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MSI prepping passive 3D laptop using cheaper glasses, TriDef 3D software

By | July 22, 2010, 5:20am PDT

While many of the 3D laptops that have been announced to date have used active-shutter technology, there’s also a movement afoot to pump out notebooks using passive 3D instead. Why? The polarized glasses only cost a few bucks, compared to the $150 per pair that active-shutter glasses cost.

DigiTimes is reporting that MSI is getting such a passive 3D laptop ready for a mid-September release. Instead of using Nvidia’s 3D Vision solution, MSI will be using an integrated GPU from Intel in conjunction with Dynamic Digital Depth’s (DDD’s) TriDef 3D software.

There’s no official word about a stateside release, but DigiTimes says the laptop will be priced under $1,000 when it becomes available. It will definitely provide a cheaper 3D experience (at least in terms of additional pairs of glasses), but will the passive 3D experience be able to rival its active-shutter competition?

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3D, Laptop Computer, Microsoft Windows Installer, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

Disclosure

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist; currently, all work that Sean does is on a contractural basis. Sean has also written corporate communications documents for CA.

Sean does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Biography

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy started his tech writing career at ZDNet nearly a decade ago. He then spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. He received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.

Talkback Most Recent of 5 Talkback(s)

  • RE: MSI prepping passive 3D laptop using cheaper glasses, TriDef 3D software
    as
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Master Skywalker
    22nd Jul 2010
  • RE: MSI prepping passive 3D laptop using cheaper glasses, TriDef 3D software
    It works just fine in movie theaters, why not in computers, new laptops and older but recent desktop that would only require a change in graphics card and adding some software? That is cheaper and easier than buying new monitors and TV sets. Oh, wait... that's the what they want.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Master Skywalker
    22nd Jul 2010
  • RE: MSI prepping passive 3D laptop using cheaper glasses, TriDef 3D software
    Anaglyphs have problems that active shutter will not. The main problem will be color bleeding. The newest blue / amber lenses provide a much better experience than the classic red / blue glasses because the amber has less to bleed into.

    I've watched youtube clips with the blue / amber lenses and had a nice 3D viewing experience. It was not $150 nice, it was a 3D experience though.

    Will we be able to watch videos in 3D with this video card? That would be classic.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    prof.ebral
    22nd Jul 2010
  • How much is the S&H?
    What are active-shutter 3D glasses? An LCD device with only two pixels that need to refresh at a relatively slow rate. Why does the bulb for a projection TV cost $400? These are both examples of step 3 of underwear-gnome logic: PROFIT. Eventually the glasses will be $19.99 with a second one free if you order before midnight tonight. And, they will double your order to four glasses for just the shipping and handling.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    mrgapoz@...
    22nd Jul 2010
  • RE: MSI prepping passive 3D laptop using cheaper glasses, TriDef 3D software
    active shutter creates images for left and right but needs 120hzt screen to reduce to 60hzt per eye, but you get full HD, where as in passive the picture is split into 2 but using left and right eyes at the same time on screen from left to right , pixel for left eye , pixel for right eye and repeat across the screen, so a 1080p becomes 540p, not flicking between the picture for each eyelike you get for active, and in the cinema, you use pollorized glasses, but the projector uses a system like active shutters , flicking between each eye, through a reflector system and polorized lenses....... do not compare passive with the cinema polorized, unless you're using 2 projectors at home.....
    ZDNet Gravatar
    sicedice
    20th Aug 2010

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