Sony VAIO F 3D series owners lounge

Wonderful... right when I'm about to get mine... oh well.

Is the CPU bump the only change? If that's the case I would be fine with it. If they added the nvidia GT 555m I wouldn't be happy...

 

I'd be furious! Haha.

 

Changes between F21 and F23 3D include -

1) i7 2860QM
2) Improved battery life over models equipped with 2820QM (30mins extra)
3) New 2011 USB Rechargeable TDG-BR250 3D glass bundled
4) 3D Portal, TrackID, motion reality profile utilities
5) Win 7 Service Pack 1

and No More McAfee F23 comes with Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security

 

Meh... minor changes. I don't mind that...

 

Apparently this has worked for other sony laptop owners to get back the Stereo Mix; configure windows update to never replace audio driver, disable current driver, uninstall it, install vista/7 realtek driver as admin. The stereo mix option should appear under record menu when 'show disabled devices' is selected.

Several people have reported that it works, I'll give it a go when I have access to my laptop and will report back.

 

Okay, that's not enough to "regret" my first edition.

The only thing that'd make me reconsider was a neon green one, but I don't see that happening!

 

^
No color options for F series. Only Glossy Black for 3D model.

 

I face the same issue. No stereo mix . I'm gonna try this and get back. In the meanwhile if anyone else has other suggestions please post.

 

Make sure the laptop can TAKE the latest Nvidia Driver.

I tried it and my laptop didn't work right afterwards. I can live without YouTube 3D. At least I can enjoy Blu-Ray 3D.

 

Does anyone know where I might find a copy of the OEM NVIDIA driver that Sony posted as an update and then removed? I (foolishly) updated to 280.26 from the NVIDIA site when I saw that it supported the 3D Vaio. Unfortunately, 280.26 has caused a RASH of 3D video playback problems on my machine (stuttering, black screens, etc.). I don't want to roll all the way back to the initial February driver - as I recall that version had warts too.

Thanks!

 

I was having the same problems with the 280.26 Nvidia update. But I'm glad I did a system image before updating. That's something to consider before making any major changes to your laptop.

As for the updated Sony Nvidia driver.... its version 8.17.12.6780

After doing a search.... I found this.... http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/28487-sony-graphics-driver-nvidia-817126780-64-bit/


and this..... http://www.insetsoft.org/bios-Firmware-238993-1-1.html (Scroll down a bit. You'll see the exe file.)

Both the above gives you the same exe file.

I'm not sure if this will work. http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCF220FDB&upd_id=6622&os_id=45

All 3 show 8.17.12.6780 as the version #.

Do a system image before installing the driver. Just to be safe.

 

Woot! Got my F series 3D earlier today and I'm really liking it. Graphics power is more than I expected which I am very happy about. Also, really liking the screen (just i think colours were slightly better on my z540). Im gonna try the updated drivers to get youtube 3d working

 

^^
By better you mean the F 3D appears more saturated or do you mean less saturated ?

And yes make sure you completely erase the earlier driver and only then install the latest driver.

P.S. Congratulations!!!!!!!!

 

I would be very grateful for some help, please. Not sure whether this has been mentioned before and I have tried searching.

I am trying to find out what settings I should use in software programs for creating 3D movies viewable on my Vaio F. I normally use DVDFab for ripping and converting and it has an option to rip or convert 2D to 3D. If I set it to side by side, I get two images on the Vaio. If I set it to two files Nvidia player says I may need a new codec. Has anyone written a guide on creating 3D movies for the Vaio F?

TIA

norm

 

Good with that. I did a clean install and it seemed to work. But then later I was having problems. I'll wait until Sony puts out an update.

 

Yea I think I may do a clean install... I have 94 processes running on first boot... that is WAY too much!

Also when I tried installing the driver over the old one it failed so Ill have to uninstall the other one then install the new one like avmaxfan suggested... but i may just do a clean install...

 

Oops. I meant to say "Good luck with that."

If the screen flickers when restarting or you see a black screen during blu-ray playback, then that driver is no good.

 

Hmmm... I haven't seen anything like that yet, but I havent tried bluray playback.

Anyone have any idea where I can get the Sony (or is it nvidia?) 3D intro software??

Thanks.

 

3D Introduction Software ? You mean content ?????? Its by Sony. And I haven't seen it being available for download anywhere on Sony Support.

 

Yea... you know when you goto VAIO Gate and click the 3D logo and then there is the 3D Intorduction or w/e... I just copied the original flash file and the folder it was in over...

And anyone know why windvd wont install? It says it installs and everything, it reboots and then i look for it and its not installed...

 

Make sure you're looking for the program file named "Corel" for the Corel WinDVD BD application.

 

I just got the file from esupport.sony.com ... So it is supposed to be for my laptop...

 

Understood. Just saying when you look for it on your laptop look for a Corel program file not WinDVD.

 

Oh yea... still not there...

 

Looking at the Vaio F VPCF2290. Price drop $200 until Sept 24, 2011. Will order it with 2820QM. First upgrade will be an OCZ SSD. Question is: Can this laptop support SATA III at 6 Gb/s?

Also, they have cut off the SSD option on CTO. There is an obvious new version coming out soon as noted in previous posting. Any idea when these units with new chips will ship in US?

 

Okay guys (in particular avmaxfan, awesomegeek_), you've convinced me. I'm now the newest member of the Vaio F3D's owners lounge. Made the plunge mere minutes ago, and am waiting patiently for my shipment to arrive next week. Almost like the time I got my first computer.

In the interim, I'm looking at buying accessories and transferring most of my stuff from my ASUS G50VT-X5 (not a bad device but overheats constantly). First, I really need a USB 3.0 hub/charging dock, seeing as there's only 3 USB ports for the device and two of them will already have been taken by my Zalman NC-3000U. I've tried searching for some, but in vain. Anyone got any suggestions for this as well as any other accessories?

Also, any tips or pointers on what I should do after I get the VAIO (applications, settings, etc)? For instance, which of the pre-installed applications should I uninstall and which of them should I keep? For graphics card drivers, should I go with the official NVIDIA drivers or are there any custom drivers that are better? And if I upgrade the version of Windows from Home Premium say to Professional or higher (or even Windows 8) etc. later, how do we go about keeping the VAIO programs that I need, seeing as there's no recovery or software discs?

I realize that's a lot of questions, but I'm quite excited and any replies would be greatly appreciated.

 

Another great review on the F 3D and its screen

Some interesting lines from the review :

" The 1,920 x 1,080 screen is truly the centrepiece of this notebook, and it's a beauty. In 2D mode it exhibits the same rich colour reproduction that Bravia TVs are renowned for, while brightness and contrast are both excellent. Designers with an eye for excellence will be more than happy to use this as a full-time Photoshop machine."

" But it's when the display flicks over into 3D mode that you'll be blown away. We recently tested a high-end Sony 3DTV and found severe crosstalk issues, so weren't expecting much from this notebook. We couldn't have been more wrong. Watching several 3D Blu-ray movies (a Blu-ray drive is standard on this notebook), we were amazed at the total absence of any ghosting, whatsoever. 3D has the strange effect of making 50in LCD screens look smaller than they really are, but here it has the opposite effect, making the already large 16in display feel exponentially bigger. "

And the most praiseworthy lines:
" The sense of depth is simply amazing, running rings around the 3DTVs we've used in the past, and even giving the cinema systems a good run for their money. We'd go so far as to say that it's the best 3D experience we've ever had in the home - if only 3DTVs were this good we'd immediately rush out to buy one."


BTW guys, do you keep your F 3D at 120hz refresh rate during normal usage? I keep it at 75hz as anything higher is a bit dim and 59,60 hz I feel is "too" bright and I don't know if you guys feel the same way or not but I feel it makes colors look worse.

@Metamorphic

Welcome to the club
Sorry I have no idea about docks and I don't use any myself. I just use a Belkin USB hub.
The best thing to do would be to perform a clean install, but you can also just uninstall stuff you don't need like the Vaio Media Gallery, McAfee AV, Vaio Gate, and some other useless (to you) Sony apps. Only the Vaio Care is somewhat useful IMO. Rest are all unnecessary except the essential applications like control center, smart network etc.

As for the driver, I use the Nvidia driver but some guys here have reported issues with the Nvidia driver. So I would say first make a restore point, then completely remove the Sony driver and install the latest Nvidia driver. If it goes fine keep it.

You can always download the Vaio programs from Sony support site. And if you upgrade from Windows Home Premium to Professional or ultimate you don't lose anything as you can do it by using Windows Anytime Upgrade. Just enter key and your OS version will be upgraded without any data loss.

 

I've kept mine at 120Hz since switching. Though the unknown dimming was a bit bothersome at first, now the "usual" settings are a little too bright for my eyes!

 

For some reason I don't find the F 3D screen brightness uncomfortable. In my previous machines I used to set brightness all the way down but with F 3D even at higher britghtness settings I don't find it painful to the eyes. Maybe its got something to do with the OCB panel

 

Good article and from my experiences it seems pretty accurate.

From the review:

Absolutlely!

For the computer to display reference-3D when playing Blu-ray 3D discs that allows for total director intended reproduction, a certain 3D "settings" adjustment needs to be made.

The 3D setting I've changed, that makes a world of difference for viewing, is the "Default" stereoscopic 3D Depth setting located in the NVIDIA Control Panel - Stereoscopic 3D - area which is set initially @ 15%. Setting this to 100% allows every 3D Blu-ray movie to reproduce natural & intentionally correct imaging for genuine immersion. Also, it allows for in-your-face pop that is sometimes artistically encoded on the disc for just that purpose.

Paul

 

^^^

Really? I thought setting it any higher than default would make the quality go down or just make it too much to be any good. Ill need to try this. Thanks so much!!!!!

 

I've probably just gotten too used to the brightness level on 120Hz that it makes the lower refresh rates too bright. I can probably try to adjust to it again but am fine with what it's at for now.

 

Not at all.

Enabling stereoscopic 3D Depth is exactly what it does. "100% Max" takes away the artificial constraint limitations put on the individual 3D depth plains. It allows optimum depth expansion so that the point where an artist's graph instructions have been authored for location and/or movement can be reached and not approximated for the non acquired impact levels intended for an inexperienced person's reaction.

See for yourself the difference with no constraints. After you change the setting to 100% Max and press the "Apply" button that appears, press the "Test stereoscopic 3D" button and then the "Launch Test Application" button that will appear. You will be looking at the optimum depth potential for the F 3D laptops 3D functions. Press "Esc" button on the key pad to exit.

Check out your Blu-ray 3D collection all over again for a thrill!

Paul

 

^
That Test application looks so cool to me with infinite depth and SO much POP
I'll watch some movies with the new setting and then post my findings. BTW on topic, what are you guys' fav 3D Bluray ? And has anyone watched IMAX: Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D and IMAX: Hubble 3D ? These 2 are just out of this world.

And I have not yet watched Tron Legacy 3D. Anyone here who has watched it on F 3D ? What do you think of the 3D in the movie ?

 

IMAX "Hubble 3D" is a 3D favorite because there are many very lifelike scenes and unique panoramas of the universe. In IMAX "Legends of Flight", I feel in several different scenes, that I'm actually looking at miniature human beings or I'm feeling like I'm inside a carbon molecular structure or there are bees coming out of the screen over my keyboard.

Other top Blu-ray 3D's that I would pick for the best 3D pop & immersion, not necessarily story content, out of the 48 I currently own, are "Legends of Flight", "Magamind 3D", "Monsters vs Aliens" (especially the "What about Bob" extra feature). Others that are great in 3D are "Avatar", "Despicable Me", "A Christmas Carol", "The Polar Express" and you usually can't go wrong with any movie that is actually filmed with actual professional 3D cameras.

My Digital Disc Collection

 

OMG!!!!
48 3D Blurays!!!!!!!!!!!
I currently only have Tangled 3D, Bolt 3D, IMAX Dolphins and Whales 3D, Resident Evil Afterlife 3D, Sony 3D Demo disc 2010 Vol.1, Alice in Wonderland 3D.

You din't say anything about Tron Legacy 3D, I see you do have it in your collection. Your thoughts ?

 

Found my reactions to Tron: Legacy's 3D atmosphere to be on the subtle side. There are a couple of pop out style visuals that I remember were well done but most 3D elements are of the more natural kind, integrated throughout the presentation. Well done but nothing that gave an impact for me to keep as a great memory moment.

 

avmaxfan, is your OCZ Vertex 3 running at 3 Gb/s or 6Gb/s?

 

^
6 Gb/s

I mentioned earlier too that F 3D is SATA III compatible. There is no issue go ahead and buy one

 

Tron: Legacy for me is the best 3D movie so far, together with How to train your Dragon & RIO that is. Seems like a lot of people don't like the story of Tron though, but for me the graphical style, clearness and 3D effects are simply amazing

Don't think it's really a good idea to put the nVidia controls on 100% if you are into gaming though, but I normally use Stereoscopic Player(as it turns out they don't sell a lot of 3D Blu Ray in China so I can't buy all, I do own a lot at my home though: Holland) and there you can manually adjust all the parameters for each movie instead of the nVidia control panel over ruling.

BTW, I feel the screen is much more impressive with colors when using 3D, I can feel this is maybe because normally I dim the screen to much in 2D mode because it will hurt my eyes if I don't. In 2D the colorssimply doesn't pop of the screen, in 3D the screen seems to come alive though. But again, I'm not upgrading from a lousy Acer laptop or something, I'm coming from an F12Z which was also known to have a really great screen(with only the Z1 being a little better). Still I wonder if anyone actually calibrated it's screen?

 

^
I already posted a professional calibration ICC for the F 3D screen a few pages back and it does not make much of a difference because the default colors are already almost dead on.
F 3D, Sony Bravia HX929 and Panasonic VT30 plasma all have the same DeltaE value(2.1) for color accuracy. Most laptops score around 10, the Z scores around 4 I think

P.S.
How come your opinions about the screen changed so drastically between your last two posts ?
Earlier you mentioned you did not think the F 3D screen was much better than your F12, "nothing special" and now you can't stop praising the screen

 

Well, if you read closely you can still see the 2D quality is not really convincing me, coming from the F12 it's simply nothing special. However when I recently watched some more 3D animation movies like How to train your dragon with really vibrant colors combined with the BR250B 3D glasses gave a really impressive picture. However with Tron I feel the colors could be more vivid like on my 3D TV, but of course the TV has a color range extender and I can't use such functions on the laptop with my 3D Blu Ray Disc

It's important to note that I've been using a lot of high-end 2D equipment and 3D TV's/products over time. It's not easy to impress me, but the 3D quality certainly does with the right material. 2D compared to the F12 is not better but maybe also not worse, though the viewing angles are better. Compared to the likes of Acer and HP it's ofcourse impressive, but I've been using VAIO Premium Displays for a long time so for me it's the "WOW" factor is long gone.

Anyway mate, I will try your calibration profile, hope it will improve the 2D quality a bit. Always worth trying

Oh and to come back to your previous post, multiple forum members on Dutch forums (like tweakers.net) knew about the OCB panel from several sources and also read it on some other websites. So I guessed it was pretty well known that it was a Toshiba/AUO OCB panel, but I didn't see before that it was of so much interest before

Edit: I just noticed it's not your calibration but the one I already used of notebookcheck, hoped you had a better one maybe

 

^
The Notebookcheck one is as good as it gets. They use the best professional calibration equipment there is.

 

Well, from the Dutch forums I read that notebookcheck is a great website, but not when it comes to reviewing displays. So I guess calibrating is also not their biggest quality.

To tell you the truth, using the notebookcheck profile makes my whole display look greenish while the standard Sony profile doesn't have this problem...

 

^
Well its the equipment that does the calibration and not the notebookcheck "editors". They use X-Rite i1Display 2 which is the best calibration equipment there is. So I really doubt you can find a better profile. You can Google X-Rite iDisplay 2 and see what I mean.
You might buy one yourself and see if you can get a better result. Its around 300$ I guess.

Also can you PM me the link to the dutch forum where they discuss about the F 3D panel being OCB ?

 

From what I know it's not just the software that does it, but well, it's possible there is some difference between the panels...

 

The software does the calibration after getting the display measurements like brightness, contrast, color coverage using the Colorimeter.
I don't think there could be any difference between actual panels used as AFAIK all F 3D models sold worldwide use the same AUO panel, but yes there is a possibility you have an "inferior" panel. Is your Screen hardware ID AUO0908 ?

Do you notice ghosting/crosstalk while viewing 3D or do you notice any light bleed? If yes, then you might actually have gotten an inferior panel. I would suggest you go to a Sony Store and check out their display F 3D and see if you find any difference in screen quality.

 

Only being a Blu-ray 3D movie enthusiast, my goal is to always get as close as I can to achieve director intended reference 3D reproduction. Never played a game on the F 3D - so thanks for adding the advice about not putting nVidia controls on 100% if you are into gaming. Wouldn't want anyone to get get sick while playing 3D games.

Paul

 

Don't worry, I didn't mean different panels as in different manufacturer, but even between identical panels there can still be a lot of difference in the color performance. But guessing from the standard calibration from Sony I'm guessing it's not my screens problem, the standard calibration is white, the calibrated one green, so maybe notebookcheck's screen had a little to underpowered green and mine a bit to much green

I do have the AUO908, I only have crosstalk in really high contrast scenes (so black on white, or other way round) but if I sit perfectly in front of the screen this is almost not noticable. Also there is some light bleed, but that's because the screen has really bright backlighting, it's not like clouding or something. The screen simply ain't fully black but more to grey, but this is normal for any LCD screen. Only OLED en Plasma can fix this... Or dynamic backlight but that's not really a good idea in laptops

 

You never know. And if local dimming does happen on a laptop , SONY will be the one to do it . Haha. Also is light bleed easily noticeable on your screen ? I don't notice any light bleed on mine usually and nor did I see any in the store unit. Perfectly uniform black screen.