Testing
& Results
This is probably the hardest review I've done. With items like a heat sink or
PSU I can show recorded results, with 3D glasses, I can't show you a 3D picture
like what you would see with the glasses on. The only way you could see an image
the way I am would be to look through the glasses yourself.
Soldier of
Fortune II: Double Helix was the first game I tried. I started out at the
last save game I had. Siberia, I think is the location... anyway, I was instantly
amazed. The snow blowing around was unbelievable. I was actually paying so much
attention to the snow, I didn't pay attention to the guard, and was killed.
After loading the game back up, I took a run around killing people... it was
always fun before to see someone's arm/leg go flying, but having the parts come
flying at you was definitely more enjoyable.
Quake III ranks
right up there with some of my least favorite games (CS to name another) however
seeing the game in 3D was unbelievable. As with SoF2 and the other games, the
weapons looked like they were really in your hands.
UT2K3 was
without a doubt the most spectacular game I played using the 3D glasses. The
game is great by itself, but given the depth by the 3D glasses, the game truly
comes alive.
I enjoyed playing
each of the games above using the 3D glasses, and while my testing was limited
to a few FPSers, eDimensional does have a huge
list of tested games. Everything from sports to racing to flight sims and
even role playing games. In
addition to the games, I'd also like to say that the test in Future Mark’s 3DMark2001SE
look amazing as well. It looked like you could actually reach out and grab the
dragon by the horns.
In addition to just playing
the games, I had my brother try the glasses on to see how well they fit over
his eye glasses. They did fit over the glasses, however, he had to keep pushing
the glasses up. A clip, or some method to attach the E-D glasses to normal eye
glasses would be a plus.
During the many hours of
use, I did have one complaint. eDimensional claims that the glasses are comfortable,
however I found that the noise piece was definitely not comfortable. An adjustable
soft plastic noise piece could easily solve that eD! Though, I will admit, despite
the discomfort, I did continue to play for several hours.
This last issue,
I didn't notice till the last day I was using the glasses. Apparently the E-D
glasses doesn't like my Cambridge Sound works DTT3500. With the wireless glasses
turned on, I could not adjust my speakers via the remote. It didn't cause a
problem with my TV, VCR, DVD, or stereo remotes, but I'm sure there are other
IR devices out there that might have a problem.
The biggest drawback
to using the 3D glasses is the performance drop. Depending on the game, I noticed
a drop in frame rate anywhere from 5% to 35%. While in single player, it's not
that big of a deal, this would be deadly in online play and especially tournaments.
Why the drop in performance? I'll try and explain that a bit in the next section.
How
it Works
Each eye sees an object slightly offset. The brain places these two visions together
in a way that creates our perception of depth. The E-D system simulate this by
creating two images, one for each eye. The LCD lenses of the shutter glasses
alternates between opaque and clear during use, which is basically like turning
each eye on and off. When the right image is displayed, the right eye lens is
clear and the left eye is opaque. And when the left image is displayed the opposite
happens. The shuttering of the lenses happen many times a second, and your brain
fuses these separate images into a 3D image.
Because 2 images
are having to be rendered all the time, you take a hit in the performance.
Aside from the
performance loss, there is an occasional "ghosting" of an image that
can happen. This is caused when one of your eyes catches the image intended
for the other eye.
Conclusion
This
was definitely a fun product to review. Within seconds, my skepticism was ceased,
and I have to admit, the E-D glasses did give me "the best 3-D graphics"
that I had ever experienced. I'd definitely recommend the glasses to anyone looking
for something new. Those of you out there that after nothing but “maj0r
pWnAgE” should definitely take the performance cut in mind. At $100.00,
the glasses may be a bit pricey for some people, for those willing to shell
out the cash you won't be disappointed.
Pros:
•
Easy to install
•
Unbelievable results
•
Wired or wireless version
•
Adjustable ear pieces
•
Thousands of tested games
•
Batteries included
Cons:
•
Uncomfortable
•
A bit pricy
•
Interference with some other IR devices (Wireless version only)
I'd like to thank
eDimensional for
providing this to us for review!
