Posts Tagged ‘Getting Started’

3D TVs to buy right now (May 2010)

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

If I had to buy a 3D TV right now, I’d want one that’s already worked with a cable provider.

According to the TimeWarnerCable guide for the Masters, there are 3 TVs that worked:

Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20 (50″ Plasma)
Samsung UN55C7000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV (Black)
Samsung UN46C7000 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV (Black)

The Panasonic TV does not seem to be widely available yet. I could find it on neither Amazon nor shopping.yahoo.com. So I don’t know if the model is already outdated, or if it is too new to be available at retail.

The 2 Samsung TVs look like good bets. Keep in mind that the Amazon SKU does not include glasses- you’ll need to purchase the Samsung 3D starter kit.

But while I was browsing around I also noticed what looked like a newer model.

UN46C8000

compared to the older model numbers, it definitely looks backward compatible:
UN46C7000

So what’s the difference between the two? What does the 8000 suffix mean? And is it worth an extra $200? IMHO, probably. The TV is a bit slimmer (0.9″ instead of 1.0″), and it has a variable contrast ratio technology branded “Precision Dimming”. Precision Dimming is supposed to reduce an effect calling blooming, where the light from an “on” pixel bleeds into an “off” pixel. The leaking light pollutes parts of the screen that are supposed to be pure black. Reviews online suggest it works, so although the TimeWarnerCable manual does not list the UN46C8000, that’s the TV I’d go with. There should be a 55 and 65 inch version coming according to this chart.

Good luck!

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3D Starter Equipment

Friday, March 19th, 2010

My first motivation for writing this blog was to figure out what the heck to buy to experience 3D at home. Try googling “3d equipment” or “3d computer” and see what you get – basically nothing usable.

One solution I’ve found is the nVidia 3D kit. For about $300, you get a active shutter glasses, and an IR emitter. But no graphics card! You need an existing nVidia graphics card that’s compatible. Amazon has it for about $300, and Dell has it for about $200. (If you go to Amazon, there’ll be a link to the cheaper Dell version. It’s weird I know). This product was well reviewed.

I figured you’d need a new graphic card, but that’s not the case. See, video games render an entire 3d model within the graphics card, and rely on the graphics card’s processors (GPU) to render the image from a camera location. By rendering TWO images from TWO camera locations using the same hardware, nVidia is able to deliver a stereo image. The only thing left to do is alternate the images, and make sure to synch that alternations with your glasses. (hence the IR emittor).

Link to Amazon – nVidia 3D

Link to positive review at Legit Reviews

The other thing you’ll need is a monitor with a fast enough refresh rate that the video card and alternate between images without giving you a headache. That’s generally a 120 hz LCD monitor – nVidia’s list is here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3D_Vision_Requirements.html

If you own it, please send feedback with your review and I’ll post it here. Still no word if this is sufficient hardware for the Masters Golf Tournament broadcast to Masters.com.

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