to use Nvidia 3D Vision on passive 3D screens. Basically, you just force an alternative driver for your TV. Then the Nvidia hardware and software plays. Then you can play in the correct resolution and correct refresh rate of your TV.


The following case does not really have anything to do with stereo 3D. Splitscreen gaming technology only uses line or column-wise interlacing of the passive 3D image to display classic, horizontal, or vertically split splitscreen games so that each player sees their own screen to their full extent. This requires special passive glasses: for example, the Hama Dual Gaming polarizing glasses on Amazon. These are not those which transmit different light, but a pair of those which only transmit conventionally polarized or only interpolated light. Thus, one player sees a "normally lit" image, while the other sees an interpolated one. The result: everyone has the full screen for themselves.

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