Field Sequential (interlaced) 3D support on XP
Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:40 pm
Hi there, I am new to these boards.
I am a big fan of the mid-90s Head Mounted Displays like Forte VFX-3D, 1995 i-Glasses PC, Cybermaxx and so on.
My favorite is the 1995 i-glassses PC with headtracker. The problem is that support on modern operating systems (I count Windows XP as "modern") is rather bad.
For games only the game "James Cameron's Avatar" offer a field sequential stereo mode, about all other games lack stereo modes. Nvidia had great drivers with stereo support but all newer ones don't support real 3D, only some crappy mode for their own brand shutter glasses (lol? That's how you sell today....). The only real alternate method was using IZ3D drivers which work fine for the good old field sequential mode HMDs. Actually terrible app as it costs 50 Dollars and is limited to the PC you bought the license for which is total BS. OK i tempered a bit with IZ3D, so for me the field sequential mode is now the "free" mode, but to make it short: I wanted more.
The first problem is that in Windows XP you can't set the screen res to 640x480 with the normal menu - 800x600 is the smallest you get but all the vintage HMDs wont work with that.
So to enjoy viewing full screen S-3D video with my old HMDs i had to make a little handy app that changes to 640x480 and back to your original resolution with just one click. Really usefull, i keep it in my quicklaunch bar. To view a video in field sequential format just use the app to switch to 640x480, open the FS-3D video in VLC media player, set it to fuill screen and then change aspect ratio to 4:3.
OK so here is the resolution switcher in case anyone needs it:
http://www.tankraider.com/userup/1275166793.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Well the next thing i did is looking into how field sequential stereo 3D is made - you basically just draw the first line from the left picture as line 1, then draw line 2 from the right pictures first line and so on. So i made a little tool to generate field sequential stereo images from a left/right pair. I have worked a bit on the application and it now automatically handles 640x480 input images and resizes them, so you don't need to manually skew your left/right images before converting them to FS 3D. Originally i only made this app to create Field sequential graphics for further programming, i want to make a game in Field Sequential 3D. But as it was so much fun i integrated a "Viewer", so you can just click "Full Screen" and instantly enjoy your stereo pic on your HMD in Field Sequentail 640x480 - no need to get obscure drivers or stuff, so it's also a great app to try out your HMD you bought on ebay. =)
OK here is the app in case anyone wants it. I will continue working on some games and stuff.
Note: Set your screen mode to 1280x1024 or higher or this might not work. I really tried making a 640x480 compatible app, but i couldn't do it, so you have to live with that. If the 3D is screwed up then try to swap left/right images. This works fine on windows XP, it should generally also work on Vista/7 but i dont have these so i couldnt try.
http://www.tankraider.com/userup/1275796284.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have also got the newer (2003) i-glasses with frame sequential stereo mode, but so far i have not started to make anything frame sequential. Does anyone have sources or tutorials for proggramming frame sequential appz?
All comments welcomed. =)
I am a big fan of the mid-90s Head Mounted Displays like Forte VFX-3D, 1995 i-Glasses PC, Cybermaxx and so on.
My favorite is the 1995 i-glassses PC with headtracker. The problem is that support on modern operating systems (I count Windows XP as "modern") is rather bad.
For games only the game "James Cameron's Avatar" offer a field sequential stereo mode, about all other games lack stereo modes. Nvidia had great drivers with stereo support but all newer ones don't support real 3D, only some crappy mode for their own brand shutter glasses (lol? That's how you sell today....). The only real alternate method was using IZ3D drivers which work fine for the good old field sequential mode HMDs. Actually terrible app as it costs 50 Dollars and is limited to the PC you bought the license for which is total BS. OK i tempered a bit with IZ3D, so for me the field sequential mode is now the "free" mode, but to make it short: I wanted more.
The first problem is that in Windows XP you can't set the screen res to 640x480 with the normal menu - 800x600 is the smallest you get but all the vintage HMDs wont work with that.
So to enjoy viewing full screen S-3D video with my old HMDs i had to make a little handy app that changes to 640x480 and back to your original resolution with just one click. Really usefull, i keep it in my quicklaunch bar. To view a video in field sequential format just use the app to switch to 640x480, open the FS-3D video in VLC media player, set it to fuill screen and then change aspect ratio to 4:3.
OK so here is the resolution switcher in case anyone needs it:
http://www.tankraider.com/userup/1275166793.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Well the next thing i did is looking into how field sequential stereo 3D is made - you basically just draw the first line from the left picture as line 1, then draw line 2 from the right pictures first line and so on. So i made a little tool to generate field sequential stereo images from a left/right pair. I have worked a bit on the application and it now automatically handles 640x480 input images and resizes them, so you don't need to manually skew your left/right images before converting them to FS 3D. Originally i only made this app to create Field sequential graphics for further programming, i want to make a game in Field Sequential 3D. But as it was so much fun i integrated a "Viewer", so you can just click "Full Screen" and instantly enjoy your stereo pic on your HMD in Field Sequentail 640x480 - no need to get obscure drivers or stuff, so it's also a great app to try out your HMD you bought on ebay. =)
OK here is the app in case anyone wants it. I will continue working on some games and stuff.
Note: Set your screen mode to 1280x1024 or higher or this might not work. I really tried making a 640x480 compatible app, but i couldn't do it, so you have to live with that. If the 3D is screwed up then try to swap left/right images. This works fine on windows XP, it should generally also work on Vista/7 but i dont have these so i couldnt try.
http://www.tankraider.com/userup/1275796284.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have also got the newer (2003) i-glasses with frame sequential stereo mode, but so far i have not started to make anything frame sequential. Does anyone have sources or tutorials for proggramming frame sequential appz?
All comments welcomed. =)