What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

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Heather
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What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by Heather »

Hello all,
I want to play games on my PC not supported by the Rift/Tridef in stereoscopic 3D on a headset. I have read about the Sony HMZ-T3W but apparently it only supports 720p graphics.

In your opinion, what is the "best" head-mounted device that displays PC output in stereoscopic 3D, as far as quality of image and 3D goes (I don't care about anything else)?
Alternatively, is there any way to mod/rig non-3D HMDs to display in stereo 3D?

Thank you all very much for any help.
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cybereality
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by cybereality »

If you just want to play games in 3D (meaning non-VR games), and want the best picture quality, then you may want to look at the Nvidia 3D Vision 2 setup.

I'm using the Asus Rog Swift, which is 1440p and works with the Nvidia glasses. The quality is top-notch in terms of the 3D and the image quality.

Of course, it's not VR, and if you want VR there is nothing available to consumers that is better than the Rift. But for straight 3D, the Nvidia glasses are nice.
WiredEarp
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by WiredEarp »

HMZ series is probably the best you can do for now in this area. Personally I'd just use a DK2 and run Vireio or VorpX.

Problem with the HMZ series etc is the FOV is low compared to a DK2.
Heather
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by Heather »

Hey guys, thanks for your helpful responses and information.
I have a question about Nvidia 3D Vision or drivers for the Oculus Rift: I play a lot of older games and probably games that are not even DirectX. It's basically impossible to support that kind of 3D for those games, right?

I guess I'm trying to "knock out two birds with one stone" and that isn't really possible in this field yet- lol. I will probably end up combining you guys' information and keep my Google Cardboard for VR, then have enough money to get some sort of a 3D Vision setup for 3D. :D

EDIT: I also found out that the HMZ-T3 doesn't have any sort of 3D upconversion of its own (which I was misled into thinking by its "personal 3D viewer" title). I thought it upconverted everything to 3D on its own- now I realize there must be no real HMD that does that out there. Sorry for my confusion. That makes me wonder why anyone would prefer the HMZ over a Rift, which has 1080p display? Maybe because its purpose is more to replace a TV than to be used for gaming.
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cybereality
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by cybereality »

Real-time 3D conversion is real, but it is usually bad (very bad) and not worth it. I don't know any major HMDs that do this, but there are some HDTVs that try (and fail).

The DK2 has a 1080P display, but it's split between two eyes (meaning the amount of total pixels is similar to a 720P dual screen HMD). Also, since the FOV of the DK2 is much much larger than the HMZ, it turns out the HMZ will appear to have much better picture quality. Not good for VR at all, but it may be better suited to watch a 3D Blu-Ray or something like that. Though you could use the Rift with a virtual cinema app, and get a better experience, at the cost of image quality of the movie area.

Seems like maybe you are not too familiar with the technology and should probably do more research before buying anything. Maybe if you said what you want I could give better suggestions.
Heather
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by Heather »

Sorry, you are totally right. I'm new to 3D and I only started looking into it after getting a Google Cardboard. I'm probably making too many assumptions about what is possible and what isn't, haha. But thanks for helping me out so much, I had no idea that upconversion was a bad idea.

I guess the question that I should ask is whether it's possible to play older games or games that are not DirectX in stereoscopic 3D. What I have seen about 3D drivers (i.e. Tridef) and Nvidia's 3D Vision is that they seem to only work with newer version DirectX games. I don't mind, but I should probably consider that if I buy anything.
Thanks again!
WiredEarp
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by WiredEarp »

The new generation of 3D Vision only seems to run recent DirectX stuff. Before 3D Vision came out, there was an almost identical (but incompatible) Nvidia 3D driver support. This supported older games (I think down to DX7) with certain hardware etc, using CRT monitors. Nvidia 7900's were the last officially supported hardware that used the old system, but I think there was a version that worked ok with a GTX460. If you had old videocard hardware you could probably build a retro PC using this route. I'm not sure what 3D glasses you'd need these days, back then I was using eDimensionals (which might still be available cheaply on eBay). As mentioned, you'll most likely need a CRT monitor capable of 120hz as well.

Its probably not really worth it in my opinion. Easier to just buy 3D Vision 2 and not worry about old games these days ;/
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cybereality
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by cybereality »

Old games are problematic. As WiredEarp mentioned, there was an older Nvidia 3D driver (long before Nvidia 3D Vision) that supported DirectX 7/8/9 and OpenGL. However, you will need all antique parts. A PC running a 7000 series Nvidia card (not 700, 7000), a CRT monitor (that can do at least 85Hz, though 120+ is better), old shutter glasses that are hard to find now (like eDimensional, ELSA Revelator, Another Eye 2000, etc.) that work with VGA CRTs, and Windows XP with ancient Nvidia drivers. It can be done, but honestly not worth the effort (in my opinion) compared to the hundreds of more modern games (DX9+) that work with the current Nvidia 3D Vision software.
shinra358
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Re: What is the best-quality 3D HMD?

Post by shinra358 »

Vrvana sold out to Apple so we will never get to see it's totem hmd. Next best is the Luci Immers that is about to start shipping some time soon. It's basically the upgrade from the Sony HMZT3w. Uses the same parts and has rectangular lenses as well. There's another Luci variant called Alyx which will be 4k and 120 hz instead of the 1080p 60 hz normal Immers variant but this one will look hideous on the outside. This will be the best hmd. Use Reshade for your stereoscopy needs when it ships out.
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