Zalman Trimon Mini-Review

Post by **cybereality** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:11 am

I've been a little busy lately but I wanted to post a quick mini-review for the Zalman Trimon 22" 3D monitor. I actually got into an accident and I'm stuck in a wheel-chair, but I just got out the hospital (yeeaaaa!!!!). That said I haven't got much of a chance to play with the monitor lately, but I did get to test it before I got hurt. Anyway, heres my little mini-review while its still somewhat fresh in my mind. I'll took pictures and stuff for a full review at a later time, this is just a teaser.

The Zalman Trimon is hands down the best stereo 3d I've ever seen on a home platform. I have not tried the iz3d and don't wish to make this about comparing them. Both are comparable solutions and both have pros and cons. However I am very happy with my purchase of the Zalman Trimon monitor and do not regret my choice at all. The picture quality is totally crisp and crystal clear. In the right hot-spot there is practically zero ghosting (aka stereo cross-talk). If you move your head around the image begins to ghost but once you move to the right spot its not an issue. The Trimon also has a very smooth adjustable neck similar to the old one-piece iMacs. Really this is one of the best monitors I've ever had the pleasure of using, 3D or 2D, its really that good. The screen itself is highly glossy, which I consider a pro, it gives great colors. Other people might not like the gloss so its something to keep in mind. The 3D glasses themselves are comfortable and easy to use (passive polarized) and a clip-on set is also included if you wear glasses already. Overall an outstanding package, worth every penny.

In terms of gaming I've only tried a few compatible games but they worked great. On Windows Vista I played Bioshock and it was simply amazing. On a high-end rig in 3d this was not even the same game I played on Xbox360 last year. Really I was blown away by the graphics on Bioshock in stereo3d. Some other titles I tried didn't work as well, games like GRID worked but not as good as Bioshock. Nvidia could work on the compatibility a bit more. On XP I was playing Unreal Tournament 2004 and boy was it intense. The Trimon monitor took this game to another level, past even what I've seen with shutter-glasses. What I got was a ghost-free, flicker-free, full-color crstal clear stereo 3d image. Really, its the only way to play. It even blew the VR920 HMD headset out the water in this game. I will admit the VR920 was capable of a deeper image, meaning the rooms looked bigger, but that was the only advantage. Otherwise the Zalman Trimon was easier and more comfortable to play while offering a high-resolution a full refresh-rate among other technical benefits. Really, I can't got back to those other stereo solutions now, the Trimon really is worth the ticket price. Half-Life 2 Episode 1 was simply breath-taking once setup properly. It really took the game to new heights. Highly recommended. I also tried Crysis under Vista and it looked awesome but I'll need to wait for a new video card to come out before this game will be fully playable in stereo3d. The only downside was the spotty compatibility, read up on the supported games list before you buy. Otherwise I was very happy with the product. It also matched well with my existing 22" widescreen 2D monitor, so now I've got a dual monitor setup going, much to my liking. Overall I'm a happy camper.

I can safely recommend the Zalman Trimon to other experienced stereo3d gamers. If you have never gamed in 3d before, the Trimon might be a little complex to get working, but worth the effort. But a cheaper solution may be better for a newbie looking to get their feet wet. Overall a high-quality product and a great monitor for both 2D and 3D purposes. I've been gaming in stereo3d for many years so this is not a light recommendation. Zalman has earned its place in history, this monitor is a real gem.

Post by **LukePC1** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:54 pm

I wish you a fast recovery form the accident.

Thanks for posting the review/teaser. I think it has a LOT of superlatives for this screen

But you have to consider, the pricing. It is way more expencive than VR920 and even IZ3D. Maybe a DLP rig would be equal. And it's about in the same price range. I would expect a top screen for so much money. This happened aparently. Unfortunatly the (driver) support seems to be not the biggest pro

Well maybe you'll be able to get a second driver for it made by IZ3D. Of course that would add to the price again

Post by **Neil** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:58 pm

Woah! That sounds like a terrible accident you went through, and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Can you read the Crysis review I wrote and post your thoughts in the attached thread? I did not have the same experience you did with Crysis, and if I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to know so I can update the review accordingly.

Regards,
Neil

Post by **Tril** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:29 pm

I've read that the Zalman screen uses polarization arranged in horizontal lines. If it's like that, it means each eye sees black horizontal lines between each lines of visible pixels. Are these black lines annoying to see and do they cause problem with reading text in games?

It's roughly twice the resolution of the VR920 so it's roughly twice the price.

Post by **Likay** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:37 pm

Hope you recover soon! At least you have something to play with during the time.

Good to know that you enjoy your purchase.
I have always wondered: If you should split the polarization on a screen in a checkerboard pattern instead of lines the interlacing effect wouldn't be too bad. ANy other with ideas?

Post by **yuriythebest** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:43 pm

cybereality wish you a speedy recovery

I don't thing the vertical resolution halving would be an issue- with shutterglasses it's also halved yet you don't notice it.
Yeah zero ghosting would rule. The only thing that makes me apprehensive of the zalman is to my knowledge it only works on vista.

Post by **stee1hed** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:40 pm

cybereality, sorry to hear of your accident and hope the best on your recovery!

I'm glad to read your review and that it really impressed you. One thing I either missed or it wasn't there is that it only requires one video output to drive it, correct? For my setup this would be a killer combo.

Post by **funkee** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 1:33 am

Likay wrote:Hope you recover soon! At least you have something to play with during the time.
Good to know that you enjoy your purchase.
I have always wondered: If you should split the polarization on a screen in a checkerboard pattern instead of lines the interlacing effect wouldn't be too bad. ANy other with ideas?

You would be in trouble with the viewing angle. Currently the split in polarization is done in a plate in front of the LCD screen, and this leads to a limited vertical sweet spot but and acceptable horizontal one. If you switch to a checkerboard first of all the retarder plate would be a LOT more difficult to make, but the result would be a horrible horizontal viewing sweet spot. Not feasible, I think

Post by **funkee** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 1:34 am

stee1hed wrote:cybereality, sorry to hear of your accident and hope the best on your recovery!

I'm glad to read your review and that it really impressed you. One thing I either missed or it wasn't there is that it only requires one video output to drive it, correct? For my setup this would be a killer combo.

It requires one DVI output, yes. And it comes with NVIDIA drivers (well, my one did, at least).

Post by **StereoGaming4Me** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 1:41 am

I tried looking up the manufacturers website for compatible games and it is down, a korean site too. Exactly where are these made?

Post by **Likay** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:04 am

funkee wrote:
Likay wrote:Hope you recover soon! At least you have something to play with during the time.
Good to know that you enjoy your purchase.
I have always wondered: If you should split the polarization on a screen in a checkerboard pattern instead of lines the interlacing effect wouldn't be too bad. ANy other with ideas?
You would be in trouble with the viewing angle. Currently the split in polarization is done in a plate in front of the LCD screen, and this leads to a limited vertical sweet spot but and acceptable horizontal one. If you switch to a checkerboard first of all the retarder plate would be a LOT more difficult to make, but the result would be a horrible horizontal viewing sweet spot. Not feasible, I think

Very true. The polarizing layer has to be very close to the original lcd. If the lcd it self has a thick glasslayer in front of the pixelelements this cannot be accomplished. Still like the idea though.

Post by **LukePC1** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:19 pm

Likay wrote:
funkee wrote:
Likay wrote:Hope you recover soon! At least you have something to play with during the time.
Good to know that you enjoy your purchase.
I have always wondered: If you should split the polarization on a screen in a checkerboard pattern instead of lines the interlacing effect wouldn't be too bad. ANy other with ideas?
You would be in trouble with the viewing angle. Currently the split in polarization is done in a plate in front of the LCD screen, and this leads to a limited vertical sweet spot but and acceptable horizontal one. If you switch to a checkerboard first of all the retarder plate would be a LOT more difficult to make, but the result would be a horrible horizontal viewing sweet spot. Not feasible, I think
Very true. The polarizing layer has to be very close to the original lcd. If the lcd it self has a thick glasslayer in front of the pixelelements this cannot be accomplished. Still like the idea though.

I remember that BlackQ said he would know, how expencive these polarizers are... and that IZ3D with their second LCD panel ARE competetive to Zalman! And now imagine to make an even more complex polarizer... Zalman is more expencive than IZ3D even now!

I was thinking it would cost only some cents and maybe ins some time every screen would be interlaced or checkerboarded... but that won't be the case - except S-3d goes mainstreem...

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:28 am

Thanks for all your support. Let me try to address some of the questions.

The big one is the issues with the interlace format. For the most part its not a big issue. While watching videos or games its barely noticable. Text, however, is un-readable. You have to take the glasses off to read the text (or move your head far enough from the hotspot that you see both views). Either way its a hastle, however only with small text. Watching videos or in many games, like Unreal Tourney 2004, its not an issue at all. It just depends what you are doing. The important thing to look at is that I don't notice the black lines at all in those situations. It looks like normal due to the high resolution. Overall a minor complaint that I can live with.

In terms of Crysis, you need to tweak it out to get proper stereo3d. I was using this custom CVar mod which helped overcome some issues. I'll post a link if I can find it.

AFAIK, the Zalman only works with the Nvidia drivers at the moment. It can work in XP with an older videocard (NV 7 series) but only in Vista w/ a modern PC. I tested both, both were impressive.

Like I said before, I've never used the iz3D so I can't say which is better. The iz3D has much better driver support and its cheaper, so it gets the recommendation for newbies. If you are more experienced with stereo3d and are comfortable with the nvidia drivers then the Zalman is not a bad choice either. Mainly I wanted to make the distinction that the Trimon monitor is better than older solutions like shutter-glasses. I heard some people claiming SGs were better and they clearly didn't set the monitor up properly. Overall I'm happy with the purchase, although it was a little more expensive than I would have liked.

Post by **Neil** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:03 am

I'm able to run Crysis on the Zalman with the iZ3D drivers. There was a crash because of beta driver bugs, but it is playable. More than that, it was on my NVIDIA machine which was unexpected. Let's see what happens with the next version.

Regards,
Neil

Post by **yuriythebest** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:08 am

Neil wrote:I'm able to run Crysis on the Zalman with the iZ3D drivers.

wow awesome news! So no more need to hack stuff to get crysis to work?

Once 1.09 will become stable it will be the awesomest driver ever.