Showing posts with label 3D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3D. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2009
Video glasses still haven’t caught on quite as manufacturers might like them to have, but that hasn’t stopped them from scaling up the specifications and the marketing hyperbole to try and tempt us in. Latest to cross the SlashGear test bench are Q-London’s 3D 80-inch Video Eyewear, billed as providing the same viewing experience as having an 80-inch TV two meters away. Bold claims; read on to see whether the Q-London system delivered.
In the box, as you can see from our unboxing video below, Q-London provide the headset itself, a rubber light-shield and alternative nose-pad, an in-line control box and the Nokia-type rechargeable battery that powers it, and an IR remote control. There’s also a cluster of adapter cables, supporting standard composite input and the type of 3.5mm A/V you see on some cellphones and gaming devices. Finally, a USB charging cable and printed user guide round out the well-packaged set; if you want iPod/iPhone compatibility you’ll need your own adapter.
Compared to the Vuzix system we reviewed several months back, we prefer the rechargeable battery used by Q-London. The company themselves don’t quote specific usage times, but we found a full charge was good for a film or two, depending on brightness settings. The remote control is an interesting idea – allowing tweaking of 2D/3D viewing, PAL/NTSC/SECAM video formats, contrast/brightness and other settings – but given there’s no tactile difference between the buttons you’ll still have to peer outside the Eyewear’s viewfinder to make sure you’re hitting the right key.
In terms of comfort, the headset is relatively lightweight at 59g, though the bendy rubber arms grip the sides of your head more tightly than we liked. Being able to quickly unplug the standard headphones and use your own (plugging straight into the in-line control box) is a neat touch, and something we’d recommend you do as the supplied earphones are nothing special. The rubber light-shield fits easily into place and does a decent job of cutting out extra light, though it does make looking outside the Eyewear to see the remote a little trickier. Despite Q-London’s suggestion that the setup has a “trendy design”, you’ll still stand out when wearing it and it’s not necessarily a “good look”.
Aesthetics aside, our biggest complaint about the 3D 80-inch Eyewear is the absence of eye focus adjustment. The Vuzix set had two small wheels that could be used to individually adjust the focus of each eye-display; with the Q-London system you’re stuck using the standard settings. This is particularly frustrating if you wear glasses, since with the Vuzix you could fudge a passable setup to avoid wearing your spectacles. No such luck with Q-London, and the combined weight and bulk of spectacles, light-shield and Eyewear make it an uncomfortable prospect for anything but the shortest viewing session, or headache-inspiring if you attempt a film without your specs.
In the box, as you can see from our unboxing video below, Q-London provide the headset itself, a rubber light-shield and alternative nose-pad, an in-line control box and the Nokia-type rechargeable battery that powers it, and an IR remote control. There’s also a cluster of adapter cables, supporting standard composite input and the type of 3.5mm A/V you see on some cellphones and gaming devices. Finally, a USB charging cable and printed user guide round out the well-packaged set; if you want iPod/iPhone compatibility you’ll need your own adapter.
Compared to the Vuzix system we reviewed several months back, we prefer the rechargeable battery used by Q-London. The company themselves don’t quote specific usage times, but we found a full charge was good for a film or two, depending on brightness settings. The remote control is an interesting idea – allowing tweaking of 2D/3D viewing, PAL/NTSC/SECAM video formats, contrast/brightness and other settings – but given there’s no tactile difference between the buttons you’ll still have to peer outside the Eyewear’s viewfinder to make sure you’re hitting the right key.
In terms of comfort, the headset is relatively lightweight at 59g, though the bendy rubber arms grip the sides of your head more tightly than we liked. Being able to quickly unplug the standard headphones and use your own (plugging straight into the in-line control box) is a neat touch, and something we’d recommend you do as the supplied earphones are nothing special. The rubber light-shield fits easily into place and does a decent job of cutting out extra light, though it does make looking outside the Eyewear to see the remote a little trickier. Despite Q-London’s suggestion that the setup has a “trendy design”, you’ll still stand out when wearing it and it’s not necessarily a “good look”.
Aesthetics aside, our biggest complaint about the 3D 80-inch Eyewear is the absence of eye focus adjustment. The Vuzix set had two small wheels that could be used to individually adjust the focus of each eye-display; with the Q-London system you’re stuck using the standard settings. This is particularly frustrating if you wear glasses, since with the Vuzix you could fudge a passable setup to avoid wearing your spectacles. No such luck with Q-London, and the combined weight and bulk of spectacles, light-shield and Eyewear make it an uncomfortable prospect for anything but the shortest viewing session, or headache-inspiring if you attempt a film without your specs.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Three new projectors were debuted by ViewSonic today, all of which sport 3D display functions. All three also have a 120Hz refresh rate and numerous inputs as well as network management.
First is the PJD6381, which features a .68 throw ratio, a 2,500 lumens brightness level and a 2,500:1 contrast ratio with a 1,024 x 768 resolution. A release date is expected in August and it will sell for $1,249.
Next is the PJD6211 and the PJD6221, which are the more middle of the road models. They have a 1,024 x 768 resolution and several inputs including VGA, S-Video and composite. Both will be available next month for $849 and $999, respectively.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
After rumors back in April that HP were planning to launch a 3D laptop courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D technology, now comes word that Acer are planning their own 3D rival. According to Campbell Kan, VP of Acer’s mobile computing business unit, the 15.6-inch Aspire 3D laptop will arrive at the end of October 2009, and require stereoscopic glasses in order for the 3D effect to be viewed.Initial uses for the visual technology will include 3D movies and gaming, and Acer will preinstall software that, it claims, is capable of taking 2D footage and converting it into 3D. The hardware has been jointly developed with Wistron, though beyond that Acer have given no suggestion as to whether it will use NVIDIA’s system. However it’s worth noting that Wistron were the OEM tipped to supply HP’s 3D laptop.
Since the machine will run Windows 7, Acer are declining to comment further on any more details until the OS has been released. However they did confirm that they are working on a version which does not require 3D glasses; that, though has “quite a few technological obstacles to overcome” says Kan.
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