What borders on a religious occasion (because it has been a really long time), iZ3D has released their new 1.13 beta drivers!
What makes this revision unique is it has been released in two flavours. The first is a standard release that features several bug fixes, a cooler looking interface, and a new compatibility mode for certain anti-cheat engines. The second has a new architecture to work with most 120Hz LCD panels and LCD shutter glasses, but is very experimental at this stage and is more of a stepping stone to a future product release.
Let’s start with the standard 1.13 release. Key improvements include:
1. A completely new user interface in the iZ3D Control Center.
2. Added an option in the config file that increases compatibility with some anti-cheat software mechanisms (iZ3D confirmed GameGuard, and hopes for similar compatibility with PunkBuster).
3. Added stereoscopic presets for all supported games.
4. New Output: AMD HD3D (HDMI 1.4 compatibility on AMD GPUs)
5. Two new “Stereo Mirror” output modes.
6. Display scaling is now automatically activated for display modes that require it (e.g. being able to game with 720P content on a 1080P screen in interlaced mode).
7. Added driver activation button.
8. Added UM presenter for DirectX 10 (120 Hz Devices output).
9. Added Norton AniVirus to driver’s exceptions.
10. All default exceptions are now visible in Control Center Exceptions Sections.
11. iZ3D Screenshots taken in 2D mode are saved in .jpg format.
12. Added new lasersight.
13. Updated user guide.
To activate the anti-cheat support, find the “Config.xml” file and change the code:
RouterType Value=”0″
to code:
Additional fixes:
1. Rewrote the interaction of DX10 games on Nvidia graphics cards to fix various DX10 compatibility issues.
2. Fixed problems for DX10/11 with Dual Monitor outputs (iZ3D, Stereo Mirror, dual projector, etc.).
3. Fixed bug where AMD users couldn’t get free 3D DLP output.
4. Systems with dual GPU detection by the video driver for DX10/11 is now working properly.
5. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit – fixed problem where shadow from objects were covering huge areas.
6. Fixed Aion Crash bug on Vista and Vista x64 OS.
7. Fixed DX10/11 interface for Battlefield Bad Company 2.
8. Fixed DX9 interfaces for: Civilization V, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2, Crysis 2, Monday Night Combat, King Arthur, Darkspore, LEGO Star Wars 3: Clone Wars, Back to the Future Ep1 & Ep2, Need for Speed Shift 2, Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Ghostbusters Sanctum of Slime, Sanctum.
Known bugs and issues:
1. Some DX10/11 games are starting in windowed mode.
2. Dirt 2 and Aliens vs Predator crashes ain DX11.
3. Dragon Age 2 – There is a black screen at the start if antialiasing is enabled in DX11.
4. Dynamic test is bugged in fullscreen mode in DX10.
5. Battlefield Bad Company 2 sometimes starts with a white screen.
6. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 has incorrect rendering inside the cockpit.
7. Crysis 2’s Motion Blur is incorrect.
8. The Sims: Medieval may hang when levels are loading.
9. Medal of Honor crashes in DX11.
Now! For those of you interested in LCD shutter glasses support with iZ3D’s stereoscopic 3D drivers, there is a separate version to download. However, don’t expect the holy grail just yet!
If you have a 120Hz projector or notebook computer with an embedded 120Hz display, this is the best case scenario for the iZ3D drivers. These systems may let you activate the shuttering mode with the touch of a button, or a third party software activator may do the same through a USB connector. This isn’t limited to Nvidia or AMD GPUs, so there is no need to get tied to AMD HD3D or Nvidia GeForce 3D Vision branding.
If you own a 120Hz display panel based on dual link DVI (i.e. based on Nvidia’s GeForce 3D Vision glasses), there is a pseudo solution for making this work that requires two PCs. Basically, you have to start the shuttering on one PC (by playing something in 3D with Nvidia to activate the glasses), and then view the 3D on the second PC with the now active Nvidia glasses. In theory, if the glasses are in black or transparent mode, you have a 50% chance of getting the syncronization just right! Well, not exactly – but no matter.
According to iZ3D, this isn’t really intended as a final product. The future will likely be upcoming bundles of glasses and drivers, complete with proper glasses activaters that don’t necessarily need a direct link to the software.
Be aware that the shutter glasses version has a slightly different architecture, and it is more buggy with video games than the other version because many of the profile updates and other fixes are not yet included. This is more of a proof of concept driver release for something else in development.
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