Eagerly welcoming the Z-axis!

[Kizza]

Hello MTBS3D denizens,

I've been interested in getting a 3D set up for four of five years now, and only recently with the aid of James Cameron and the 3D revolution has a 3D solution become available and affordable for me! I remember visiting these forums as an inCrysis administrator in 2007 and seeing how excited everyone was at the prospect of S-3D in Crysis. That enthusiasm was so infectious that I believe it is directly responsible for the Stereo3D compatibility and support seen in every Crytek game and the Cryengine 3.

The time of 3D is certainly upon us. My current set up is a Samsung S23A950D 120Hz active 3D monitor with shutter glasses and a Core i7-2700K with AMD Radeon HD 6850 graphics card and blu-ray drive. This is the best and most affordable screen available to me at the time of purchase, but I do plan to upgrade that graphics card in future to ensure highest frames/sec, but also high compatibility for 3D gaming. I also have an Xbox 360 S console and would like 3D with that, as well.

My question is, with the many options available to me with use of this monitor, what are the best ones for 3D movies and gaming on PC and Xbox 360?

The S23A950D comes with TriDef software, although I have tried it with mixed results. There is quite a cost to the frame rate and there appear to be consistent issues in games with asynchronous shadows and lighting that is slightly out of place in both images. The 2D->3D conversion feature of this monitor is a cheap and easy way, but sometimes it gets confused about which parts of objects should be in the foreground and background and sometimes "bends" objects that are meant to be on the same plane of depth. I haven't actually been able to connect the Xbox360 to the monitor yet, as it enters standby when I use my HDMI switcher to connect the console. Is there better hardware, software or drivers that I can invest in that will improve my 3D experience?

Also, I would like to know if my onscreen refresh rate is actually 120Hz. Is there any way of confirming this? If it isn't, how do I switch to high refresh rate?

Thanks!

-Kieran

[bgnome]

Congratulations on your new adventure in to 3D!

Firstly, I would like to mention that hdmi will NOT accept a 120Hz input. Since the Xbox360 uses hdmi as its best connection, I would suggest hooking it up directly with hdmi and connecting the pc using a dual-link dvi cable or displayport. According to your manual (p.78), only the DVI and DP inputs support 120hz:
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/conte ... 5A-Eng.pdf

TriDef an Iz3D are pretty much your only choices when it comes to a Radeon card. It has been a long time since Iz3D has seen an update so TriDef is probably your best bet. Make sure your driver is up to date; you can check the TriDef forum for beta drivers that may increase performance. Once you have the correct connection to your monitor, make sure you have it set to 1080p Frame Sequential. Personally, I use Nvidia 3D Vision and feel that it is a more polished product, but AMD is starting to get there. TriDef has a good community which churns out compatibility profiles for new games fairly often.

As far as movies go, Stereoscopic Player and PowerDVD come highly recommended. There are free trials out there for you to find which you prefer. I find that the newer versions of PowerDVD have a lot of useless bloated features so I stick with v10 if I want to play a 3D Bluray, (or use my PS3, which has many more 3D games as well). I also tend to avoid the automatic 2D>3D conversion tools as I find them gimmicky at best and usually prefer to find native stereoscopic content.

[cybereality]

If you want to use the Xbox in 3D you should plug it directly into the monitor via HDMI. Receivers or pass-throughs that are not HDMI 1.4a compatible will not transmit a 3D signal.

[Kizza]

Thanks very much for the information. I did discover the dual-link DVI cable and I have been using that to get 120Hz. I'm not sure how I will go with the Xbox360, but hopefully HDMI is sufficient.

Another issue I have been having in most of the games I have tried is something I believe is known as ghosting or cross-talk. Is there any way I can calibrate the games, TriDef software or monitor to reduce this issue? I've heard talk of modifications to the settings that would help fix this issue, however there's nothing specific about which settings can be changed.

Oddly, I find that ghosting occurs mostly with the right eye, but not with the left.

I find reducing the scene depth helps, but this also reduces the 3D effect, which is not a desirable result. I am otherwise enjoying this monitor, so I hope it isn't a hardware issue.

[cybereality]

Well ghosting usually happen in both eyes equally. I don't recall hearing about it happening only in one eye. It may be a hardware issue specific to that monitor. I don't know. It could also be that you have a dominant eye (I think everybody does) and its more apparent in that eye. Not sure.

To reduce ghosting you can, of course, use more moderate 3D settings. On some monitors it helps to turn the contrast down on the monitor's settings (try it at zero and see how it is).

[Guig2000]

I'ts know issue with this monitor.
A sort of bad sync with the right eye.

According to Neil:

Review after review, I have read that the Samsung has too much ghosting. Nothing is further from the truth if you go into Samsung’s menu and change response time from “fast” to “normal”. Suddenly nearly all the ghosting is gone.

http://www.mtbs3d.com/index.php?option= ... comparison