The 3D PC.

[JMH]

3D entertainment is gaining quite a bit of momentum especially with awesome 3D movies like Alice in Wonderland and of course James Cameron’s Avatar. We’re seeing a sort of “3D revolution”, as NVIDIA calls it, where 3D is being introduced in all kinds of types of visual entertainment ranging from of course movies and PC games to photos and even live 3D broadcasts. At Computex 2010 this week, NVIDIA is partnering with us (Microsoft), Alienware, Asus, Dell, Toshiba and others to introduce a new category of PC: the 3D PC.

With a 3D PC, the consumer can easily bring the amazing 3D experiences into their home. For example, they can play 3D PC games. NVIDIA has invested a lot of time working closely with game developers so that more than 425 PC games work great with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology. Sony and Fujifilm will be bringing 3D digital cameras to market where consumers can take 3D photos and view them in 3D on their 3D PC. A 3D PC can view the Web in 3D including live streaming of 3D video. And you can watch Blu-ray 3D movies thanks to folks like Cyberlink who will be releasing a version of their software player that will support playback of Blu-ray movies in 3D.


So what makes a 3D PC? A 3D PC must have, by definition, the following minimum requirements:

• A pair of 3D active-shutter glasses.
• A 120Hz 3D-capable display which can be a desktop LCD monitor, a 3D projector, a 3D TV, or a laptop with an integrated 3D-capable LCD.
• A discrete GPU such as the latest GeForce GPU’s from NVIDIA that are designed to deliver HD content to a 3D display.

The idea behind having a 3D PC category is to make it easier for consumers who are looking at purchasing a new PC to get a PC that is capable of delivering the 3D experience for the right budget. For example, several OEMs will be featuring a “3D PC” category on their websites. For folks wanting to upgrade an existing PC to get the 3D experience – retailers will be featuring 3D PC branded components to easily identify what they need to do their upgrade.

It’s really exciting to see this new category and the 3D space grow. Both my colleague Ben Rudolph and I will be talking more about 3D PCs in the coming months here on the Windows Experience Blog.

More...
The Windows Blog

 

[noobvious]

I will not be an early adopter of this tech.

 

[bobtran]

I will not be an early adopter of this tech.

+1

 

[tom982]

Yeah, i agree, i think it has potential but we could have to wait a while for that potential grow into something useful

 

[kucing13]

hurm..come to think of it,what sort of thing in PC that is useful to watch in 3D. hurmmmmm

ooooooo wait..I got it.

 

[tom982]

hurm..come to think of it,what sort of thing in PC that is useful to watch in 3D. hurmmmmm

ooooooo wait..I got it.

haha and gaming? and 3d movies and tv shows when they come out?

NVIDIA are already making 3d graphics cards which can play 3d games like avatar.

 

[DarkDavil]

Only turn-off is those darn goggles... I already have glasses, and putting those on-top of my glasses would be a pain! And i don't wanna' put on contacts every time I want to watch a 3D movie >.<

 

[tom982]

Yeah they are quite awkward

 

[noobvious]

hurm..come to think of it,what sort of thing in PC that is useful to watch in 3D. hurmmmmm

ooooooo wait..I got it.

Somebody has a dirty mind! :roflmao:

 

[03hdfatboy]

hurm..come to think of it,what sort of thing in PC that is useful to watch in 3D. hurmmmmm

ooooooo wait..I got it.

Somebody has a dirty mind! :roflmao:

That is what I was thinking

 

[fseal]

Heheh, yes 3d is a fad right now, but it's been a HUGE fad in the past too, at least twice. It will fade again as usual.

Besides the glasses and flicker annoyance, there is also the problem of Fake 3d destroying your real 3d vision with prolonged exposure. Watching a two hour movie is one thing (For some people this can wreck 3d vision for up to a week afterwards) But imagine if your computer was like that all day then your TV all night (or more computer time in 3d). People with weak or no 3d vision are VERY much more accident prone, walking and DRIVING.

The health risks are pretty serious. There was an article recently by a sony engineer saying that Sony even pulled an entire 3d game system they were developing because testing had such dire healh results they didn't want to continue with it and take the risk.

It is possible to do /real/ 3d as opposed to the projected fake 3d, but it requires wearing goggles with dual screens and head tracking to provide ALL of the necesary 3d information to not cause the brain to rewire itself to the fake stuff.

 

[kucing13]

hurm..come to think of it,what sort of thing in PC that is useful to watch in 3D. hurmmmmm

ooooooo wait..I got it.

Somebody has a dirty mind! :roflmao:

Aren't you happy im straight Randy.. At least im normal...

 

[bludgard69]

Waiting for hologram.

 

[Max Peck]

This is one of those technologies I put into the category "wait-and-see but not holding my breath". That's the same category I place stuff like "Jetson's" flying cars. They've been talking flying cars for 50 years. All I can tell you about that is that from the perspective of a licensed private pilot I do not want "Joe Blow" in the airspace! As for 3-D PC's it's a fad. 3-D rendering as it is now (projected on a 2-D display) seems more than adequate to me.

We shall see. Keep breathing, though, folks.

-Max

 

[severedsolo]

Oli (osholt) posted this video onto Eightforums demonstrating head tracking (which is what fseal was talking about) All i can say is, I want me some of that, that looks amazing!