NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Glasses

Name: NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Glasses - Page 3
Brand: NVIDIA

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, January 08, 2009, 09:00 AM EDT

NVIDIA Accelerates the Search For a Cure

Installing and using the GeForce 3D Vision glasses is very easy. Assuming you've got a compatible GeForce graphics card and monitor, the process requires connecting the base / IR emitter to a PC, installing the necessary drivers (which are integrated into NVIDIA's GeForce drivers), and running through a setup wizard.

There is nothing out of the ordinary to consider when connecting the base to a PC, other than to ensure the base has a clear line-of-sight to the glasses. The infrared signal emitted from the base needs to be picked up by a receiver in the glasses to keep everything in sync.

As we've mentioned, the base itself has a thumbwheel on its backside that's used for real-time adjustment of the 3D depth effect. There is also a power indicator light, USB connector, and a VESA stereo cable port on the back. On the front of the emitter, there's an On / Off button that's backlit and shows whether or not stereoscopic 3D has been enabled. An NVIDIA logo on the button glows bright green when 3D is enabled and a dim green when it is not.

The glasses are fairly streamlined with only a power / charge indicator LED and power button on one side and a USB charging port on the other. At the front edge of the glasses is a tiny IR receiver, which again is used to sync with the base / system. And the interchangeable nose-guards snap right on and off the glasses.

The software setup is very straightforward. Install the drivers, and a few icons will be placed on the desktop. Run the setup wizard, which runs users through a series of test screens, and you're basically done. The glasses work with over 350 Direct3D games, which are automatically detected via the drivers. There are profiles within the drivers for each game, similar to SLI profiles. The GeForce 3D Vision profiles, however, store information on compatible games and recommended settings. Launch a compatible game, for example, and an overlay will come up on-screen with recommended image quality and in-game settings to get the best 3D effect.

Tags: Nvidia, GeForce, LCD, USB, 3D Vision, Stereoscopic

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com