right even though everyone who visits this place knows my position on the iz3d monitor and also has probably seen my video reviews of it I've still decided to do add it in text form
< insert explanation about what is stereo3d and a brief history of stereo3d and rant about nvidias stereodrivers here>
this monitor looks quite stylish even when turned off. However, before we go into the 3d aspect of this monitor let’s talk a little bit about the design.
It has a nice little logo of iz3d at the top left corner which instantly distinguishes it from any other flat boring monitor and tells the world that it’s the Ferrari of LCD’s. In fact I would not exchange this for
a flat monitor that is twice as big- it’s that good. However this would not be a fair review if I didn’t also talk about the downsides of this monitor. Well not so much downsides as things that could use improvement, and also some funny unique features and challenges that this monitor presents you with.
For one thing- it’s reflective- when turned off I use it as a mirror to see if my hair is ok. But when powered up apart from the slightly increased glossieness of it, which some may find is quite stylish , you soon learn to tune out the reflections and now I don't notice them at all (except not because I specifically remembered them and focused my eyes to see it).
I think this is because this glass is polarized so that you can see in 3d. So I can forgive this as a necessity.
The viewing angle in 2d mode is quite good from the sides and from below. However from high up the image does become overly bright. How ever few people work under such angles so it’s ok.
There was supposed to be an LED light , however it was just too bright so I scotch taped a piece of cardboard over it. However my subwoofers had the same problem, in fact there the light was almost like a laser. On the iz3d it’s just slightly distracting. An option to turn it off would be nice. The power button is pretty self explanatory. Next we have the menu. Now this is where the fun begins- if I click the menu button I get the option to adjust the brightness- that’s the only option! However I understand why they did it- brightness is actually directly linked to the ghosting, that is the undesired doubling effect many 3d solutions have. So instead of presenting you with many menus and submenus to adjust it they placed it right under your nose. Good thinking.
The auto buton is needed only if one of your cables is VGA- I’ve never had to use it.
If you have never seen stereoscopic 3d go to an IMAX or REALD theater to get a good idea of what it looks like.
Now lets talk about the actual 3d effect. It’s like a giant 22’ window to another world. A good analogy of what this looks like if you never experienced stereo3d is imagine if you broke everything out of your monitor and put little paper models of stuff inside- only those models run around and shoot at you!
Some games do work better than others, but if your game is in directX 9 - most new games are, it will most likely work.
Also, for those of you using shutterglasses and considering switching to an iz3d I can only say this- do you know that unfomfortable tingling sensation in your eyes when you stare too intensely at a 3d image? Also do your eyes get a little red after each game? Well fear no more! I was very surprised by this, but viewing stereo3d on an iz3d actually relaxes the eyes!! Yess!! Look at how white they are- no red dots. They used to be very red just a few days ago. Even though this monitor has more ghosting than shutteglasses, the fact that it’s so eye friendly far outweighs that problem, since you can play for as long as you like with impunity! Buahahahah!
Another aspect of the iz3d that’s worth mentioning is the tech support. This aspect is as awesome as the monitor itself. The people there are very helpful and will actually help you with your problems. In fact, the chief technical officer of IZ3d, mister vadim asadov regularly visits the company forums to help people out. How cool is that. Many companies just train people to give standard, bot-like, responses, well none of that here. Kudos to iz3d!
I have taken some time to test out many games, including team fortress 2, command and conquer renegade, star trek legacies, day of defeat source, aces of the galaxy, leisure suit larry, rayman 3, oblivion eleder scrolls and unreal tournament 3. Of course these aren’t the only games that work with the iz3d- if the game uses directx 8 or 9 it will most likely work, but my time was of course limited.
First off the ghosting in these games- after some testing, it becomes apparent that the ghosting on the iz3d behaves very differently from the shutterglass ghosting. Ghosting in shutterglasses is usually visible in dark areas, here it’s most apparent in games, or game areas, that is, that have very high contrast and bright areas. The ghosting is especially visible in bright, colorful games with plenty of visible blue skies- that included team fortress 2 and day of defeat. However while the ghosting was visible, it didn’t really disturb the gameplay in any noticeable fashion because the actual level doesn’t really ghost- it’s mainly the skies and you sort of learn to ignore it.
Command and conquer renegade had some very nice 3d, along with ghosting in open areas but inside there was little to no ghosting. I always find that older, blockier games like half life 1 have a very noticeable and exaggerated 3d effect. I have not yet been able to get the original half life to work using the iz3d but hopefully half life source will work, which is basically the exact same game with the exact same graphics only the water reflections and some other junk was improved.
Now one thing I did find that helps with severe outdoor ghosting is taking the clipons and using them together with the regular glasses. However iz3d going to start beta testing some better glasses with less ghosting quite soon now, so hopefully that will take care of that.
Now, of all the games I tested, 2 really stood out, that was aces of the galaxy, an obscure game I admit, but when viewed using an iz3d it does wonders. And also unreal tournament 3- that was probably the most realistic gaming experience I have had thus far. The game is very dark and grey, which unintentionally eliminates almost all of the ghosting. In fact unless you specifically look for ghosting you probably won’t see it in the game. The gameplay in stereo3d was just amazing. That game alone justifies having the iz3d monitor.
Iz3d is a very interesting company to keep track off. Soon we will have glasses with less ghosting, iz3d is also planning to release a 26 inch version sometime in the future. No information yet if that monitor will be somehow different hardware wise and if it will have less ghosting. Also everyone with shutterglasses will be pleased to know that iz3d will release shutterglass drivers any time now. They will of course cost something but your only other choice is to use some drivers from nvidia or endimensional.
Also, I’ve been reading a review somewhere that I shall not name which said “one of the downsides of owning an iz3d monitor is always being tied to the continuous string of driver updates”- as if it is a bad thing! I guess he would rather have that company say “oh here are your drivers for the next 10 years, go away and play now, chop chop!”… right.
Hope you found this review informative!
EDIT: one awesome thing that just dawned on me is that I no longer have to instantly disable 3d mode and lift/take off my glasses for fear of causing more damage than necessary to my eyes, which was sort of an instinct from my shutterglass days. I can now not take off my glasses when working on and off with stereoscopic imagery (saving to desktop, renaming, etc). Those of you with shutterglasses will understand how awesome this is.
EDIT2: added a stereophoto. Reverse left/right if image looks "wrong"
![Image](http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/983/iz3dstereo3dut3lowressq1.th.jpg)