M17x R3/R4 - 3D Discussion, Questions and Tips Thread

I love the 3D effect. I have been using 3D Vision for over 2 years now. I jumped on the bandwagon when it first came out. I have it on 2 TVs and on my desktop (AW2310 Monitor). The glasses are not interchangeable. nVidia glasses are required for the nVidia emitter assembly. When I connect it to my Mitsubishi TV, I use the same emitter and glasses. When I use the Samsung TV it uses its own emitter and I have to use the Samsung glasses. There are 3rd party glasses that claim to handle signals from various types and manufacturers, but I have not tried them yet. There are inherent problems with the different types but I would refer you elsewhere to learn about it.

I have 4 pair of the nVidia glasses which are rechargeable via USB and I easily get 30+ hours on a full charge. I have 2 pair of the Samsung rechargeable glasses and I get about the same. I now have all 6 of those on my old external powered USB hubs so I don't have a problem with charge. I also have 4 pair of Samsung glasses that use batteries which drain them like water.

I wear glasses and find the 3D glasses fit comfortably over them. For some reason I do not wear corrective lenses when playing games in front of my computer monitor (3D or not), but I do when watching movies. I am near sighted. I am 6'6" and 310lbs so I have a big head too .

I find that watching 3D movies causes fewer problems for me than playing 3D games. The shutter effect would bother me a little when I first started and I would take them off after 15 min or so. It had me seriously second guessing them, but after 2 weeks or so, I started getting used to them. I have played Steam HalfLife games for over 2 hours and had a blast, though it felt good to take them off for a while. I watched all the Shrek movies in 3D with 5 minute breaks between them. My eyes were pretty tired after that, but then they would have been tired even without the 3D effects.

I have a friend who can't see the 3D effect at all. My daughter gets headaches when trying to play 3D games for more than 15 minutes, but she enjoys the movies. Over the last 2 years I have had numerous friends and family over that have enjoyed the experience from the very beginning without a problem. There is a depth control which sort of plays with where your eyes have to focus for close and far things, and can cause me some discomfort if I set that too high. So I think everyone is different and how they respond, but the majority of the people enjoy the experience at my house.

For what it’s worth, I find it gets annoying when I want to have our card night at my house and they would rather watch the TV or take turns playing on the computer. Pretty sad for a bunch of 50+ yr old farts.

 

Good post. Copying to a new thread. Folks, lets discuss the R3/R4's 3D capability, performance, compatibility, game and DVD/BluRay 3D playback... This thread will be for anything 3D on the 17x.

As a reminder, be respectful of others and their opinions - you don't have to agree but flaming someone is not going to be allowed. Trolling and inflammatory posting is not permitted here. Review the forum rules if you are new to NBR.

Thanks and enjoy 3D on the M17x.

 

@PCgeek

Thanks for your fresh input. I remember trying out Samsung and Sony 3D tv/movie at BestBuy for the movie IceAge (I think that's what it's called?). I have glasses as well, and the 3D glasses fit okay over them... Only thing was, the movie wasn't that great. 3D wasn't that "deep" (depth?). Was more gimmicky than anything else. I liked the 3D at Disneyland (Captain EO from the early 90s!) or at the Imax theater at the California Science Center (sea creatures) better.

Maybe it was just that movie or maybe the glasses were all smudged from the thousands of kid hands all over them. Iono.

Does the TV matter? Or it is purely the glasses or the movie which contributes to the quality/"realness"/depth/effect of 3D?

Once again, thx for this thread. I will follow in hopes to learn more about 3D, and maybe invest in one when I grow up to be a rich man someday.

 

How often do I use it? Recieved my r3 end of january and am mailing it back Saturday or Monday. I have not used 3d ONCE. Ordered my new r3 with 6970

 

I love the 3d so far, I'm not sure if there is a way to just activate/deactivate the 3d while playing for now I usually have to go to Nvidia settings and turn it on before I start the game.

Other than that there are customizable shortcuts for increasing/decreasing the depth even while you're in game.

 

Aye I chose nebula red because it's the same color as muscle the 460 was enough for me but I felt like paying for the 120hz and 3d bundle was wasting money on the 3d kit. If they offered 120hz without 3d I would have taken the 460. The 2820 Is hardly a speed boost for the money and I plan to install my own dual ssd anyways .

I just couldn't game on the 3d. Every time I turned on a game it was in 3d mode I just looked over at my bag and was like... Ughh glasses.. It looks cool and alll but I'm pretty competiive in the games i play and after all my life playing without 3d I don't think I'm about to start.

 

When I had it on in control panel i always got text at the start of a game saying ctrl+t would turn it on/off not sure if that is default settings for all.

 

Tried the Ctrl+T the other day but while in game playing at 3d it won't deactivate it and vice versa so I guess something is wrong but I'll try again later .

 

Few things I noticed. If you have 3D enabled... it will start all games in 3d. You can then Ctrl+T to go to normal. But what I noticed was that the game will then play at 120 Hz.

If you disable 3d.... game will cap at 60hz. So you have to enable 3d to get 120 hz from games.

 

This might be important to fully utilize our 120 Hz screens(IIRC some games doesn't allow you to configure the screen's refresh rate). I'll try the enable/disable shortcut again later.

 

I'm having trouble watching a 3d movie it won't activate. The disc doesn't see the 3d enabled I bought resident evil 3d. I also downloaded the crisis 2 demo and tried that on 3d, that worked.

 

You'll need a 3d enabled br player to watch movies in 3d
What program were you trying to use?

 

Sorry that I can't chime in here as much as I wanted to. My R3 now has an EDD of 4/1. However, I do have a desktop system with a 3D vision setup connected to an AW 3D monitor and a TV. I also have other 3D hardware that helps me try different things as well.

The hardware and software provided with your R3 should be sufficient to watch 3D movies on your laptop. I have read various threads about successfully playing 3D movies on the R3. I know of another engineer at work who already has his R3 3D system, but he won't be back in town for another week. I will dig into this hoping that others already have a solution.

 

Getting a 3d bluray enabling player would defeat the purpose of the laptop
I used the standard cyber player that's comes with the os

 

Do you have a link to those threads I tried searching for 3d threads but no luck not for the m17xr3 atleast

 

An awesome review done at :

Alienware M17x R3 - 3D Vision Gaming Laptop Review - Media Playback

Mentions they used PowerDVD 10 which is what I use on my desktop. However, I am convinced I have seen video of people showing off alice in wonderland in 3D via one lens of the glasses. I am working on finding it and also trying to reach my 3D geek contact who actually has the R3. I am also researching the Power DVD 9.6, 3D which is suppose to come with the R3. I "HATE" waiting for mine I will try to get back to this tomorrow.

 

Here is one post on our own nbr forums: There are more in here. I am also reading posts that people claim they did not get this software. I am not sure if it is a funciton of someone doing a re-install and not having the discs or if they did not even have it installed in their original setup. I am still looking into this.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...tions-read-before-posting-16.html#post7169651

.....

You definitely need to read through that thread. I also sent MJOzolins a PM and asked if he could check in on us.

 

PowerDVD 9.6 comes stock, it does not allow me to play 3d, but bluray works..

 

PowerDVD 9.6 does support 3D. Be sure of the following:

1. Display is set for 120Hz.
2. Be sure 3D is enabled in the NV control panel.
3. Enable 3D within PowerDVD 9.6.
4. Click the little up arrow button on the top left of the PowerDVD main window - there might be an update. These are issues from time to time - typically a pop-up will let you know.

Once you have confirmed the above, give it another try.

For 3D enabled Bluray movies, make sure you check the settings in the powerDVD config menu and select the 3D Bluray option. For the display type, its the NVIDIA option.

 

after restarting the comp a few times toggling the 3d a few times.. it worked dont know how i did it, but... the last thing i did was install.. nVidia Internal 3D Stereo Controller from dell.com, this may or may not have fixed it. cant say for sure but it works now

 

lol - well, if it wasn't installed, yeah - you need that. that is the software for your emitter for the glasses.

great to hear its working. now go watch a plain dvd using the 'play regular dvd in 3d' option, well after your 3D bluray that is.

 

Enabling the 2nd 3d glasses causes it to flicker... or maybe fall out of sync? anyone else have issues when turnin on the 2nd pair of 3d glasses. also it should of already been installed since i was about to run 3d games and use the 3d preview.. not sure what got it to Work.

 

Well Batboy beat me to it, but it should work fine if they included power DVD 9.6 (Theyre supposed to). Like Batboy said make sure 3D is enabled in the nvidia control panel (forgot this at one point).

Quick Guide:

1) Make sure 3D is enabled in Nvidia control panel.

2) Make sure your glasses are powered on .

Note: Power DVD may give some errors about windows scheme and/or that you must play 3D content in full screen mode. Just hit ok (3D only works in fullscreen).

3) Launch Power DVD 9.6 (will auto-launch if you insert a dvd / blu-ray).

4) If launching the movie from within Power DVD 9.6 click 'open source' (found in the bottom left) - browse to open the movie or a video file on your hard drive.

5) Click the 3D button on the bottom, make sure you enable either '3D BD playback' or '3D for video files and DVDs'.

6) Hit your key combo (set in nvidia control panel) that enables 3D, not sure what default is check in the control panel.

That should be it, you can also 'convert' non-3d movies into 3d, this setting is also in the '3D' menu in power DVD. Doesn't look nearly as cool as the movies meant for 3D but I've also only tried a couple.

If you have any problems let me know, good luck!

 

You should be able to add as many glasses as you want. There is only 1 emitter - on the display bezel. The glasses have their own receiver near the left eye piece and do not send any signal out. They can't interfere with each other.

However, the glasses can lose synch for various reasons like those listed below:
- Glasses not charged. This is a biggie. A low partial charge will cause many of the items below to deteriorate until there is no synch at all.
- You are sitting too far from the emitter.
- Your angle is too far the emitter. This includes not only moving sideways from the person next to you, but also viewing with your head turned. Tilting your head will not disrupt the synchronization, but it will disrupt the 3D effect with the nVidia system. I have not perceived any issue with momentary disruptions like turning my head briefly or even waving a hand in front of the sensor. ==== I just tested this again and had to hold my hand fully in front of the sensor to cause the disruption.
- Bright screen flashes can interrupt 3D synch process for short durations. This is a potential problem inherent with the infrared and some mfg are better with this than others. I personally have not experienced this with the nVidia system though I have had issues with my Samsung setup. There are reasons and solutions to be discussed another time. This is partly why there is some excitement about 3rd party RF 3D glasses.
- The glasses require a direct line of sight to the emitter. Nothing can be in the way. This is another reason for the excitement of RF. Remember the sensor is next to the left lens. My daughter has long hair and used to have it dangling in front of her face half the time. I used to wonder if that was an issue for her. Being partially bald... well never mind.
- There are other infrared signals in the same area with similar wavelengths. The signals would then be contaminated and the pulse code would not be discernable.


There could be other issues, but these are the ones I am aware of. I personally had some difficulties when I first started using them, but have not had issues after the first couple of weeks. I hope this helps.

=====

I don't remember if there is a plastic tape like covering to protect the lenses on the emitter or receiver when you first unpack the system. It may be different for the R3 packaging as well.

 

I noticed that in the middle of all this, you changed your hard drives to SSD and reinstalled everything. What video driver did you use? It has nothing to do with synch and multiple glasses, but the 3D Vision used to require specific driver versions. Keep in mind that I have been at this for over 2 years now. This was obviously not an issue for you

 

Thought I would start a thread about the 3D experience in games and movies, nothing so far on the forum that I can find

so if you ordered the 3D option pack how about giving some experiences with this new technology, might help people with ordering choices

Mine is on the way ..............

 

Mostly I felt was like seeing through a window rather than stuff coming out of screen.

 

Will begin with the downsides.

Slows frame rates.
Adjustment period can cause headache with extended play.
Seeing crosshair on sniper scopes is double vision.
No optimus, at this time.
Potentially limited gpu upgrade options.


Upsides.

Changes the game experience in 3d correct games but still awaiting the night and day killer app, 3d only options.
120hz screen is brighter and sharper in high framerate games.
Blue ray 3d ready.
Can always disable it!
Enhanced future proof?
Need to try flight sim flying thru a city block...

 

I am sure you can, but I need to ask just to be sure;

My R3 should be here any day now, and I am getting a Toshiba 120hz 40" T.V. can I use the T.V. with the R3, with 3D? If so, is it hard to set up?

Thanx in advance =^_^=

P.S. I did look through the forums... did about three hours of reading on the R3 forums 0_0 "my eyes... my god, my poor eyes!"

 

Sorry, but the answer is maybe.

We need just a little more information about your TV. Just because a TV can support 120Hz does not guarantee it can support 3D. This has been a frustrating learning experience for many TV owners. There are also 3D capable TV's that are not Full High Definition TV and cap at 720P which is not an issue. The HDMI input version on your TV is also important. I recommend researching your TV on avsforum which is a devoted forum to audio and video science as it applies to consumers and those pushing the envelope. If you need assistance with understanding the capability of your TV, then we will need to know the model number.

The R3 has an HDMI 1.4 output port and can support 3D at 720P for games and up to 1080P for movies. The difference being that the 3D movies will play up to 1080p with a refresh rate of 24 frames per eye. This would not be sufficient for most games. One can play at the faster frame rates by lowering the resolution to 720P.

The nVidia video card is also required for the 3D part of this. You might wish to read up on nVidia 3DTV Play which is the 3D software that enables you to use the HDMI 1.4 port with a 3D TV.

 

Are you still having trouble with flicker when using multiple pair of 3D glasses. Though I am not experiencing this problem with my desktop system, I have several pairs of nVidia 3D glasses that I can use with my 3D monitor and/or with a 3D TV to try to simulate your issue.

 

Thanxxx pcgeek, I'll look the T.V. up online

 

What does the new Crysis 2 Demo look like in 3D?

It kind of looks 3D without the glasses, kind of like some modern form of paralax scrolling.

I see that there is an option in the game option menu for 3D, what exaclty does this do differently?

 

I will download the Crysis 2 Demo in the next few days and check it out if someone else does not do it first. I would think you are equally interested in its performance using the R3 hardware as well as 3D Vision itself.

I have a handful of games that include Day of Defeat, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, and Avatar. I own 14 3D movies. I have 3D equipment including a desktop system with “3D Vision” and a “3D TV” though I am still waiting for my R3.

I have been using 3D Vision for over 2 years when it first came out. I have studied Stereo vision for over 10 years when trying to apply it to image and video sampling for non-commercial reasons. I work with people that mathematically model the estimation and errors associated with it and even they do not consider themselves the experts. My grandfather was experimenting with stereo imaging back in the 1960’s with double exposures and a fixture that would reposition the camera for the same shot. This did not work out very well when things moved . He also worked with simultaneous stereo images from 2 cameras and then projected the pair of slides on the same screen space while trying to find a way to converge them – much like the concept of the two polarized projectors we see in movie houses today. My brother was exploring 3D imaging on a computer screen without glasses for marketing a non-related product. He said at best 50% of the tested people could see the convergence and it was deemed a failure back in the late 1980’s. These are only small samples of the past and present efforts that I have been lucky enough to witness. There is so much more to the overall history.

My experience with 3D Vision specifically shows the majority of the 3D effects in both movies and games are set back behind the plane of the glass. But these same movies and games have moments that reach out past the glass toward you – some more than others. A wonderful example of this is the test image provided by nVidia with the 3D Vision system. Some of the games and movies offer better depth than others. Some are less sensitive to creating ghosting effects. I find varying success with the 2D to 3D convergence algorithms that are out there.

Many of the problems and the effects associated with 3D are reduced when the depth is turned down. It is best to start that way for a period of time until you get used to it. The headaches, etc, that many people experience in the first days of using this can be reduced by also reducing the depth control. There are different issues between 3D movies and 3D games.
Am I anxious for 3D without glasses? – You bet! But I am thrilled to have access to this technology for now. It has been an awesome anchor to establish some growth from an industry full of entertainment. And the 3D Vision efforts by nVidia have earned my appreciation and respect. It can get better. It will get better. I have seen better. I believe it will take time to get a lot better than this at the costs we are working with.

There are other simulated 3D effects out there that include playing with interpolations and sampling rates and very intense graphic manipulations. One of the best that I enjoyed was an effect on my older Sony rear projection screen that would produce a pseudo 3D effect, but it would not accept a 120 hz input signal to be processed into the stereo imaging that we are talking about here.

 

Yes, please post your experience of crysis 2 with 3d, especially the frame rate!

 

I had this same deal about 10 years ago, I bought the glasses from iglasses.com, they had a wire and connected to the rear of the video card.
Then you could connect the monitor to the connector on the wire so the glasses could be connecteed all the time. This was on a desktop and was nvidia, and quake 3 arena and unreal tourn. worked, unlike now.

Some unreal versions work, but I mean the first unreal game.

Other than that its about the same, less buggy, no wire, and awesome graphics.

 

Could those with 460+3d post the framerates that you get in some of the games with 3d vision enabled??

 

So unfortunately the Crysis 2 MP Demo ended so if you havnt tried it yet you wont be able to .

I played it for a bit and I thought the 3D was done quite well in the game compared to some others, I think its going to be rated '3D vision ready'? The stereo effect was pretty good even on lower convergence / depth. Also the game looks really good from what I saw, not surprising tho as so was Crysis.

As far as frame Rates in 3D games I've played so far I've gotten the following:

Crysis 2 MP Demo:

1600 x 900 @ 'Gamer' setting (The lowest of the 3 pre-sets available).

460m Stock: 35-45ish FPS most of the time in 3D.
460m @ 820 core 1450 memory: 39-50ish FPS most of the time in 3D.

I think once you can customize this you could play 3D at 1600 x 900 with good frames with medium-ish settings once the game is finalized and you can tweak stuff like shadows and sunshafts etc.

Without 3D in crysis 2 I could pull similar frames @1080p (45ish) at gamer.
Moving up to the middle setting 'Advanced' it dropped to 30-35ish.
Although 30+ was playable 40+ was far better for smoothness as its an FPS.

I did play noticeably better in non-3D mode, but I am also new to the game as well as FPS in 3D. I think I would play it in 3D for fun but if it was something competitive I would prob play in non-3D mode for a bit.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm in 3D

The 3D effect, while not seemingly as 'tuned' as Crysis, is still pretty cool in WoW. There are a couple problems with it, such as the water looking odd in 3D (it kind of strains your eyes) and fog / rain looking weird too. But overall its pretty cool seeing how old the code etc of the game is, and as it definitely wasn't designed with stereo 3D in mind.

1920 x 1080p 3D @ all high settings besides sunshafts low and shadows good. 2x Multisampling and 8x anisotropic filtering (texture filtering).

460m stock: I get 30-40 fps in Org (near the main AH) with lots of people around.
Elsewhere I get 45-55+ in instances and areas without lots of people + effects.

460m @ 820 core 1450 memory: Seems to add a flat 4-5 FPS or so in 3D in most places, in Org with a bunch of people the frames are about the same though.

I play WoW with 3D on pretty often, and the in-game setting to increase depth and convergence are good once your eyes are used to the effect. I have also raided with 3D with good frames and it didnt effect my ability to play the game at all, it looked cool too .

In non-3D the 460m is more than enough for the game @ high detail.
50-70 FPS in highly populated areas, 70-120 elsewhere and in instances for the most part.

 

Has anyone tried the 3D over HDMI with the Radeon HD 6970M configuration? Would like some feedback on how it looks and if it streams 3D contents to a 3D TV with built in wifi.

 

is 3d supported if you play a game from steam or is in encoded into the disk and cannot be reproduced virtually?

 

3d works with steam games. Remember that much of the game is installed on your hard drive.

 

I see Dr. J beat me to it
============
I play both avatar (the game) and DoD regularly right now in 3D and both are through the steam network. However, I believe the games themselves are located on my hard drive which were indeed downloaded from the network. The avatar game (NOT the movie) was part of the latest 3D Vision purchase I made back when I bought the AW-2310.

I am not a great game player, but I do enjoy it now and then. When I want to do my best, I rarely use the 3D. When I want to experience the game like I am part of it, I almost always use the 3D. Depends on my mood. This may not apply to anyone else, but it seems to fit me.

 

Anyone with the Radeon 6970? Please give some feedback on 3D over HDMI and Wifi.

 

Can it play 3D content from the PS3 through the HDMI Input???

 

Don't think so, cuz you need HDMI 1.4x, which the PS3 doesn't have. (IIRC from what I've read on NBR).

 

This is something I will test once I get my system - still 3 weeks away...

 

The 3D reasons of why I chose the M17X R3:

For one, I love 3D. I still game and watch movies in 2D depending on the situation. The experiences are vey different. I like being able to choose between 2D and 3D.

The nVidia 3D package has been one of the critical factors in my search for a laptop. I also sought an internal Full HD 120HZ 3D capable screen. I chose nVidia not because they are better than AMD’s 3D, but because I have already invested into the nVidia system with a few pair of glasses. Their technology is similar and I don’t see any clear advantage in one vs. the other. The glasses are generally not interchangeable between manufacturers. There are exceptions to this, but that is a topic for another day. There may be differences between the video cards, but I tend to prefer nVidia for my own reasons. I have not examined the AMD capabilities for doing 3D and therefore encourage others to talk about that.

To this date, the most powerful nVidia card in a 3D laptop with built-in 120Hz 3d capable screen that I can find is the 460M. I am hopeful this will change, but so far that is it. There are some people trying to put a non-Dell 485M card into their R3, but those results are yet to be seen. This information may be outdated in the next couple of days.

My search for a 3D laptop led me to HP, ASUS, Dell, and Alienware. The HP was AMD – OK for others, but not for me as previously stated. Asus uses the 460M, but was not using the Sandy Bridge architecture, and has a matte screen. They also use a proprietary GPU card bus. The Dell was a strong contender and my wife is very close to purchasing one. The graphics card is a GT 555M with 3GB DDR3 memory. The size of memory is HUGE, but why they chose DDR3 leaves me baffled. Sort of along the lines of why didn’t Alienware add the 485 GPU. Anyways, the 460M just offers too much more by comparison. Worth mentioning is the Clevo based laptops. They can do 3D in Full HD with a 460M, 470M, and the 485M. They even have one that works with SLI. So far they can only do it through an external monitor via the DVI port. Their engineers tell me they are testing screens, but they are not available at this time. From my perspective, the Alienware M17X R3 offered the most capable hardware and the ability to upgrade the CPU, at a competitive price. Additionally, their graphics card uses the MXM bus (as does Clevo), so there is the potential to swap it out for something else (assuming the rest of the machine supports it). There are other reasons too, but I would really be getting away from the 3D considerations.

All of the nVidia based machines that I looked at seem to support 3DTV Play via the HDMI port. In brief, this supports 3D Full HD (1080P) for movies at industry standard 24fps and for 3D games its 720P for the higher refresh rates. Again, I am not sure if AMD has an equivalent.

 

No, the laptop doesn't support 3D over HDMI-In due to techincal limitations. Same reason why NVIDIA 3D Vision ready monitors don't support it. You need a 3D-TV unless $ony changes their mind.

 

I'm going to my local store to see if they have 3D TV on display, I have never experienced 3D in all my 50 years, I watched the Avatar movie about 5 times but never in 3D - always thought I was missing out. BTW is it only the BR version of movies that is in 3D or are DVD's 3D also

 

There are 3D DVD's but I don't know about side-by-side 3D. DVD usually had Anaglyph (red/blue) 3D. Bluray is usually the way to go with stuff like that.

3D can be great but it really depends on what you are playing and the TV.