3D monitors are fast becoming the
must-have high-end accessory. Admittedly, most of us have no interest in
wearing bulky, screen-dimming glasses or shelling out hundreds of extra pounds
so that we can watch films like Tron: Legacy in their full three-dimensional
splendor. But let's face it, 3D isn't going to go away, and it's just starting
to reach the point where maybe you could actually afford to buy one. In this
guide, we'll look at a selection of 3D monitors from across the price range and
help you choose which one is right for you.
The big decision when choosing a 3D monitor
revolves around whether you choose one with active or passive 3D capabilities.
Without going too deeply into the reasons
for the name, active 3D requires you to wear powered glasses, which are bulky,
comparatively expensive and need to be synced with the screen's output using a
sensor. Active 3D, however, tends to be brighter and more well-defined than the
alternative.
Passive 3D, by comparison, uses a polarized
screen and inexpensive, unpowered polarized-lens glasses, which most people
find more comfortable. It does, however, give worse-looking visuals.
In particular, polarized displays
effectively halve the resolution of the image you see in order to make 3D work.
This is because they 'interlace' the images for the left and right eye to
display both simultaneously at different polarizations to achieve a 3D effect.
By comparison, active shutters turn each lens on or off at an incredibly fast
rate while the monitor flips between two images at twice the normal update
speed, allowing them to show 3D at full resolution.
The passive technology currently in most 3D
monitors includes a software component called 'TriDef Ignition' which is a
program that automatically scans your PC for games it recognizes. It then
converts those titles into full 3D using standard profiles. TriDef also
includes its own photo and media player applications which can play in 3D, but
be aware that they don't play 3D Blu-ray discs.
LG D2342P
Details
Price: $300.8
Size: 23"
Response time: 5ms
Input: HDMI, DVI-D, VGA
Currently one of if not the absolute
cheapest 3D monitor on the market at a mere £188, the LG Cinema 3D D2342P is
undeniably one of the easiest ways to get your computer displaying content in
3D without breaking the bank. But is it actually worth the money?
The LED-backlit display is 23" and has
a full HD resolution of 1920x1080, so at first glance it's not cutting any
obvious corners on size or display quality. The base is a little smaller than
it could be, and the plastic the shell is made of feels flimsy and cheap, but
that's the sort of thing that's easy to forgive if the screen is actually any
good.
Sadly, it's not actually that impressive.
The blacks aren't very deep, and the color reproduction is merely okay. There
are worse screens around, but they cost half what this one does. The viewing
angle is particularly small when viewing 3D, and you won't be able to move your
head very far in any direction if you want to keep the effect working.
You get one proper pair of 3D glasses in
the box, but because they're passive, it's worth pointing out that any you may
have forgotten to return at the cinema will work just as well. Like all passive
3D glasses, they're light and not entirely uncomfortable. Better yet, if you
already wear glasses, there's a pair of clip-ons provided as well.
LG's 3D technology (called Cinema 3D) works
like most passive systems, halving the resolution of incoming images to achieve
the 3D effect. The rather low-tech approach is what explains the low price of
this monitor compared to those at the higher end of the spectrum: it's quite
literally half as good.
As a result, you're never going to get a
particularly high-quality picture out of it, but if you're not precious about
that sort of thing, it's at least possible to enjoy having access to 3D. We
wouldn't recommend it to anyone who can afford better, but at this price it's
the cheapest way to get a 3D display, and doubtlessly there will be people who
buy it for that reason alone.
AOC e2352PHz
Details
Price: $313.6
Size: 23"
Response time: 5ms
Input: HDMI, DVI-D, VGA
The AOC e2352PHz monitor conforms to
familiar specs, with a 23" passive 3D screen, bundled with TriDef
software. Unlike NVidia's competing 3D Vision system, TriDef uses cheap,
lightweight polarized glasses instead of active shutter ones, and these are
included in the box alongside clip-ons for those who already wear glasses.
The problems with TriDef are well
documented, but the price of monitors that use it is hard to ignore, and that
definitely applies to AOC's sub-£200 offerings, which are among the cheapest on
the market.
However, unless you're a very heavy gamer,
it's worth remembering that 3D monitors are only running in 3D for a fraction
of the time that you're using them. In 2D mode, the e2352PHz is no better than
any other cheap TN panel, with the added problem that its 3D polarization
creates some slight negative effects. Viewing angles are poor and color
reproduction is bad.
If anything separates the e2352PHz from its
cohorts, it's that the documentation with this monitor is rather poor. There's
little in the way of instructions to help you configure and use the 3D
software, even though it's integral to the monitor's proper usage. The display
control buttons are also a little worse than they could be, with hard-to-read
icons that you might find it difficult to identify in poor light.
Still, it's not the worst 3D monitor
available, and its competitive pricing makes it a decent choice if you're
determined to go for something at this end of the market. As long as you can
handle the poor documentation, you'll get along fine with it.
