Any recommendations for 3D TV/Monitor for use with M17x R3?

Hello All,
Am looking to buy a 3D TV/Monitor to use it to watch 3D movies and play 3D games via my M17x R3. Was wondering what people here on the forum are using. Any recommendations/links are welcome. Also, I plan to upgrade to M17x R4 (or R5?) late next year. Should I factor this in while buying the 3D TV/Monitor? What I am trying to get to is that I hope this isnt the case that I buy a 3D monitor/tv in a couple of days and then not be able to use it on my new laptop the next year when i buy that.
Any help with these questions will be really great

 

You should be alright with this and your next laptop. My best recommendation is to get the AW 2310 3D, but unfortunately we are no longer offering it but you can get them from eBay or Amazon.

 

my recommendation would be to not get the aw2310. i have one and greatly regret buying it. its a subpar screen to start with. you will have a lot of trouble getting 3d 120hz to it as well. hdmi wont do it and the monitor doesnt have a displayport, so you will have to buy an adapter that costs 100$+. when i bought my adapter it worked once and hasnt since. alienware tech support said bad motherboard cause the displayport doesnt work so a tech is coming tomorrow to install a new motherboard. it has certainly been more trouble than its worth. if you want a 3d monitor, just make sure you get something with a displayport so you will have much less hassle out of it.

 

@Alienware-L_Porras, @vic_doom69 - Points noted... Thank you both!
Think the AW 2310 would have been a bit on the smaller side for me anyways as I would prefer a 27" monitor..
Just looked an ASUS model with nvidia 3D vision 2 tech... But am open to other options...

 

i think you options may be a bit limited because most of them connect with dvi
i pretty sure samsung makes a 3d monitor that has a displayport. its pricey but reviewed well when i was looking. i think i was a 9 series or something.

 

You are right on the money... Options are pretty limited, a couple in the 23 inch range, and fewer in the 27 inch... Subjective question then : I dont have a 23 inch screen anywhere near, else would have done this myself... Is 23 inch monitor really worth it? I mean, the R3 itself has a 17 inch screen... Is 23 inch a noticable jump from it? Am trying to decide if it will be big enough to view/play games/movies from 6-7 feet away or so...

 

if your are going to spend alot on a 3d monitor, why not just get a massive 3d led tv

theres not too much difference in price

 

Sound advice... The reason I ask is that i read somewhere (nvidia forums, i think) that 3D Tvs have problems in general running with nvidia 3D vision, unless its explicitly certified/compatible... Hence am asking here on the forum about the setup and model thats working for people... Want to take the safest, most hassle-free route to this as I dont have much knowledge on this subject...

 

I hear LG gaming TV's seem to do well with nvidia vision

 

That helps!
Would you also happen to remember the specifics (i.e. model number and such)?

 

my honest opinion is i would just give up on trying to run 3d off this laptop with an external monitor. if i had it to do all over again i would go with something like a dell ultrasharp 27inch (or equivalent) as my external monitor and just use the laptops built in screen for 3d. to me the hassle and cost is just not worth it.

i use my 23in and my laptop screen as an extended display with all my monitoring apps running on the laptop and web browser, current programs, ect running on the main screen. i would say the 23 inch is good to 4 ft away. any further and its just to small (imo). only problem with this is the laptop screen is so much brighter than the external that it makes it look really dim. doesnt do that when i am using it solo.

edit: i think 3d tvs work very differently than 3d monitors. with a 3d tv i think it is diong all the work to make the 3d. with a 3d monitor the pc is doing all the work and is putting out a 120hz signal. a tv takes the 60hz signal and uses that to make its 3d. i may be wrong on that because i dont have a 3d tv but from what ive read thats how it works. i dont know if this makes any difference in the end result either.

 

Appreciate your fair reply Yes, i might very well be chasing a ghost here... The motivation to sit on my couch and watch/play 3D games/movies is what moves me... Want to have a look at all my options before giving up on this; Thanks for pointing me in the right direction...

Edit : Editing to reply to your edit Yes, that is what I have read too... 3D tvs work differently than 3d monitors, as 3D tvs create the 3D effect by themselves whereas the 3D montior only displays the 3D content delivered to it... To the effect of what I know, it does affect the end result, hence the incompatibilities and the problems with nvidia's 3D vision while playing games...

 

I use the BenQ XL2420T as a 3D monitor with the M17x R3, I use the gameport out from the latop.

 

Hi, just my .5c but I just got a panasonic 3dtv (TX-L37DT) and it works great. I've connected using a displayport to HDMI adaptor as I found HDMI-HDMI does not detect as well for the auto-switching. But apart from that, out-of-the-box result. You do need to set the game resolution to 720p if using 3D as at 1920x1080 the refresh rate is only 24fps (3dtv standard) but with 3d off @ 50hz it looks great and plays fine. When I dropped to 720 in Batman Arkham City I couldn't see any quality drop. HTH

 

@affro - Thanks for the info! I did see this monitor as an option during my searches... And it seems like a pretty decent one too... Adding it to my bucket; the hunt is still on!

@MickyD1234 - Your post just proves my suspicion, so thank you for that! Had a couple posts about 3d Tvs going one way, and the rest going the other.. But this difference (3D tvs being able to output at 720p max) was usually the striking point.. If one must have 1080p 3D gaming, one has to go for a monitor and not a 3D Tv, unless specifically stated otherwise... Yet, coming to think of it, the gtx 580m, although still a powerful card in its own right, will not be able to pull smooth framerates at 1080p 3D gaming with the current crop of games... One will sooner or later have to lower the resolution if he/she wants decent frame rates at high settings... Hence, even if you decide to go for a monitor, you still might end up playing at 720p But yes, for less intensive games, if one wants to do 3D gaming @ 1080p, one will have to go for a 3D monitor... I play a mix of old and new games, hence hesitating to go one way or the other before I know it all

 

You're very welcome, I know it's a tricky decision when spending a bunch of cash on an unknown - nothing worse that 'buyer remorse' but you can always return a mail-order item if it does not work for you.

I got that TV a few weeks ago as I needed a new one, all my research came up with the same conclusion as you; for 1920x1080 3D, only a true 120hz monitor will do so I just went for it fingers crossed

I also play a wide range of games but have been testing this with Max Payne 3, Batman Arckham city and Portal2, all excellent 3D titles on the internal display. With the exception of AA all settings maxed. I can't see any difference sitting 4ft from a 37" display when I drop it to 720p. Maybe slight aliasing but having dropped the resolution AA can be added back in without too much of a performance impact.

Movement at 1080i 24hz is reasonably smooth but input lag is horrendous and unplayable. Probably something to do with the TV's high Hz smoothing technology introducing a delay that you would never notice if only watching a 3D movie

Good luck with whichever you go for

Edit: Just read an earlier post I missed. The nvidia driver is what supplies the 3D TV with the 3D signal in a format that the TV can 'understand' so the TV is not actually creating it - like they can when selecting 'convert 2d-3d. It's a component that NV sell separately for 3d TV owners that do not have the 3d vision kit called 3d TV play. If the driver detects the NV 3d emitter then the component is automatically activated when a 3d TV is connected as a freebie.

 

these monitors look like a pretty good option at 24 inches

 

Buyer's remorse, the bane of our existence Am glad it all worked out for you.. Sounds like that would be another option to consider... But I think am approaching the end of my decision-making process... Might just pull the trigger on the Acer HN274H (the first-original one) I know there is another revision to that family, and that one comes supporting nvidia lightboost, but am getting this at a really good deal (350 dollars Vs. 550 retail) from an outlet
And I stand corrected about my earlier remark... misleading words used there... Yes, you are right in saying that 3D tvs do not actually create the 3D effect by themselves; Only point of concern is that in quite a lot of cases the 3D Tv shows a rating of say, 144Hz, and it is thought that that is enough to play streaming 3D at 1080p; however that is just not the case... The safest way for that is, AFAIK, to go out and buy a true 120Hz display 3D monitor... Who knows though, with technology changing the way it is, one day we all might just be able to do that and more on any regular 3D Tv

 

Yeah, excellent price, good connectivity, I can't say that I've been anything but impressed with it, the input delay is also very low, which is great with games like Street Fighter

 

On a different note then, what is the cable you guys are using to output 1080p 3D from the R3 to the monitor/tv? Have heard that with HDMI you are limited to 720p - is that true for the new HDMI 1.4a too? Am aware that there is an Apple minidisplay port DVI link cable that will work, but was wondering if HDMI 1.4a wont cut it... Dont want to start another thread about this, and since it is related, posting the question here itself...

 

I'm using a displayport cable to a displayport mini adapter

It runs fine at 1080p

 

Great! If I am correct, the displayport cable doesnt carry over the audio unlike the HDMI, right? So if I need to use the monitors speakers, I will have to go with HDMI?

 

Funny you should ask that. I was thinking about adding that bit earlier
Yes you have to use the miniport if you want 120hz to a monitor. I got the apple adaptor just in case my TV could use it but the HDMI in restricts it to the 3d tv standard. The 1.4a cable is for the 3d signal to be carried through and you do need a 1.4 cable for a 3d tv. Audio works fine with the miniport, unlike plain DVI which has no audio line.

I got 1080i over HDMI but you've seen the result

 

Many thanks Micky! That sounds good... Looks like am just walking in your footsteps So you are saying that HDMI 1.4a should able to carry audio but not support 1080p 3D @ 120 Hz, right? And for both those features, I will have to go for mini displayport?

 

Exactly! .

 

Awesome - Thank you! Am off to buy the Apple miniport to Dual link DVI adapter will be getting my monitor delivered tomorrow, so should be able to hook it up then... will post how it went!

 

@affro

Thinking about picking this monitor up not for 3d but just to run at 120hz... What video card do you use? I have the AMD card but my understanding is that it can still run at 120hz. Do you run your monitor at 120hz all the time and what do you think of it? Thanks for the feedback.

 

Cool, look forward to your results.

Just one caveat though, if the monitor is using a dual link DVI-in then it probably wont support audio as no pin assignments - you'd need a monitor with a miniport in or you'll have to run a separate audio.

 

did you end up getting the acer? looking forward to hearing a review on it. i am using a displayport to dual link dvi adapter as well and after my mother board replacement yesterday, seems to be working fine.

i was planning on getting a m18x next year so ill be in the market for a new 3d monitor to use with it. how would you compare it to your m17x. im pretty pleased with the screen on mine and i would say my aw2310 is 65% as good. its not as bright, and the colors arent as good. the benq is a really good looking monitor. wish i had seen it before i bought mine. maybe theyll make a 27inch version.

 

Aw bummer dont think my Acer has that... I should be fine for the time being though, coz i will be using my wireless headset... Its currently 'on the vehicle for delivery'; will hook it up and report the results

Yup, went ahead for the Acer HN274H... Hard to beat at a price of 350 Should be installing it at my place today... Will post how it went once my cave is ready! Good to hear that the motherboard replacement went fine, and your setup seems to be working fine now... Out here the Dell service is like the luck of the draw

 

Well, I've had my monitor for over a day now, and here are my impressions about the Acer HN274H (First gen):

Pros -
1. Big, extra-bright screen with easy-to-hook-up and hassle free installation procedure. If you have a basic knowledge of how monitors work, it shouldnt really take you much time to get it up and running. A thing to note here is that one needs to power on the tv first and then the laptop/pc (after connecting them with HDMI or DVI, of course) ; the sequence is important for the first time. A special note about the brightness of the screen : it is off the charts!! Looks way too bright, though I am listing it as a pro here as it negates the dark effect of the 3D to some extent despite not being a lightboost compatible monitor, and you can always turn it down when in 2d. Am using a setting of 70 (max 100) during the day right now, and go down to 60 during night time.

2. 3D reproduction is stellar. Once you see movies/ play games in 3D on this monitor, you will not be able to go back to seeing things in 2D as you did previously! I tried out a couple of movies (clash of the titans, avatar) and quite a lot of 3D videos on 3DVisionlive.com... the result is unanimously great 3D! The pop out effect is quite easily visible on this 27 incher; a few videos about sea life and aquariums on 3Dvisionlive felt like the fish is/are swimming beyond the boundaries of the screen 3D gaming is great too! Lots of depth in Skyrim (with Helix mod), mass effect 2, insane 2 and trine 2; I felt like i could reach inside and manipulate the objects by hand One point to note here is that this is not an out-of-box case, meaning you will have to tweak and experiment with the 3D settings and couple other factors (distance from the tv, monitor settings, height and tilt of the screen etc.) before you can actually get the 3D to dispaly the way it is meant to be seen. This would take a little bit of time and effort.

3. 2D performance is smooth. Even when you are not in 3D, the 2D performance of this monitor really impresses. I have been playing BF3 multiplayer on the monitor at 1080p, and now see details that i missed earlier. Color reproduction is good too; battlefield seems more vibrant a place now Same to say about the movies and videos.

4. Integrated speakers - Yes I am listing these as a pro. Before pulling the trigger on this monitor, I had read multiple reviews saying that the speakers dont have much substance and sound 'tinny'. Yes, the integrated speaker output is a bit on the tinny side; However, the volume levels of the speakers is high. When connected via HDMI, I could clearly hear all of mass effect 2's dialogs (integrated speakers were at 90 volume level and the m17x was at 70). I never really felt the need for subtitles or my wireless headset; the output was loud enough already without being on the highest levels.

5. Many connectivity options - Two HDMI ports on the side, one on the back; DVI and VGA connection options alongwith a basic Audio-in port.



Cons -

1. Workmanship - Looks to be a bit on the fragile side. When my monitor arrived its surrounding bezel was cracked in two different places (have contacted seller about replacement). The side of the two HDMI ports was not flush shut; Seemed to have opened up a bit, revealing a glimpse of the innards of the system. I closed it down myself. Though this thing is not very heavy, it does give off a feeling of being less-than-sturdy when you are looking to move it around. Also, the power button button feels a bit flimsy.

2. Long wake up times - The monitor takes an unusually large amount of time for waking up (5-6 seconds).

3. Menu layout and navigation is not very user friendly. Sure, you get the hang of it after a couple of tries, but it still feels clumsy and clunky. Also, the touch-sensitive buttons sometimes do not register your touch, so you have to touch them multiple times to get them to do what you want. However, in my case this might be a side effect of the damage caused when my monitor was being transported over, but am still putting it out there.

4. Few times, there have been a couple of quirks with the 3D. For example, in mass effect 2 with Helix mod, in action heavy scenes while on the mission to recruit Tali, the 3D went blurry with horizontal lines on the screen; corrected itself in a couple of seconds. Also, on the 3Dvisionlive site, while i could easily see the 3D movies, the 3D photos were being shown in 2D. Had to reset the monitor to 3D 720p (HDMI only supports this @60Hz and 1080p @ 24Hz) and it worked fine after that.



So would I recommend this monitor? The answer is yes. IMO, this monitor fits the gap between going for a cheap monitor/tv to buying a full fledged 50-60 inch 3DTv. Gives you the best of both worlds (3D on a decenlty large sized monitor) and looks good doing so. Despite its quirks and flaws, it was easy to recommend it as it functions as a great 3D monitor and excellent everyday 2D large screen. Hope this helps someone out there who is considering buying one!

 

Just received my replacement acer monitor... Seem to have run into a minor issue here... As stated earlier, I was using the HDMI cable with my previous defective unit to connect it to my m17x r3... Now that my replacement unit is here, I tried making it work with the monoprice displayport to DVI adapter using the RiteAV dual link DVI male-to-male cable (apparently the outlet did not ship the acer-supplied dvi cable each time, stating that there is no such thing that came with the monitor), but its not working... The monitor is detected on the r3 when I use the DVI cable, and it even gives me options to extend/duplicate the displays, but my monitor still remains the dark and flashes the error "Cable not connected"... I tried changing ends of the DVI cable, no luck... It isnt a fault with the monitor as all goes well when I connect it to the r3 with the HDMI cable I have... Am guessing my DVI cable is faulty? Would any of you fine gents here tell me what the exact brand/specs of the DVI cable you are using to connect your laptop to your monitor via the displayport to DVI adapter?