3D monitors: why you need one and how they work

3D monitors are the computer compatible counterparts of the 3D TVs. Although 3D technology and 3D TV’s have been a while in our homes, 3D monitors have been a little late. In 2009, Viewsonic released the world’s first 120Hz 3D LCD monitor and that shaped the way for a lot of other companies.

NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision

Why do you need a 3D monitor?

Well, it’s obvious that if we’re talking about 3D TV’s we’re aiming to see movies, shows and sports on the big screen in our living. But what better use is there for 3D monitors then gaming? Fighting monsters in a 3D RPG or kicking some butt in a 3D FPS reality war game can be awesome even for a non-gaming freak. But keep this in mind! You can do the same thing if you connect your PC to a 3D TV.

Alienware OptX AW2310

How do the 3D monitors work?

3D monitors use pretty much the same technology as 3D TV’s only that the 3D monitors have smaller diagonals. This is also the reason why you don’t see plasma monitors. Getting to the point, the most widely used technology on 3D monitors is the Active Shutter Glasses Technology which you can experience if you buy an LCD 3D monitor compatible with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision. The main idea is that the computer uses the computer graphics card to show two images simultaneously, one for each eye. Then you have to buy the 3D shutter glasses from NVIDIA (some come in a pack with the 3D monitor or the graphics card) and you’re set for a lot of 3D games, photos movies etc.

The LCD 3D monitor has to have a 120Hz refresh rate because each eye will see only 60Hz, getting to a decent refresh rate of the today’s 2D monitors. I seen the 3D Vision with my own eyes and I can tell you it was really cool. There are downsides however. You really need a powerful PC and obviously a really good graphics card from NVIDIA which is going to set you back on expenses. And another thing is that LCD monitors are not to good when it comes to brightness. With the glasses on, you’ll see that it will become worse. But hey! You really have more time for the works at night making it worth the extra buck.

The other system used in 3D monitors now is the micro-polarizing technology with interleaved rows. Basically it’s the same technology used for 3D TV’s which I explained here. The thing as the par and odd lines on the screen are circularly polarised differently. Obviously, you’ll have to get some polarized glasses to go with that. The latest 3D monitors out there are Asus PG276H, Acer GD235HZ (~370$), Alienware OptX AW2310 (~700$ including the 3D Vision Kit), Asus VG236H (~500$) and LG W2363G.

However, recently, Nintendo showed us that we can do without glasses in their Nintendo 3DS portable game console. The technology being used is autostereoscopic, done by 2 LCDs stacked together but that are still 3,5″ screens. I don’t think we’re going to see one soon at a bigger scale. Not in our homes, that is.

NVIDIA 3D VISION

Alienware OptX AW2310