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eDimensional Wired 3D Glasses Review

Julio writes "Today at TechSpot we have reviewed eDimensional's Wired 3D Glasses, based on the original 3D Stereo technology that became popular a few years ago, these revamped version of the glasses seem to offer much more value and compatibility to the table. Adding amazing effects to games we tested which include Jedi Outcast and some other racing and flight simulators, this item could easily make it into your holiday shop list... "The images looked very cool, and I spent about 10 minutes gawking at my new surroundings. After playing around with Jedi Outcast, I was ready for more. I checked the supported game list, and just about every game I had was listed there.""

210 comments

  1. But what about.. by inteller · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    ....I can't even get my asus glasses to work wth anything....can this be that much better?

    1. Re:But what about.. by syrinx · · Score: 4, Funny

      ok, I swear I thought that said "anus glasses".

      i really need some sleep.

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
    2. Re:But what about.. by freeweed · · Score: 2

      My ASUS glasses work nicely with pretty much any openGL game ... that I've tried. My current system is old enough that much past Quake 2 and it won't run worth beans. Looks nice in Q2 though, but a little headache-inducing.

      --
      Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
  2. Not for me. by FreeLinux · · Score: 2

    These things always give me a head-ache. Also, how do people with glasses manage with these?

    1. Re:Not for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      contact lenses

    2. Re:Not for me. by Kenja · · Score: 1
      Two things.

      1. Higher refresh means less headaches. You want at least 120hz so that each eye gets 60+.

      2. Some people have one eye that is weaker then the other. Using steroscopic shutter glasses will in fact improve or reballance your eyes. If you can deal with your head pounding in the mean time.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    3. Re:Not for me. by grub · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have some glasses from Elsa which work great. The arms are designed to stay well away from your head so the arms of your regular glasses dont interfere. Unless your lenses are the big goofy ones worn in the 80's these types of glasses should fit over them well.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    4. Re:Not for me. by ModernGeek · · Score: 0

      What if you wore contact lenses?

      --
      Sig: I stole this sig.
    5. Re:Not for me. by djhertz · · Score: 0

      Have you (or anybody) tried the other VR solutions that are not 3d? I was thinking about picking up some i-glasses http://www.i-glassesstore.com/ but with prices up to a grand.. it's a tough call. Thoughts on this folks?

      --
      Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise - William Shakespeare
  3. But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Will it let you see the fnords?


    "My God, it's full of trolls..."

    1. Re:But... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Will it let you see the"

      The what? Will it let me see the what? maybe you hit Submit to early?

  4. I'll only buy these if... by mr_gerbik · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll only buy these if they support my favorite porn sites and virtual girlfriend games...

    1. Re:I'll only buy these if... by still_sick · · Score: 2

      How'd this get modded up as funny. I couldn't agree with him more!

      --
      ...Also, I didn't know Buggalo could fly.
  5. Headaches? by masonbrown · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I worked at SGI for a while - they had stereo goggles years ago, even had a couple of pairs lying around. No one used them at all because they gave people SEVERE headaches....

    1. Re:Headaches? by fobbman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Those older SGI glasses were twin 14" monitors strapped to the persons head. That might explain the headaches.

    2. Re:Headaches? by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 2

      When I was working in Intel's game lab I had a 52" plasma display that was going to replace the large TV in the corner of the lab for demo's.

      before we put it up I had it on my desk for a little while as my monitor. I never had eye problems or headaches until I tried sitting 2 feet from a 52" monitor running quake off the brand spanking new GF2 64.

      talk about eye-wobble.

  6. I own these glasses by esac17 · · Score: 5, Informative

    But I currently have them up for sale. After purchasing them, I tried to get them to work with my ATI Radeon, and it had limited support.

    It worked great for browsing the 3D pictures on their website, but when it came to games, nothing I did could get it to work properly.

    I then tried it on my friends NVIDIA card, and we got quake3 working, and I have to admit, it is a lot better than the previous 3d glasses (ie; asus). After playing with them and being amazed for about 30 minutes, all I could really think though was 'novelty'. They didn't enhance game play in any way, and it actually took relearning some of my trained reactions in quake3.

    Unfortunately my main goal was to get it working in Dungeon Siege, and I could never accomplish that.

    2.5 stars/5

    1. Re:I own these glasses by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well that certainly puts me farther away from considering ATI in the future. Nvidia's 3d support is excellent.

      NVidia's drivers work with Stereoscopic LCD shutter, and Red/blue (can't remember the technical name). Red/blue doesn't cause the headaches, but takes a long time to get used to, and is like playing on a computer indoors with heavily tinted sunglasses on (which is essentially what the glasses used for the effect are). After a while, you do adjust color perception to ignore the tint, but it still makes things far too dark for my tastes.

      The major problem with shutter-based glasses is that most monitors don't support a refresh rate high enough for the trick to work without perceived flickering (which causes the headaches). A minimum of 120 hz is required to get a somewhat reasonable 60 frames/sec/eye. Unfornately most current displays don't support that high a rate at anything much over 800x600, which isn't really all that great for game play.

      Given the choice between high-res, high quality graphics, and comparitively low-res stereoscopic displays, I'll take quality over stereo every time. Hope this improves soon.


      Disclaimer: These appear to be the same glasses I already have, but since I can't get past the first page of the article, I can't tell if there has been some new breakthrough with them that I'm unaware of. Can't see how the glasses, being shutter based, can get around the Display Refresh issue, though)

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    2. Re:I own these glasses by FrenZon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Nvidia's drivers work with Stereoscopic LCD shutter, and Red/blue"

      These drivers also work with proper VR Head Mounted Displays (Such as the relatively cheap i-o SVGA 3D glasses), making them their cards the perfect CHEAP choice for homebrew VR developers.


      Ugh, I had to post this message by VNCing to my home machine because /. seems to have blocked my entire IP block from posting.

    3. Re:I own these glasses by Wolfier · · Score: 1

      >NVidia's drivers work with Stereoscopic LCD
      >shutter, and Red/blue (can't remember the
      >technical name).

      Anaglyph

    4. Re:I own these glasses by Radical+Rad · · Score: 2
      making them their cards the perfect CHEAP choice for homebrew VR developers.

      Great, can you tell me where to download libraries then? I looked and looked but couldn't find a thing. Now my glasses sit unused in the original box. I would prefer Linux libs but I might use Windows 9x if there is no other choice.

      My experience with these glasses (i-o glasses) was not very positive. The drivers wouldn't work worth a damn. So I downloaded drivers from their competitor and those worked somewhat. I also downloaded the Nvidia drivers. Between the three I kept ghosting my machine and reloading because once a driver was loaded it never seemed to uninstall clean so I could load a different driver. That caused the sequence of loading the drivers to make a difference and the original drivers would work after I loaded one of the other sets of drivers over the top. I had both a 3dfx banshee and a GeForce2 Mx400. The drivers seemed to want a monitor capable of unimaginably high refresh rates. I tried several monitors and they all cost plenty but could only get 3d at the lowest refresh setting. So what kind of Buck Rogers monitor do you need to buy to make the things work right?

      On the other hand, I did get several games to work using various combinations and loading sequences of the drivers. Re-Volt was extremely cool in 3D and I didn't get headaches either.

    5. Re:I own these glasses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't they use polarized lenses instead of tinted lenses?

    6. Re:I own these glasses by djhertz · · Score: 0

      I don't suppose you (or anybody) has tried the other VR solutions that are not 3d? I was thinking about picking up some i-glasses http://www.i-glassesstore.com/ but with prices up to a grand.. it's a tough call. Ideas folks?

      --
      Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise - William Shakespeare
    7. Re:I own these glasses by Mafiew · · Score: 1

      Then the monitor would have to put out polarized light for the effect to work which it just can't do.

    8. Re:I own these glasses by praedor · · Score: 1, Troll

      After playing with them and being amazed for about 30 minutes, all I could really think though was 'novelty'. They didn't enhance game play in any way, and it actually took relearning some of my trained reactions in quake3.



      How does the use of 3-d glasses alter your use of cheats?


      --
      In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq as they increasingly merge the two in America.
    9. Re:I own these glasses by flyneye · · Score: 1

      the technical name for red/blue is anaglyph.

      i got no prob runnin my shutter glasses on 70hz.
      my prob is that even once i got used to them and didnt get the headachy stuff,i was so INTO the look of quake3 i couldnt hit crap unless i concentrated on the game instead of the immersion.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  7. Not quite 3 dimensional by product+byproduct · · Score: 4, Funny

    eDimensional means 2.71828dimensional.

    1. Re:Not quite 3 dimensional by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heh, that's clever!

    2. Re:Not quite 3 dimensional by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fractals are fractionally-dimensional objects, mathematically speaking, aren't they? But who would want to buy fractured (fractalled) glasses?

      Ok, so maybe puns don't work so well in print.

  8. One flaw... by Cyclopedian · · Score: 3, Funny
    This device needs stereoscopic vision, which some people don't have.

    It could be as simple as one eye with a cataract (cloudy vision), so you begin to rely solely on one eye.

    Wake me when they start to have glasses that can fire lasers into your eye to display images. It could possibly bypass the cataract and other ocular anomalies.

    -Cyc

    1. Re:One flaw... by Kenja · · Score: 0, Troll

      Um, yea. So name a 3D system that works with only one eye. You may as well ocmplain that people who are deaf in one ear cant hear 3D audio.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    2. Re:One flaw... by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1

      Lots of 3D cues work with only one eye. Parrallax for example. Stereoscopy is kind of overrated as far as its effect on our ability to perceive in 3d.

      --
      Why not fork?
    3. Re:One flaw... by Caffeine+Pill · · Score: 1

      Wake me when they start to have glasses that can fire lasers into your eye to display images. It could possibly bypass the cataract and other ocular anomalies.
      Bypass? Sounds like that would get rid of the cataract. Might even fix your near/far sightedness as well.
    4. Re:One flaw... by endeitzslash · · Score: 1

      Tell that to Kirby Puckett. . .

    5. Re:One flaw... by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1

      I didn't mean to say it didn't have ANY effect, I was just pointing out that stereoscopy is by no means the only way we perceive 3d, nor is it nesscessarily even the most important.

      --
      Why not fork?
    6. Re:One flaw... by MrScience · · Score: 2

      what, like the Virtual Retinal Display(VRD)? I was following this for a long time, back in 92. Looks like they partnered with Microvision to make the actual product.

      --

      You quitting proves that the karma kap worked. The most annoying of the whores shut up. --CmdrTaco

  9. I own these glasses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I currently have them up for sale. After purchasing them I tried to get them to work with my ATI Radeon, and it had limited support.

    It worked great for browsing the 3D pictures on their website, but when it came to games, nothing I did could get it to work properly.

    I then tried it on my friends NVIDIA card, and we got quake3 working, and I have to admit, it is a lot better than the previous 3d glasses (ie; asus). After playing with them and being amazed for about 30 minutes, all I could really think though was 'novelty'. They didn't enhance game play in any way, and it actually took relearning some of my trained reactions in quake3.

    Unfortunately my main goal was to get it working in Dungeon Siege, and I could never accomplish that.

    2.5 stars/5

  10. It's great to see military tech trickle down like by Hairy_Potter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    this. These were originally developed for helicopter sims, when you're flying a 10 ton bird 10 meters off the earth at 200 knots, depth perception becomes very important.

    Of course, now they cost a lot less than $10,000 a pair.

    The funny part is just how many anti-globalization peaceniks who hate the militray would just cream their Guatamalen pants to play with these, I guess military stuff is bad, unless you find it entertaining.

  11. And how... by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... would these glasses make my bash prompt look any better? Or emacs, for that matter.

    1. Re:And how... by alister667 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Fair point, but imagine what these could do for Nethack!

      --
      We ARE the peat bog soldiers.
    2. Re:And how... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you. What is it with you morons who can't think of an original joke, so you just try to one-up the guy who did? It never makes you sound intelligent; fuck you with a razor.

    3. Re:And how... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Thats why emacs sucks. Vi has supported these glasses for years.

    4. Re:And how... by leoboiko · · Score: 2, Funny

      The 3D yellow 'c' that haunts me in my dreams will come true...

      --
      Prescriptive grammar:linguistics :: alchemy:chemistry. Stop being a nazi and learn some science.
    5. Re:And how... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thats why emacs sucks. Vi has supported these glasses for years.

      Yeah, but you have to keep hitting [esc] to make it switch between eyes

  12. mineweeper! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I checked the supported game list, and just about every game I had was listed there.



    Whoa. 3-D Minesweeper...

  13. Headache quotient equation by crumbz · · Score: 3, Funny

    Amount of fun provided by 3-D glasses (1 to 100)

    divided by

    Inverse of number of minutes until splitting headache

    equals

    Headache Quotient Factor

    Hopefully HQF is > than 1000.

    1. Re:Headache quotient equation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      people like you...
      divided by inverse = straight up multiplication
      trying to be funny by overcomplicating things just makes everyone hate you.

  14. how well do these work by Shymon · · Score: 1

    anyone else ever tired these out? alot of games i play would require a good sense of depth of feild to be playable. if they make the images appear at the "wrong" distances then i wouldn't care if i could reach out and touch the images.... now p0rn sights with this might be interesting....

    1. Re:how well do these work by yo303 · · Score: 1
      These work with any existing 3d engine... games do not have to be rewritten to use the 3d features.

      The 3d engine (OpenGL, DirectX etc.) knows where each object is in 3D. Usually the video card's rendering engine draws one image per frame. The 3d glasses' engine would draw two - one for each eye, slightly to each side of the viewpoint.

      Some games fake a lot of things, however, and stuff might be drawn in the wrong place. One thing that comes to mind would be 2D sprites drawn at the front of the viewplane, when they're actually supposed to be way in the distance. A game programmed this way would look wrong in the glasses.

      I am a video game developer.

      yo.

    2. Re:how well do these work by shizzlemynizzle · · Score: 1

      they really do an excellent job, working on the vast majority of the games i play without much tweaking. Very occaisionally, there will be a glitch which is often correctable, like turning opengl extensions off in Jedi Outcast or SOFII. Otherwise, no real problems with game objects.

  15. Gone before its time. by FreeLinux · · Score: 3, Informative

    I was only able to get the first page before the Slashdotting killed it. Here ya go...

    Computers offer the best and most impressive gaming graphics, besting any other console found on today's market; however as of late we have the PC losing some ground as a gaming platform due to impressive development efforts from the popular console makers; a relatively new system with a powerful graphics card offers the most realistic graphics you'll ever lay your eyes on.

    Not satisfied with that, PC gamers are always looking for the next best thing to enhance their visual experience. Some might purchase a flat screen monitor; others may choose a faster graphics card which handles higher resolutions. Now that your system is decked out to the hilt, what's next? Well, companies like eDimensional hope you will eventually add some 3D Gaming glasses to the mix.

    3D glasses have been out for some time now, but the technology is getting better with every release. Companies like NVIDIA continue to update drivers to improve the 3D gaming experience, which has many companies believing that some day all gamers will own a pair. So is this really the next best thing, or will this leave you looking like a geek for nothing?

    Today I'll be reviewing a pair of 3D glasses made by a company called eDimensional. The company was founded in 2000, mainly focusing on enhancing the multimedia experience. They call their 3D technology E-D, and promise it to supply you with an amazing submersive 3D environment. One of the main reasons I decided to review this product was to see how it compared to the DTI 2015XLS 3D LCD Display I reviewed not so long ago, if you can recall that expensive gadget costs nothing less but $1700.

    How It Works

    I don't know the technical lingo to explain how 3D works, but I'll sum it up as best I can. Basically, people have two eyes and your eyes see things from a perspective when looking at objects depending on their locations, which is called binocular disparity. One eye sees one side of an object, and the other eye sees the other side. Your brain uses both views to create one three dimensional image. So this means the depth you actually see is just a perception of what the brain thinks it is; it may not actually be the true look of an image. Pretty weird stuff, eh?

    Anyhow, the E-D system shows you a two eye view from your computer monitor. The depth-of-field is simulated using shutter-glasses with lenses that can alternate between clean and opaque (blocks light). While using the glasses, a left eye image is first displayed on a computer monitor, and the shutter-glasses left lens is clear, while the right lens is dark. The image on the monitor is then switched to the right-eye view, and the lens of the shutter-glasses is reversed. This switching occurs many times per second, fast enough for your eyes not to notice it. Your brain fuses the separate images together to create 3D. Yes, it's just your brains perception of what the image should look like. Pretty neat how we can trick the brain, don't you think?

    1. Re:Gone before its time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PC gamers are always looking for the next best thing to enhance their visual experience

      That's why, as a gamer, I take drugs. And play Tetripz

  16. I find I avoid headaches when using these... by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny

    by closing one eye.

    1. Re:I find I avoid headaches when using these... by Waab · · Score: 0, Troll

      Bring me the head of the person who moderated this "Interesting".

      Can anyone here tell me what closing one eye does to a person's depth perception? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

      It should obviously be moderated "Funny" and my post should obviously be moderated "Troll".

    2. Re:I find I avoid headaches when using these... by JJAnon · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Unfortunately the lack of stereo vision that this results in means that the picture is now no longer 3D.
      However, there is a solution: alternately open and shut your left and right eyes around 24 times a second.

      Oh wait...

    3. Re:I find I avoid headaches when using these... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still flickering is there. You better close both eyes.

  17. Re:First fuckin' finding of feces in Finland! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did it steam in the coldness?

  18. Stereo glasses by dwtinkle · · Score: 1, Troll

    I'm really hoping that the prices of Stereo glasses comes down in price, I would really like to be able to watch movies while on the plane. Can standard gaming glasses act as a TV/ DVD viewer?

    1. Re:Stereo glasses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Combined with a laptop I suppose it could. Those glasses supposedly plug into your video out, which most laptops have. If you got the wireless version of those glasses I guess you could set up something to where you can watch movies on your laptop with them.

    2. Re:Stereo glasses by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Only at 1 pixel by 1 pixel black-and-clear resolution, per eye.

      --
      ...
    3. Re:Stereo glasses by grub · · Score: 1


      Won't work.

      Laptop LCDs generally refresh around 70-75 hz (if memory serves) and they have high latency to clear pixels. That negates any chance of using stereoscopic LCD shutter glasses.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    4. Re:Stereo glasses by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1

      Um the glasses don't actually display anything. They just alternate between opaque and clear on one at a time in sync with your display to produce a 3d effect. You still need the monitor or LCD for this to work.

      --
      Why not fork?
    5. Re:Stereo glasses by ChaoticLimbs · · Score: 1

      In addition to this, LCD panels have a polarization filter overlay. So do the glasses. even with perfect alignment of the polarization axes, you would lose 60 percent of the light from the monitor. LCD glasses and LCD monitor=black screen from both eyes.

  19. ED glasses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've used them for about 9 months now, and they are great - for showing off... You can't use them for real purposes, it gives you eye strain after just 5 minutes! Plus, mine seem to only work for a second, then off for a second, then vice versa and so on... Just intermittent... Very weird. .waffle

  20. 3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by dagg · · Score: 1
    I see lots of comments about people getting headaches, and such from 3D glasses. What about them hurts your head? I know that when I went to see that IMAX space station movie... I had a slight-headache afterwards. I figured it was because of trying to keep the head gear from slipping off my forehead.

    Unrelated sex link that won't make you go blind: Your Sex.

    --
    Sex - Find It
    1. Re:3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Normally when looking at objects in 3-space, the lens in your eyes focus on the particular depth you are looking at. With 3D glasses and a monitor, every object, no matter how far or close, is physically located exactly the same distance away from your eyes, so you must maintain a constant focus. There is no good phisiological reason why one should get a headache when using 3D glasses, except for the fact that you have to relearn how to use your eyes when you've used them a lifetime the other way. Personally, I don't get headaches when using 3D glasses, but I do experience eye strain which, combined with the 50% FPS penalty of rendering left and right images of the same scene, make my glasses a useless toy of no practical value.

    2. Re:3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by spoco2 · · Score: 1

      It's the refresh rate... on both IMAX 3D movies, and these computer based ones, the problem comes from these shutters in front of your eyes flicking on and off 60 or so times a second (Don't know what IMAX's is)... there's only so much of that your brain can take... if they made it a lot faster, then the headaches would probably cease, as off/on cycles would be so quick as to become a blur to the mind's eye... as it stands, the brain has to cope with the flicker and hence the pain...

    3. Re:3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you set your video refresh rate for 2D at or below 60Hz, do you get a headache? Do low frequency (~10Hz) xenon strobe lights give you headaches? Have you played a 3D game with shutter glasses above 120Hz monitor refresh and not gotten a headache? Have you gotten headaches while watching laser light shows? If you stare into a monitor that is displaying solid white and solid black at less than 60Hz (at much higher monitor refresh rate), do you get a headache?

    4. Re:3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes
      no
      yes
      no
      yes

      what's the f*$%in point?

    5. Re:3D glasses will make me go 3D blind? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The intial claim was distributed without any substantiantive scientific evidence or first hand observations (followed by sound, conclusive reasoning), so those questions were an attempt to solicit such data. You're reply enforces the intitail claim with some evidence.

      Of course, the likelyhood of a single person knowing the answer to all of those questions is under some doubt in my own mind, but I may represent the minority.

  21. As an ex-vr geek. by Kenja · · Score: 5, Informative

    I used to work for a small company called 3DTV that was a splinter group from Sterographics. I worked on software and marketing for hte first round of consumer shutter glasses, back when you had to use DOS (as in C:\) becuase Windows couldn't do page flipping synced to the monitor refresh rate (one flip per refresh). I for one was allways very fond of this tech', provided that you ran at 120hz or higher so that each eye is getting a full 60hz. In addition you need to turn off any other light source as even a basic light build has a refresh that can cause headaches if it is not in sync with the monitor (imagine every 10th frame being darker in one eye). Its very good to still see this stuff around.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by r_j_prahad · · Score: 2

      That would seem to explain the headaches everybody else keeps posting about in this column. I myself am particularly susceptible to low refresh rates, and get violent headaches after just a few minutes of viewing. When I was researching this problem last year I ran across tales of stroboscopic induced epileptic siezures, so a headache is not the worst that could happen I suppose.

    2. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by Kenja · · Score: 1

      I've not heard of it causing siezures. However I don't see why it couldn't happen as it's just a matter of hitting the wrong frequency. Most likly it would be caused by somthing with a low refresh rate like a florescent light interfearing with the monitor refresh.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    3. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by r_j_prahad · · Score: 3, Informative

      I knew I should have looked it up before I posted. When will I learn? [grin] It's called photosensitive epilepsy and there's several hundred Googles available for reading. I provide cut-and-paste URL for one below....

      http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/pages/info/leaflets/ photo.cfm

    4. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by Kenja · · Score: 1
      There's an extra space in your link.

      "between 5 and 30 flashes per second (hertz)"
      Sounds about right, so on hte high end all it would take is to run the monitor at 60hz while bellow that would require an outside frequency to nterfear with the monitor.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    5. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by Idarubicin · · Score: 2
      In addition you need to turn off any other light source as even a basic light build[sic] has a refresh that can cause headaches if it is not in sync with the monitor (imagine every 10th frame being darker in one eye).

      This is only an issue (mostly) for fluorescent light sources. Halogen and standard incandescent bulbs don't flicker on normal 60 Hz line AC--they emit a pretty steady glow. Fluorescent bulbs do flicker on and off, so you would get a problem with them.

      Sunlight is also fine, since the sun is a pretty steady light source. Rather distracting, though.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    6. Re:As an ex-vr geek. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i think slash adds those spaces to all pasted url's...

      lets test;

      http://www.earth2willi.com

      it doesn't show in the preview, but i see a lot of it on /. so lets see what happens when i submit

  22. Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by goombah99 · · Score: 2

    What are the best glasses to use with a Powerbook G4? I want to use the glasses for a molecular graphics visualization under the program Pymol, using OS X. Anybody have any expereince and recomendations?

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by Big_Breaker · · Score: 2, Informative

      Powerbook uses lcd technolgy for its display. LCDs cannot display the alternating frames for each eye properly and the effet is lost.

      Sorry no 3d glasses for the powerbook.

    2. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by goombah99 · · Score: 2

      Okay if LCD is out, I could attach an external CRT display. Again what would the best glasses for a mac osX system be? Any experinece with pymol?

      --
      Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    3. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      None. Nothing. Zip.

      Maybe one day Jobs will see it fit to overcharge you for a pair of iGlasses(tm), but until then, in the proudest tradition of Macintosh owners, you will be the last to play with new toys.

      But at least it doesn't go like beep beep beep and wreck your really good paper.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    4. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by theedge318 · · Score: 1

      Not entirely true. When I used to work with 3D shutter glasses, my boss invested about 10 grand in an LCD projector that could do 120 hertz at 800x600... so 60 frames per eye. That said ... your average laptop LCD doesn't have the refresh rate, or the video card necessary to utilize these shutter glasses.

      It also had the ability to run with a polarized filter, so that instead of shuttering your eyes, the projector polarizes the light. For example: the images to the right eye are vertical and images to the left eye are horizontal. However for this to work you have to have a special silver screen, b/c your average projection screen depolarizes light.

      --
      Sig Nazi- "No Sig for you, come back 1 year."
    5. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by SideshowBob · · Score: 2

      Formac makes/made a 3D accelerator called the ProFormance 3, and they offered stereoscopic goggles as an optional accessory. This must've been 3 or more years ago so its probably been discontinued, and likely won't support OS X. You might check their website (Formac.com) or hit ebay.

      These things have been coming and going as fads since the late '80s at least. To be honest, I've never seen an implementation of the idea that was compelling, which is why they never seem to catch on.

    6. Re:Glasses for mac OSX, molecular graphics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PNY makes a GeForce 4 card that comes with stereoscopic glasses. Since the GeForce is a standard AGP 4X card, the Mac can use it. Now that 10.2.3 is out, the OS even has integrated drivers for nVidia cards. Getting a GeForce would probably be better than some old card because the GeForce still has a warranty and all.

  23. Well ... by The+AtomicPunk · · Score: 1

    Your server sure is slow, but thank god the 17 popup and popunder ads you served off of ONE page came up fast.

    Talk about whoring.

    1. Re:Well ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't notice. I use WebWasher. You should too.

    2. Re:Well ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Moron...

  24. Virtual Boy by frankthechicken · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why on earth would I need a pair of these glasses when I already have the perfect headache inducing piece of kit in this ?

    I think later versions came with a free pack of aspirins.

    1. Re:Virtual Boy by racerx509 · · Score: 2

      Yes, these things could do some funny voodoo couldn't they? I remember playing one in a store kiosk, and not just getting a headache. I placed my face in the mask, and after a few minutes of playing, I began to feel sleepy. After I got up from the VB, I began to feel queasy and my balance was off kilter for a while. I'm not sure what it did, but I didn't like it. Oh well, every company has its follies.

      --
      13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
  25. The 3D tech that will not die! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Am I the only one who remembers that this technology was debuted for home use in the *Sega Master System* in the mid-80s? It was hailed as pretty cool, but failed. A few years later, it was brought out for home computers... was hailed as pretty cool, but failed. Really, every few years, someone has tried to revive this, and not succeeded. When are they gonna figure out this is just not going to sell?

  26. Viva Karma Whore by WankersRevenge · · Score: 1, Redundant
    Here it is
    ==================


    Computers offer the best and most impressive gaming graphics, besting any other console found on today's market; however as of late we have the PC losing some ground as a gaming platform due to impressive development efforts from the popular console makers; a relatively new system with a powerful graphics card offers the most realistic graphics you'll ever lay your eyes on.

    Not satisfied with that, PC gamers are always looking for the next best thing to enhance their visual experience. Some might purchase a flat screen monitor; others may choose a faster graphics card which handles higher resolutions. Now that your system is decked out to the hilt, what's next? Well, companies like eDimensional hope you will eventually add some 3D Gaming glasses to the mix.

    3D glasses have been out for some time now, but the technology is getting better with every release. Companies like NVIDIA continue to update drivers to improve the 3D gaming experience, which has many companies believing that some day all gamers will own a pair. So is this really the next best thing, or will this leave you looking like a geek for nothing?

    Today I'll be reviewing a pair of 3D glasses made by a company called eDimensional. The company was founded in 2000, mainly focusing on enhancing the multimedia experience. They call their 3D technology E-D, and promise it to supply you with an amazing submersive 3D environment. One of the main reasons I decided to review this product was to see how it compared to the DTI 2015XLS 3D LCD Display I reviewed not so long ago, if you can recall that expensive gadget costs nothing less but $1700.

    How It Works

    I don't know the technical lingo to explain how 3D works, but I'll sum it up as best I can. Basically, people have two eyes and your eyes see things from a perspective when looking at objects depending on their locations, which is called binocular disparity. One eye sees one side of an object, and the other eye sees the other side. Your brain uses both views to create one three dimensional image. So this means the depth you actually see is just a perception of what the brain thinks it is; it may not actually be the true look of an image. Pretty weird stuff, eh?

    Anyhow, the E-D system shows you a two eye view from your computer monitor. The depth-of-field is simulated using shutter-glasses with lenses that can alternate between clean and opaque (blocks light). While using the glasses, a left eye image is first displayed on a computer monitor, and the shutter-glasses left lens is clear, while the right lens is dark. The image on the monitor is then switched to the right-eye view, and the lens of the shutter-glasses is reversed. This switching occurs many times per second, fast enough for your eyes not to notice it. Your brain fuses the separate images together to create 3D. Yes, it's just your brains perception of what the image should look like. Pretty neat how we can trick the brain, don't you think?

    Compatibility

    The following cards are compatible with the 3D glasses

    • 3DFx Banshee, Voodoo2, 3, 4, or 5
    • ATI Radeon, ATI Rage
    • Intel i740, i752, i810
    • Matrox Millennium G200, G400, G450
    • NVIDIA GeForce 256, 2, 3, 4, MX, TNT2, Vanta
    • Power VR Kyro
    • S3 Savage 2000, Savage 3D, Savage 4


    Features and function will differ depending on which type of 3D accelerator your system is equipped with. A compatible game list can be checked at the eDimensional home page. Not all games work on all cards. Now let's take a look at system requirements for gaming.

    • Windows 95/98/ME and 2000/XP support for NVIDIA chipsets
    • CRT monitor (no laptops or LCD screens)
    • Minimum 70Hz refresh rated monitor


    Setting Things Up

    Installation was very easy, especially with the well written instructions included in the box. Hookup is done through a VGA adaptor that plugs directly into your video card. Your monitor is connected to the output of the adaptor, and your glasses plug into the rear of it. Initial setup took me about 3 minutes, and was effortless. The glasses come in two flavors, wireless and wired version, I've got the latter one.

    Next, it's required to install the software included and stereo drivers for your particular card, which can usually be found on the manufactures website or the included installation disk. If you are using a NVIDIA card, I'd highly recommend using the latest drivers available to make sure you have the latest updates for glasses usage. When using a card other than NVIDIA, you will need to install the 'Wicked' drivers included on the disk. After completing the installation process, a system reboot is required.

    The software installs an applet found in your display panel properties, which can be accessed through the advanced button. Here, you can turn on/off 3D and assign hotkeys that will enable you to define different settings to enhance your 3D experience.

    Here are the specifications of the system I used the glasses with:

    • Intel 2.4GHz Pentium 4
    • Epox 4BDA2+ Motherboard
    • Visiontek Geforce 4 Ti4200
    • Philips 109s Monitor
    • Windows XP


    Entering the 3D World

    The glasses are relatively comfortable, and seem to be well constructed. The package comes with 2 different sets of bows for different sizes of heads to ensure a good, comfortable fit. I would defiantly advice of wearing in a dark room, with nobody in sight, because they are sure to ignite a little bit of harassment due to the nerdy look (my kids tore me apart). After testing, I dropped them a few times to check for strength, and they didn't break.

    The entire installation process was quite simple, and the hotkeys make tweaking the settings very convenient. The first game I tried was Jedi Outcast, which is an Open GL based game using the Quake 3 engine. I checked the game list, and fired the game up. One thing you need to remember is that your monitor might not support stereo 3D with the same resolutions and refresh rates you'd normally use, so try starting low and increase as you go on. I found the 3D effect to be simply amazing; these glasses provide the best 3D images I have ever seen on a PC, including those output by the DTI 3D LCD I reviewed in the past.

    The images looked very cool, and I spent about 10 minutes gawking at my new surroundings. After playing around with Jedi Outcast, I was ready for more. I checked the supported game list, and just about every game I had was listed there.

    There is a very nice selection of supported titles, and also a link to request a game that's missing from the list. I chose Motocross Madness 2 for my next adventure, notably because it's based on Direct3D and wanted to see how that worked. The 3D images looked great here too, especially after a bit of tweaking. Overall, these glasses are very easy to use and offer beautiful 3D environments for every game I launched.

    After going through about 20 different games, my feelings from the beginning have not changed. Racing games look impressive, and flight simulator 2002 looked incredible. These glasses make PC games fun again and actually kept me glued to it for quite sometime (which is not an easy task due to the Xbox sitting right next to my computer). It takes a lot to impress me, and this product really did.

    Final Thoughts

    The first thing to remember is that if you are using Windows 2000/XP, be sure you have an NVIDIA based card, of it will not work. Like I said previously, the glasses are well constructed and are comfortable at first. After a while, they became a bit uncomfortable around my nose, mainly because the relatively hard plastic resting on the bridge. I don't wear glasses, and rarely wear shades so this might just be a getting used to thing. The cord isn't really an issue, but if you have the extra cash for the wireless, it would be nice. The cord could have been a little longer; you might have problems if your tower isn't close by.

    Also notice 3D images on computers are not perfected. As good as they look; they are still a little blurry but that's not to say they don't look unbelievable. The 3D images are amazing, and will definitely add some spice to some of your favorite titles. I'd say if you want 3D, then these glasses are the best thing on the market, hands down.

    In the other hand it's just not something I would use with every game. When playing a racing game by myself, sure, but when playing Quake 3 online, forget it. Frame rates drop considerably, so you end up playing at lower resolutions. Lower resolutions mean graphics don't look as sharp.

    Overall, eDimensional glasses offer excellent 3D, and the $69.00 price tag is pretty reasonable especially compared to 3D monitors which cost in excess of $1500! I really liked them better than the 3D monitor, but I don't know how much I will really use them. For you this might be different, but this is just how I feel. The glasses are also said to work with DVD titles, you just need to purchase additional software to witness this (which I did not). To sum it up, if you're looking to add a little zing to some computer favorites, these 3D glasses will deliver.
  27. I have a similar set. by grub · · Score: 3, Informative


    I bought 2 sets of wireless LCD shutter glasses when I bought a TNT2 card from Elsa a few years ago. The most important thing with these is to ensure your monitor can do at least 100 hz refresh at the resolution you want. Any less will give you flicker and headaches. Personally I run most things at 800x600@140 hz and 1024x768@110 hz. The resolution isn't as nice as 1600x1200 but the immersion of being "there" is worth it.
    Make sure your room is dark as any other light will make your eyes go goofy, especially the flicker you'll see with 60Hz fluorescent tubes.
    nVidia now has native drivers for their cards and the old Elsa glasses work great with my new(er) GeForce 2 card. The older Elsa drivers and the new nVidia ones just use a DX &| GL hack to shift the axis of your eyes every other frame so the appropriate eye is blocked by the LCD during drawing.

    They're the best thing for gaming, IMHO.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:I have a similar set. by cybermace5 · · Score: 2

      ...any other light will make your eyes go goofy, especially the flicker you'll see with 60Hz fluorescent tubes.

      That's 120Hz. Flash on positive swing, flash on negative.

      --
      ...
    2. Re:I have a similar set. by grub · · Score: 1


      That's 120Hz. Flash on positive swing, flash on negative.

      Really? I could swear it was 60.. interesting.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    3. Re:I have a similar set. by cybermace5 · · Score: 2

      Even more interesting to hook up a phototransistor to a trigger and frequency counter, then point it at a flourescent tube. Or remember that current flows both ways in the gas of a flourescent tube, and AC goes through a positive/negative cycle 60 times a second, reaching a ~160 volt peak 120 times per second.

      Ah, those early lab experiments back in school....

      --
      ...
    4. Re:I have a similar set. by grub · · Score: 1


      Ah, those early lab experiments back in school....

      "school" ended ~19 years ago for me. :)




      Shit I'm old!

      --
      Trolling is a art,
  28. Great glasses by fobbman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Heard in the basement of the parents house of the guy who houses the Tech Spot server...

    Julio: "Oh man, these glasses are trick! That image of a burning server looks TOTALLY real.

    Franko:Dude, you took the glasses off 10 minutes ago. That IS our server.

    1. Re:Great glasses by shane_rimmer · · Score: 1

      What's really sad is that Julio is apparently from techspot. This was no slashdotting; this was server suicide!

  29. linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    will i be able to get all my linux games to work with theses puppies. even more how about the games i have running under wine??

  30. Most pop unders I have ever seen by billwie · · Score: 1

    This site has about as many popunders as a Tripod site. Scary Huh. Too bad I'm stuck using windows at work

    1. Re:Most pop unders I have ever seen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get and use WebWasher.

  31. What about non-gamers? by Flashbuster+2000 · · Score: 1
    What excatly dictates whether something will have support for this? The goggles, the card, the game, the OS, two, or three, or all four?

    On a side note, I remember back in the day there was a series of games for win3.1 that was distributed with your old-skool red-blue goggles, and the game divided the graphics into red and blue. This was back in the day, so it wasn't great graphics, but it was a break from the usual. Also, no headaches with red-blue!

    1. Re:What about non-gamers? by Hidyman · · Score: 1

      If it uses Direct 3D it will most likely work with the glasses.

      --
      You can't take the sky from me ...
  32. Re:Here come the prono jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cripes, can't you Linux hippie bullshit fuckers think of any new jokes? How about some "Version 3.1" jokes to go with it? Stupid fucking smelly son of a bitches! KISS MY ASS! I'll fuck your anus with a broken Tobasco bottle of you keep it up think of something NEW you bleeding cunts!

    Dad, I told you to stop posting here in front of all my friends. You are embarassing me!

  33. Peering by Malicious · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they could make 3d glasses, that allowed me to peer around corners in Quake, or other 3D Shooters, i'd Bite... But intill then, i think i'll pass.
    I will however, take enjoyment in watching others bend their necks and lean in funny directions, as their brain trys to look around the 3D corners. Reminds me of my wife playing Mario Kart, swinging the SNES Controller around, leaning into corners....

    --
    01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
    1. Re:Peering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When your wife watches a good porn blowjob, does her head bob back and forth also?

    2. Re:Peering by eatdave13 · · Score: 1

      Here, try this for a start!

      God damn cheaters.

      --
      "Verbing weirds language." -- Calvin
    3. Re:Peering by Hast · · Score: 1

      IIRC Carmack made a plan about this a long time ago. But for that you wouldn't use glasses like this but eg a web camera. (To watch how the user moves his head.)

      It would be a neat project to do. As always time is a limiting factor. Another spinn-off idea would be to have a 3D effect on your desktop windows. So you could look "behind" the current window at another window in the background. I doubt it would be useful but it could be a neat thing to show to show your friends.

  34. Games not yet made for 3-D by phriedom · · Score: 5, Informative

    I bought a set of Elsa Revalator glasses a while ago that use the same basic lcd shutter technology. They do "work" but the effect is underwhelming. You can't really use them for any First Person Shooter games because the crosshairs on your screen are also adjusted for each eye and the real impact point will be directly between them. Also, many games mix solids with planes, so for example the hallway will look 3-D but all the people in it will look like flat carboard cut-outs. The road will be 3-d but all the trees on the side will be flat. It turned out to be a far LESS immersive experience. I played with it for a couple days, then packed it away with other unused computer junk.

    --
    Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
    1. Re:Games not yet made for 3-D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      ok, a while ago, meaning TNT days right? ok now lets see... what games were those, Q1? no thats true 3d on everything. So, you were using these 3d goggles on Wolfenstein / Doom? of course it wouldn't be 3d. Technically it was 2.5d anyways. These glasses are faster, and so cause you less headaches. And since now all games use true 3d anyways, it won't be a problem. As for crosshairs are concerned, disable the crosshairs and you are good. If they really want to make crosshairs work, they would only enable the crosshair on your right eye.

    2. Re:Games not yet made for 3-D by Java+Pimp · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not sure what card you are using... The nVidia stereo drivers supply their own crosshairs that are not split with the scene. They float out in front like part of a heads up display. Turn off the crosshairs in your game and use those if you got 'em.

      As for the games that still use sprites, well you're right, they weren't designed for it. But neither was quake and it looks great.

      Truthfully, if these are successful, games and gaming cards will start to be designed for stereo. Low end cards will actually support quad buffered stereo and the games will take advantage of that and we'll start seeing some really cool effects!

      --
      Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
      Kull: She told me she was 19!
  35. Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who the fuck is Stephen King? And what has he done for 3D goggles?

  36. Linux support? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and if not... why the hell is this story here? Nonoe here gives a rat's ass about a windows only product that isnt neat or innovative in any way.

    hell my geforce 2 has had that for over 2 years and the TNT2 I have at work came with 3d glasses 2 years before that.

    windows only crap... yippee... SlashdotXP.org

    1. Re:Linux support? by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      If they only reviewed gaming hardware WITH linux support, then there'd be only one chance at First Post a year -- tops.

      Noone wants that.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:Linux support? by Felinoid · · Score: 1

      I'd like to know sereously if they do supply tech specs so a driver can be made.
      Linux support would be nice but realisticly today companys get paranoid and won't relase tech specs becouse then they'd be giving away valuable intelectual property.
      I mean we can't do something that might expand our costummer base. Oh no then we might make lot's of money can't have that.

      So anywho if the tech specs are available then yeah Linux drivers maybe Mac drivers, Solarus drivers, OS/2 drivers.. Dos drivers... "Name your operating system" drivers.
      Thousand Moneky Os drivers.

      "I recorded /dev/randum and out poped this Os" drivers...

      You get the idea.

      But for gammers and that seams the target there isn't much software for Linux anyway...

      --
      I don't actually exist.
  37. Re:Here come the prono jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No no, mod this up! I totally agree. How much bad humor can this forum really take?

    Everything from alliteration to stupid-ass porn jokes?!? Pitiful, pitiful. At least the alliteration post wasn't modded up. I guess it is somehow less tasteful than these porn jokes... *chuckles*

  38. I would settle for 2d glasses by SHEENmaster · · Score: 1

    for 2d glasses so long as they can be used independantly without headaches (I'm on a multi-year anti-hangover from caffeine so headaches are few and far between.)

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  39. What are you saying.. by mindstrm · · Score: 2

    Are you saying there are 3d devices that DON'T require stereoscopic vision?

    Also, those that are dominant in one eye, even severely so, still have a sense of depth perception better than if they only had one eye.

    1. Re:What are you saying.. by theedge318 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually yes, the coolest 3D source that doesn't require stereoscopic vision is the .... museum.

      Now I know that is a large stretch for some of us slashdotters, getting out from behind our monitor to go look at static (still, not noisy) pictures.

      Anyways go find some good Renaissance art, or anything else that is done with persepective. Note: not all paintings are done in persecptive. Stand close to the painting ... as close as your eyes can tolerate (or the velvet rope/guard lets you) say 18", although this completely depends on the size of the painting.

      Now here is the trick ... cover you DOMINANT eye. Your brain will in fact adjust for the missing information from that eye ... and will begin recreating it for you, and actually generates the 3D information as if you were seeing with your good eye.

      Now, this might not work if you have lost your depth perception from too much gaming ... but if that is the case we don't want you getting in a car to drive to the museum anyways ... so just go back to looking at your 2D porn :)

      This trick is really cool ... and makes going to the museum considerably more fun for a techhead, and is great for impressing your date, who is inevitably in the liberal arts, b/c we are indesperate need of more female gearheads.

      Having done research with modeling applications for use with 3D shutter glasses, I can firmly tell you that this "trick" is much cooler than any glasses I have seen.

      --
      Sig Nazi- "No Sig for you, come back 1 year."
  40. Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54 by BluGuy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Well, offtopic and all, but you'll need more that "I heard that..." before anyone here will believe you...

  41. Thanks for the advertisement, really by blacklite001 · · Score: 1

    Now how about getting some servers that can handle the load? Sigh.

  42. Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    geezus, that's the weakest-ass attempt at a Stephen King dead troll I've ever seen!

    You could have done better with a cut'n'paste from the troll library. You should be ashamed of yourself!

    0/10 for originality, I'll give you 1 point for at least showing up to troll. Now go contemplate the error of your ways and come back with your game on!

  43. Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ha ha Newbie. now fuck off you twat

  44. Here's another review that's not slashdotted by cardshark2001 · · Score: 2
    --
    WWJD? JWRTFA!
  45. got a wireless pair.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Got a wireless pair, and I have to say that they are the best 3d glasses out there for that price. I have tried several other shutter glasses, such as the crystaleyes, polarised projectors with polarised glasses, stereo projectors (SGI reality theatre type of systems)and so on and they are pretty god for what the price....the screensaver that comes as a demo it's pretty impressive and playing few games it's quite good, although the trick is to set everything to the highest framerate as possible (120 hz so each eye get 60 Hz) and switch the lights off if you can.
    Make sure that the games are enable to support hight refresh rate (such as in quake to have something like seta v_refreshrate "120" or whatever the comand is.

    The stereo effect depends In think of how the game/environment is design. Some games might work better than others, specially if they have artifacts that are extended or connected somehow from the foreground to the background (a wall, road, etc) or objects very close to your viewpoint (such as the gun that you carry in quake or others fps)

    My gfx card (an asus TI4400 deluxe) comes with 3d glasses as well, but they are not as good as these ones and they are wired......

  46. Re:It's great to see military tech trickle down li by Genom · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The funny part is just how many anti-globalization peaceniks who hate the militray would just cream their Guatamalen pants to play with these, I guess military stuff is bad, unless you find it entertaining.

    It's not the technology itself, but the use, I think.

    Using this kind of tech to train people to kill other people more efficiently is possibly objectionable, while using it to "enhance" people's experience in a game, killing simulated digital avatars of other people is okay ;P

  47. How does this look? by bovilexics · · Score: 3, Funny

    Crud, already can't get to the site. Well here is some information not included in the article...

    Here is a image of what the /. effect looks like when using these glasses.

    [begin image]








    [end image]

    --
    Are you bovilexic? Moo!
  48. Re:Gone before its time. [ Page 2] by Dave_B93 · · Score: 1
    Here's Page 2. Page 3 is still /.'d for me Compatibility

    The following cards are compatible with the 3D glasses

    • 3DFx Banshee, Voodoo2, 3, 4, or 5
    • ATI Radeon, ATI Rage
    • Intel i740, i752, i810
    • Matrox Millennium G200, G400, G450
    • NVIDIA GeForce 256, 2, 3, 4, MX, TNT2, Vanta
    • Power VR Kyro
    • S3 Savage 2000, Savage 3D, Savage 4

    Features and function will differ depending on which type of 3D accelerator your system is equipped with. A compatible game list can be checked at the eDimensional home page. Not all games work on all cards. Now let's take a look at system requirements for gaming.

    • Windows 95/98/ME and 2000/XP support for NVIDIA chipsets
    • CRT monitor (no laptops or LCD screens)
    • Minimum 70Hz refresh rated monitor
    [picture of the glasses]

    Setting Things Up

    Installation was very easy, especially with the well written instructions included in the box. Hookup is done through a VGA adaptor that plugs directly into your video card. Your monitor is connected to the output of the adaptor, and your glasses plug into the rear of it. Initial setup took me about 3 minutes, and was effortless. The glasses come in two flavors, wireless and wired version, I've got the latter one.

    Next, it's required to install the software included and stereo drivers for your particular card, which can usually be found on the manufactures website or the included installation disk. If you are using a NVIDIA card, I'd highly recommend using the latest drivers available to make sure you have the latest updates for glasses usage. When using a card other than NVIDIA, you will need to install the 'Wicked' drivers included on the disk. After completing the installation process, a system reboot is required.

    The software installs an applet found in your display panel properties, which can be accessed through the advanced button. Here, you can turn on/off 3D and assign hotkeys that will enable you to define different settings to enhance your 3D experience.

    Here are the specifications of the system I used the glasses with:

    • Intel 2.4GHz Pentium 4
    • Epox 4BDA2+ Motherboard
    • Visiontek Geforce 4 Ti4200
    • Philips 109s Monitor
    • Windows XP
  49. Linux vision? by Hilleh · · Score: 1

    I looked at their website and the conveniently posted text of the article, but I still can't figure out how exactly these work. Do they require special drivers? And if so, is there any possibility I could get these things running in Linux (with standard Nvidia linux drivers)? UT2k3's Ion Cannon Sattelite gun thingy would be pretty nice in full 3d vision :).

    1. Re:Linux vision? by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      Yes, they require special drivers.

      And they'll never work in linux.

      Even under Win2k/XP they only work with nVidia cards.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  50. you'd be surprised by shizzlemynizzle · · Score: 1

    i purchased a pair after reading the numerous reviews and first learning about them in PC magazine. you simply can't compare these to what was preciously available. pc mag said these are the first 3d glasses that impressed them and I wasn't disappointed. the consensus amongst the reviews seems to be that these finally are a valid entry into the 3d glasses market and their attempt does a far better job. techspot mentioned this as well.

  51. Sloppy Review, Good Review by limekiller4 · · Score: 2

    From page 3 of the review:
    "I would defiantly advice of wearing in a dark room, with nobody in sight,..."

    I'm all for this "pubishing power to the people" meme but jeepers, can't they get someone to at least give it a once-over for stuff like this? Sloppy.

    But to be fair, the review is well-done. Just poorly edited.

    --
    My .02,
    Limekiller
  52. Re:Gone before its time. [ Pages 3 & 4] by Dave_B93 · · Score: 1
    Entering the 3D World

    The glasses are relatively comfortable, and seem to be well constructed. The package comes with 2 different sets of bows for different sizes of heads to ensure a good, comfortable fit. I would defiantly advice of wearing in a dark room, with nobody in sight, because they are sure to ignite a little bit of harassment due to the nerdy look (my kids tore me apart). After testing, I dropped them a few times to check for strength, and they didn't break.

    [3d picture of a chess board]

    The entire installation process was quite simple, and the hotkeys make tweaking the settings very convenient. The first game I tried was Jedi Outcast, which is an Open GL based game using the Quake 3 engine. I checked the game list, and fired the game up. One thing you need to remember is that your monitor might not support stereo 3D with the same resolutions and refresh rates you'd normally use, so try starting low and increase as you go on. I found the 3D effect to be simply amazing; these glasses provide the best 3D images I have ever seen on a PC, including those output by the DTI 3D LCD I reviewed in the past.

    The images looked very cool, and I spent about 10 minutes gawking at my new surroundings. After playing around with Jedi Outcast, I was ready for more. I checked the supported game list, and just about every game I had was listed there.

    [ 3d image of an airplane]

    There is a very nice selection of supported titles, and also a link to request a game that's missing from the list. I chose Motocross Madness 2 for my next adventure, notably because it's based on Direct3D and wanted to see how that worked. The 3D images looked great here too, especially after a bit of tweaking. Overall, these glasses are very easy to use and offer beautiful 3D environments for every game I launched.

    After going through about 20 different games, my feelings from the beginning have not changed. Racing games look impressive, and flight simulator 2002 looked incredible. These glasses make PC games fun again and actually kept me glued to it for quite sometime (which is not an easy task due to the Xbox sitting right next to my computer). It takes a lot to impress me, and this product really did.

    Final Thoughts

    The first thing to remember is that if you are using Windows 2000/XP, be sure you have an NVIDIA based card, of it will not work. Like I said previously, the glasses are well constructed and are comfortable at first. After a while, they became a bit uncomfortable around my nose, mainly because the relatively hard plastic resting on the bridge. I don't wear glasses, and rarely wear shades so this might just be a getting used to thing. The cord isn't really an issue, but if you have the extra cash for the wireless, it would be nice. The cord could have been a little longer; you might have problems if your tower isn't close by.

    Also notice 3D images on computers are not perfected. As good as they look; they are still a little blurry but that's not to say they don't look unbelievable. The 3D images are amazing, and will definitely add some spice to some of your favorite titles. I'd say if you want 3D, then these glasses are the best thing on the market, hands down.

    In the other hand it's just not something I would use with every game. When playing a racing game by myself, sure, but when playing Quake 3 online, forget it. Frame rates drop considerably, so you end up playing at lower resolutions. Lower resolutions mean graphics don't look as sharp.

    Overall, eDimensional glasses offer excellent 3D, and the $69.00 price tag is pretty reasonable especially compared to 3D monitors which cost in excess of $1500! I really liked them better than the 3D monitor, but I don't know how much I will really use them. For you this might be different, but this is just how I feel. The glasses are also said to work with DVD titles, you just need to purchase additional software to witness this (which I did not). To sum it up, if you're looking to add a little zing to some computer favorites, these 3D glasses will deliver.

  53. Re:Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 54 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Please do not steal my troll - at least get the spacing correct. Thank you.

  54. c3dnow by dizfan · · Score: 1

    I grabbed a pair of 3D glasses from Comdex from c3dnow.com. I know they are gimmicky and very hard to make work well, but I just played it with Asheron's Call 2 and I cannot believe the effect it gives off. It's truly amazing.

  55. Another fucking ad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy fuck, can't slashdot do anything beside post fucking ads as news? I mean FUCK! What's next, ads that say "Wait, there's more if you order now ..." FUCK YOU TACO you're little pet project sure has gone to shit, hasn't it? I've seen fart stains in my underwear that had more relevance - yeah, a billion hits a day but not one of them take it seriously - slashdot has become a self-depreciating joke, selling out to the mighty dollar. Kinda ironic considering that there isn't anything but smelly fucking freebie hippy faggots around here without any dollars to spend, always looking for something free like their shitty operating system. FUCK YOU CUNTS!

  56. blinkey lights == siezures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    geezus krist! Haven't you ever read "The Andromeda Strain"?!!

  57. Vision impaired ? by IanBevan · · Score: 1

    I am vision impaired in one eye - I have peripheral vision but cannot focus (the "centre" of my vision my left eye looks like a black amorphous blob becuase of retina damage I sustained). Will this stop me from using 3d glasses ?

    1. Re:Vision impaired ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      I don't know, but it will prevent you from getting laid.

    2. Re:Vision impaired ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Big black blob in the center ehh? Yes I can just see the sunny afternoons of your childhood. . . .without sun glasses, staring at the sun. . .

      didn't your mother ever tell you that that would make you go blind? Ohh. . .wait, you mean she wasn't talking about that. . .ohh. . .

    3. Re:Vision impaired ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Will this stop me from using 3d glasses ?'

      Uh...yah.

  58. I have a pair.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I got a pair of 3d glasses about 3 months ago - They are called "Eye3d" - i have good refresh rates on my monitor, so flicker usually isn't a problem... Play for hours, no headache.. The games that work well with mine are: Quake3, Wolfenstein, and UT2003... UT works okay... not as 3d as it should be. Anyways, gameplay is usually better without the glasses for me, but its nice to see the game in 3d. I just wish there was a place to get cool 3d videos [cough]... haven't really found anything good.

  59. Re:It's great to see military tech trickle down li by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If we didn't train our soldiers with tech like this, the king of England could just come over and start pushing you around! You want that? Huh? Do you?

  60. 3D is less important than field of view by localman · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I wish more research were put into expanding the field of view. There's plenty of data to indicate that stereoscopic vision is less important for bringing you "into the scene" than a wide field of view. Here's a choice quote from The Visionary Position:
    "By experimenting with the display -- moving, by degrees, from a 20-degree field of view to a 30-degree field of view and so on up to 120 degrees, the team discovered that at the "60- to 80-degree point, it was like a switch went off in your head. Instead of looking at a picture, all of a sudden you thought you were in a place. You had a different way of interacting with the display. You brought in a different set of innate capabilities."
    And that was in 1982. But to this day VR seems to mean 3D on a small square screen. I mean, c'mon, we've had 3D TV & movies for almost a century. It's just not that cool. I'd take Omnimax (not to be confused with Imax) any day :)

    Ah well, I can always dream and complain ;)

    1. Re:3D is less important than field of view by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And one way to get a wide field-of-view is to bring the monitor closer to your eyes. Using stereoscopic shutter-style glasses in combination with a CRT monitor doesn't really give you VR. If done right, it gives you the impression of looking through a window rather than at a screen, but it isn't imersive. And putting your face close enough to the CRT to give you 80 degree FOV doesn't produce a great result with most games...

      Whatever happened to VR goggles or VR "helmets" with an LCD screen for each eye? Surely LCD technology is at the point now where a smallish screen (say 3-4" diagonal) that can do 640x480 is fairly cheap, so VR helmets should be reasonably cheap to make and much less bulky then they were 6 years ago. (When I remember Horizon making VR pods that didn't seem to catch on...)

      VR goggles or helmets are the best way to do 3D. You get the large FOV, and you get the benefit of not having the shutter causing you a headache. Plus you can build a head tracking device into a helmet...

    2. Re:3D is less important than field of view by ThrasherTT · · Score: 2

      I recently had the pleasure of testing out exactly what you described. A light, LCD-per-eye, seemingly 640x480 (maybe a little less) HMD with head and body tracking within a 10' high and about 10' base radius cone (the tracker was mounted on the ceiling). The effect was incredible. Unfortunately, they cost $20k. I wish I wish I WISH I had an extra $20k laying around :)

      --

      All Your Memory Are Belong To Java
  61. ghosting artifacts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My research lab is setting up a stereoscopic display to go with a Sensable Phantom haptic system, and we have Eye3D Premium stereoscopic glasses ($140) to go with our graphics that comfortably outputs 1024x768x32 at 120 Hz. Unfortunately the stereo effect is underwhelming because of significant ghosting. Evidently the shutter glasses don't switch fast enough or dark enough so we see double or triple images.

    We're familiar with the Crystal Eyes Workstation product, and it's significantly more realistic. It's also quite a bit more expensive, $995. We thought we could save money by going with the consumer brand, but it seems good quality shuttering LCD panels cost money...

    I wonder how nice these eDimensional glasses really are?

    1. Re:ghosting artifacts? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      We have the crystal eyes as well (not sure which model). We made an extension cable for them as our app required to project from a huge sony 3 cannon projector (not sure the model). Out of 9 pins I think that the crystal eyes connector had, only 2 were active (1 ground and the other one goes on and off). The glasses had only one sensor (an infrared reader). On the contrary, the edimensional have a 3 pin connector and seems that 1 is ground and the other two are for the left and right eye. The edimensional seems to have two sensors, one per eye.

      In terms of visuals, the quality of the edimensional seems to be better, as far as I remember, but we might have a low crystal eyes model, I'm not sure. In terms of physical design, the crystal eyes look/feel/fit better than the edimensional...

      The model of crystal eyes I think that works at the output of the vga, by creating 2 images and flicking them on and off. The edimensional seems to work at the gfx card level (nvidia stereo drivers), but I'm not really sure

  62. perception problems by eegad · · Score: 2, Funny

    I know that early efforts at 3-d glasses resulted in serious depth perception problems (i.e. 15 minutes of play would take many hours of recovery time). This resulted in a large number of traffic accidents by the beta testers as they went home after testing. Any such problems with these reported? If not, how did they get around them?

    1. Re:perception problems by shizzlemynizzle · · Score: 1

      not at all, probably at low refresh rates where you feel dizzy, but i play for hours with no problemo

  63. Linux Support by RichiP · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I just emailed sales@edimensional.com asking if they had Linux support. If anyone else is interested, take a few minutes to email them and let them know. I don't think they sell enough of these devices that they can afford Linux users with money to spend. Well? What r u waiting for?

    1. Re:Linux Support by RichiP · · Score: 2, Interesting

      typo ... i meant I don't think they sell enough of these devices that they can afford TO IGNORE Linux users with money to spend.

      If they DO port to linux, I'd buy two.

    2. Re:Linux Support by rat7307 · · Score: 2

      HA!!!!

      You just used the phrases "Linux User" and "spend" in one sentence..
      I banish you from this forum... :-]

      sorry... its been a SLOOOOOW day...

      --
      Burma?
  64. Nitpicking (karma to burn) by npsimons · · Score: 2
    I hate to pick nits, but I've got the karma to burn, and this particular sentence fragment really bothered me:


    these revamped version of the glasses seem to offer much more value and compatibility to the table.


    The correct metaphor would have been "seem to bring much more value and compatibily to the table." I only harp on this because the phrase as it stands doesn't make any sense. "Offer" much more value and compatibility to the table? Is the table your god?


    Don't even get me started on the grammar in the rest of the post. I guess lousy communication skills and making yourself look like a fool are the standard on slashdot.

    1. Re:Nitpicking (karma to burn) by pyrrho · · Score: 2, Funny

      > I hate to pick nits

      hell... who doesn't?! but it's better than having lice!

      --

      -pyrrho

    2. Re:Nitpicking (karma to burn) by spindizzy · · Score: 1

      How about:
      this revamped version of the glass bring more value and compatability to the table.

      I found most of the article on the borderline of readability due to the appalling miss-use of English.

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
  65. What does this really say? by programic · · Score: 1

    By allowing this agency to send out bills, the Danish courts have legalized P2P in their country.

    Thus, it is apparently legal to have a pre-release version of the next Star Wars/Harry Potter/etc. movie as long as you have paid your $26.70.

    --
    -- yawn. --
    1. Re:What does this really say? by programic · · Score: 1

      oops. posted to the wrong place. sorry to waste your time.

      --
      -- yawn. --
    2. Re:What does this really say? by eatdave13 · · Score: 1

      Sorry doesn't get my 2.25 seconds back, now does it buddy.

      While you're at it, why don't you give me back the 20 seconds it took to write this post complaining about it?

      Make that 45 seconds.

      Er, 53 seconds.

      No, 59 seconds.

      Wait, now it's 1:09

      Damnit, now it's 1:17

      AAAAARGH WILL IT NEVER END? 1:29

      You rat bastard, how could you do this to me? 1:44

      Please kill me. But first, give me back the 2 minutes of my life that you cost me.

      --
      "Verbing weirds language." -- Calvin
    3. Re:What does this really say? by eatdave13 · · Score: 1

      DAMNIT SON OF A BITCH I JUST WASTED ANOTHER 30 SECONDS LOOKING AT THE PREVIEW SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE IT STOP NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo......

      *runs screaming into the dark*

      ... and as the final insult, Slashdot wouldn't let me post twice within a minute. I just can't win, can I?

      Total life wasted: 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

      --
      "Verbing weirds language." -- Calvin
  66. Slightly offtopic by Cyberop5 · · Score: 1

    While on the topic of moderatly priced and near useless 3d tools, I ran into this glove called the P5 (http://www.essentialreality.com/). It operates on all 3 axis including yaw, pitch, and roll. It looks good on paper, but reviews have been light. Does anyone have any experiance with this? It'd be cool to use my hand instead of a mouse for surfing the web but especially awesome for games (Jedi Outcast and Opera ^_^).

    --
    Urgo: "I want to live. I want to experience the universe and I want to eat pie!"
    Jack: "Who doesn't??"
    1. Re:Slightly offtopic by rikkards · · Score: 1

      It'd be cool to use my hand instead of a mouse for surfing the web

      Well you must be hitting the wrong sites if you aren't already ;)

  67. And now for the real weird stuff... by Nestor+notabilis · · Score: 1

    If you think these glasses are useless, then look at the other stuff they offer.
    My personal favorite is the E-D trackIR(TM) Hands Free Game Controller. A poor mans head tracking device. You stick a reflective dot to your forehead and something that looks like a door knob tracks the position of the dot.

    Did anybody try this thing?

  68. What packages for simple 3D in Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What packages are needed to program simple 3D applications in Linux for these glasses?

  69. Re:Sloppy Comment, Good Point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You mean 'publishing', right? Sloppy... :)

  70. Old Nvidia Drivers 30.87 but good for Stereo Jpegs by JamMasterJGorilla · · Score: 1

    I have a set, they work, the only additional software required for Direct 3d and Open GL games is the "old" 30.87 Nvidia drivers (hint look for consumer 3d on the nvidia site).

    Nvidia has a JPS (Jpeg Stereo) viewer that can be used to display 3-D pictures. The 3D digital pictures are probably the most enjoyment I have with the glasses.

  71. Consoles? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would have thought that this would be quite easy to transfer to a game console, but I don't know the specifics. Does anyone know how hard it would be for eDimentional to do this?

    Also, i want to see this supported for the Mac - imagine os X in full stereoscopic 3d! Sweeet.

  72. TV-OUT? by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
    I play all my games on my 36' TV. Actually, my monitor broke so I am using an old commodore 64 monitor (RCA in) as a secondary. So I pretty much ONLY use my TV (typing on it now).

    Are there any 3-D glasses solutions that would work for tv out?

    I'd prefer 36' 2-D Quake3 over 19' 3-D Quake3.

    But 36' 3-D Quake3 would be awesome!

    --
    -Clio
    Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  73. This article is basically a commercial... by wdavies · · Score: 2

    Hi,

    I'm surprised this article was posted. Looking at the website its basically a shopping site -- this is a "editorial" advertisement. Not too mention 3, read em, 3 pop-unders.

    Is Slashdot getting a cut? I sure hope so :-)

    Winton

  74. Games, depends. Movies, no. by Rui+del-Negro · · Score: 2

    The 3D effects is only possible because the games render two different points of view, and the glasses sync to the monitor and make sure each eye only sees the point of view it should be seeing.

    Some graphics cards come with a 3D-glasses port (which is basically just a sync signal), others sync directly to the VGA connection. Technically it's even possible to sync to the screen, without any connection (but there's no point in doing that here, since the connection is easily available).

    Either way, they work fine as long as your monitor can refresh at a decent speed (remember, each eye will only see half the images, so if the monitor is doing 100 Hz, each eye is seeing 50) and your graphics card can render the frames fast enough (same thing - if the card renderes 100 FPS, each eye will only see 50). Also, these glasses only work if vsync is on (ie, frame updates must be synchronised with monitor refresh), so if you're used to about 70 FPS at 100 Hz, you will now see only 50 FPS in double-buffered games, which means each eye will only see 25.

    So if you really want to use this for games, make sure your monitor can do at least 120 Hz at the resolution you're planning to use (150 Hz or above would be preferable), and make sure your graphics card can surpass that frame rate at that resolution. Otherwise, you're in for some serious headaches.

    Also, your graphics driver must have support for 3D glasses (ie, they must be able to shift the point of view in alternate frames in 3D applications). Fortunately, most drivers do.

    Finally, eDimensional claim you can use their glases to see movies in 3D. This is obviously not true. Or rather, you will see some "depth effects", but they will obvioulsy not match the real depth of the original images. And when the depth effect from stereoscopic view clashes with the depth effect from spatial perception, you are very likely to get a major headache, which is your brain's way of saying "I refuse to process this junk".

    RMN
    ~~~

  75. The article... by Funkitup · · Score: 1

    mentioned something about how amazing it was we can fool the brain.

    Forgetting the fact that movies, tv, computer monitors etc have been doing this for 100+ years.

    And conmen have been doing that since before prostitutes started working.

  76. wil wheaton! by austad · · Score: 2

    I saw Wil Wheaton as the host of an infomercial for some X3D glasses last night, looks like the same thing that these are. Unfortunately, they only work under windows, and only work with an Nvidia card.

    Right now, these look like novelty items, however, what do you think it would be like if your windowing system had 3d support? OSX already has some cool transparency features, which might make a 3d gui more cool. Windows on top could float in air, and minimized windows could be sitting deep inside the screen with different depths depending on what's on top of them. You could probably do some other cool effects too. Yeah, it might be novelty, but I'm sure someone can find a good usability enhancement that would use this technology. Right now, most people think real-time transparency is a novelty, but I find it quite useful on my small laptop screen when I want to work in the active window, but see data in a window behind it either for reference or monitoring.

    --
    Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
  77. Headaches. by Catskul · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Stereo vision is only noticeable to about 30 feet out. This isnt very impressive when using a pair of 3d glasses looking at objects that are typically farther out, so I would assume that makers of 3d glasses would exaggerate the effect.

    What this means is that disparity of two correlated points in the two images is greater than it should be. Your brain determines the distance more based on other cues than stereo disparity. So when it gets confliciting signals about the distance of an object your eyes have a hard time adjusting their inward tilt(to increase the overlapping visual area), this is sometimes called "eyeball lock in".

    The conflicting messages of inward tilt(Brain: "Somthing is close to you Eyes!"), outward tilt (Brain: "Something is farther away Eyes!") make the eye muscles try and do the same thing at once and cause strain. Its the same strain of when you put your finger really close to the bridge of your nose and try to concentrate on it. I think this is what causes the headaches.

    --

    Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni
    1. Re:Headaches. by Rothron+the+Wise · · Score: 1

      Stereo vision is only noticeable to about 30 feet out.

      Is't not as simple as all that of course. The brain is marvelous at detecting differences between the two images, something which is very evident when you look at the ground from the window of a plane during take off. Even with everything much further away than 30 feet, there sill is a pronounced 3D-effect.

      The limit depends on what you're looking at basically. All of our senses are "auto calibrating" which is one of the reasons why it's easier to detect changes rather than absolutes.
      Feeling hot/cold can be a matter of several degrees, but even minute temperature changes are detectable.

      Of course there IS a hard upper limit to where our 3D-vision stops, which is why the night sky looks like dots on a hemisphere.

      --
      A witty .sig proves nothing
  78. 9700 obsolete? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So your saying we need Doom III to run at ~150fps, @ 1600x1200 to appreciate the quality of these glasses?
    Damn, my 9700 Pro only gets 50 right now!
    The GeforceFx doesn't look too promising either...
    Most people appluad the focus of increasing picture quality in these new gen cards (as do I), pointing out that 'frame rates dont matter past 30', and now look where its got us!

  79. Re:It's great to see military tech trickle down li by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i think most all video games owe their history to military tech. it would be nice if the tech was tricle down from nasa rather than the armed forces though.

    i seem to recall getting $4 in the economy for every dollar spent on the space program. i'm sure there's a point of diminishing returns, but making things stronger, smaller and cheaper tends to always be a win, whereas making things stealthy does not.

  80. My Review... by Java+Pimp · · Score: 2

    I do 3D visualization type stuff at work. We don't actually code the 3D engines however. We just use 3rd party software for rendering the scenes while we concentrate on presenting the data.

    Anyway, I wanted to learn to do 3D stereo with OpenGL so I went out, bought the glasses and here's what I found.

    The nVidia stereo drivers don't work with the OpenGL stereo on the TNT and TNT2 based cards.

    After I bought a GeForce4 4200, here's what I found...

    The GeForce4 (and other gaming cards) don't support the quad-buffered stereo I was trying to learn. None of the OpenGL apps I added stereo support for would run in stereo.

    The nVidia stereo driver seems to take a normal scene and generate stereo pairs for all the vertices before it renders the scene. I took the code I wrote and removed all the "special" stereo code, and then my applications would run in stereo just fine.

    Quake 3 looks great. Quake 2 looks a little better.

    DirectX based applications seem to have the stereo reversed and there is no way to switch it. (that I have found yet)

    I can play cool games and write OpenGL apps but I still don't have a machine at home to learn quad buffered stereo.

    --
    Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
    Kull: She told me she was 19!
    1. Re:My Review... by shizzlemynizzle · · Score: 1

      it's easy to reverse the stereo. edimensional just has an little utility to reverse it, though I've never found that in directX it was wrong to begin with.

    2. Re:My Review... by Java+Pimp · · Score: 2

      I'll have to look for the utility, thanks.

      I haven't messed w/ directx a lot. Unreal Tournament wasn't right w/ dx but was ok with OpenGL.

      --
      Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
      Kull: She told me she was 19!
  81. For those of you that don't want to spend the $... by Erpo · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...there's a much cheaper option. nVidia provides drivers that will render scenes in full-color anaglyph so you can dig out your old red/cyan glasses and run the latest 3d (and oldest) 3d games in real 3d. The drivers work for any program that does the 3d math correctly in opengl or direct3d. I have yet to come across a program that doesn't work with them.

    Sure, the image looks a little funky, and the framerate is half what it normally is, but you get this with any 3d scheme that uses a normal crt monitor. The glasses they talk about in this article also effectively halve the frame rate by halving the refresh rate per eye so you'll have to deal with quite a bit of flicker. Unless you can run your monitor at 1024x768 @ 120Hz vertical refresh, be prepared to run at lower resolutions. Oh yeah: page flipping 3d doesn't work very well with lcd monitors, so if you have a flat screen you're out of luck unless you want to go anaglyph.

  82. Wake up! by Java+Pimp · · Score: 3, Interesting
    --
    Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
    Kull: She told me she was 19!
  83. Re:It's great to see military tech trickle down li by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You'd like to see technology trickle down from NASA?

    Gimmie a break, NASA is sniffing aroung on Ebay for 8086 chips for the shuttle. NASA spends so much time testing their equipment that it's outdated by the time it goes into production.

  84. Nor for eye by Rareul · · Score: 2, Funny

    As a one-eyed freak since about birth, I have to tell you that I am
    amazed at the amount of time you multi-eyed folks have wasted on
    3d perception.

    About the only problem I've ever noticed with the 2d world is missing baseline jumpers, a few tough pool shots,
    and a lack of desire for huge breasts .)

    Hell, they even had a Seinfeld about multi-eyed folks wasting time on those darn 3d pictures.
    Remember George coming out of the bathroom with his shirt off in the middle of that party?

    ?sp

  85. Own um & luv um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I own a wireless pair of these - I have a GeForce 2 GTS (yeah yeah - I know, but Xmas is around the corner) I had to download special drivers off Nvidia.com but other than that - no problems. They work for TONS of games. I use them on Everquest, MS Flight Simulator 2k Pro, Unreal & a bunch of other games. The glasses come with 2 sets of arms, a short & long version. The long version being for people wearing glasses...or for the people with odd shaped head(s). I had headaches for the first couple times I used them, but eventually got used to it. Upping the refresh rate helped too.

  86. Not exactly new tech - even for consumer gadgets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have an old 8-bit Sega master system around here somewhere, and plugged into the slot on the front is a pair of, get this, LCD shutter glasses. Sadly, the only game that took advantage of them requires a "gun" that I no longer own...

    Folks, the only difference is the frame rate. Get a grip.

  87. Supported games by Fizzl · · Score: 1

    Shurely it support ADOM and Nethack?

  88. The L00K by netwalkr · · Score: 1

    Wireless 3d Glasses $100, Complete gaming PC $1500, The look on your friends face when they see you playing UT with these glasses, PRICELESS.......

  89. What an annoying site! by bentterp · · Score: 1

    Okay, so I decide to read their review, going 'right-click', 'open link in new tab', and what happens next?

    Annoying ads start popping up: a casino, an Intel newsletter, and a matchmaking "service" - these people sure know their target audience, huh?

  90. Furniture makes for poor deathmatch opponent by zornorph · · Score: 1

    these revamped version of the glasses seem to offer much more value and compatibility to the table

    That's all well and good for the table, but even with these glasses, I'm sure the table will still suck in Quake.

    --
    http://bike.stu.ph/rides - free GPS routes available for Garmin, Magellan, GPX and Google Earth
  91. Hell... by OrbNobz · · Score: 1

    My wife laughs at me because I try and look around 2D corners!

    - OrbNobz
    Wreckin it, cuz it's fun.

  92. OT Test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hmmmmm

    http://www.sejus.com/earth2willi/index.php

    1. Re:OT Test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wow

  93. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    It's a bird..
    It's a plane..
    No, it's KernelMan, faster than a speeding bullet, to your rescue.
    Doing new kernel versions in under 5 seconds flat..
    -- Linus, in the announcement for 1.3.27

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...