TDV3D
Score: 85% Developer: TDV Technologies Corporation
Function: Remember the days of the old 'red-blue' 3D glasses? Some of you might not even be old enough to have seen that fad, but it seems that ever since man first got a two dimensional image on a flat surface, we've desired to make it three dimensional. Enter the TDV3D glasses. The TDV3D glasses are required to view the content (correctly) at TVD3D.com, which calls itself, 'The Internet Gateway to the Third Dimension'. The TVD3D gateway site offers some examples of what the technology can do, and also has a bit of shopping with 3D catalog images. The one drawback of the TVD3D portal site is its small amount of 'free' content. If they develop the site more and add a good selection of free examples, they're likely to start something big on the internet.
Performance: Well, the first question is: does the 3D look 3D? To answer that question, I have to specify that there are two ways something can look 3D; it can 'pop' out at you or it can appear to 'sink' into the screen. The TDV3D system seems to favor this second method, adding 'depth' to images by allowing them to appear to sink into the screen. There are, of course, some settings that have to be set, such as syncing your monitor to the correct refresh rate and such, but once done, the 3D effect is pretty nice. Along with the two (!) pairs of glasses you also get software for creating your own 3D images in TDV3D format. I went over the explanation of how to do it, and it looks to be somewhat time-consuming, especially to encode a photograph and not just simple geometric shapes. I have been unable to get the software to work with my version of Photoshop, however. I will update this section should I be able to get it to work.
Features: Wired 3D Glasses Wireless 3D Glasses Infrared Transmitter (for Sync Rate) Install System Software 2D-3D Image Conversion Software Monitor Pass-Thru Dongle
Drawbacks & Problems:: It's also important to consider any other ramifications of such a device. Does it cause headaches? It could. I haven't gotten one yet, but I don't wear them for extended periods of time. Any headaches would probably be resultant of eyestrain. Eyestrain? Well, it's like this. The way the glasses are able to show your left eye one thing and your right eye another is simple. They allow your eyes to see every other line. (For example, let's say your left eye sees all even numbered lines and your right eye sees all odd numbered lines.) The impact? Well, for starters, you essentially reduce your scan lines by half. This resolution is still fine for looking at pictures encoded in TDV3D's format, but does rather nasty things to small things that aren't TVD3D encoded (such as, let's say, text...) Trying to write this review while wearing the TDV3D glasses is almost impossible. I keep tilting my head back when editing to see without the filtering effect. So, final evaluation? If you're into 3D you might want to check out the TDV3D system. If you're not quite sold on it, check out their website and watch for them to get content you actually would like to see.
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins
Touch Force Optical Sonic XJR