AkG
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2007
- Messages
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Movie Performance
Pre-calibration
Post-calibration
Some further discussion of the V3D231’s 3D video capabilities is in order. Since this monitor can handle polarized (aka interlaced, or 3Di) 3D format, as well as compatible frame 3D formats such as Left-and-Right (aka Side-by-Side or SbS) and Top-and-Bottom (aka TaB) formatted stereoscopic movies, you will have very little trouble finding compatible content. The included software may not be able to play Blu-Ray movies in 3D, but with some ripping and re-encoding this too can be accomplished. It may not be a perfect solution, but it is possible if you are dedicated enough.
Be warned that in order to view SbS-encoded 3D material you must download the latest version of the software (1.0.3), as SbS compatibility was only recently re-added to the software due to a patent dispute. You will also need to properly label your media, adding, for example, an “-lr” or “-lrq” to the end of file names for SbS-format content in order to tell the media player how to properly decode the movie. Not doing so will result in a pair of 2D images being displayed (for example) side by side, both in “virtual” 3D.
If the limitations we have listed above don’t overly concern you, there is one more that may: as with gaming, subtitles and other small font texts are simply unreadable in 3D mode. Even watching the opening credits of a movie while wearing the polarized glasses is an exercise in frustration, as only half of each letter will be displayed to each eye. In theory, your brain should be able to connect the dots and recreate the words, but don’t count on it.
This phenomenon is usually called retinal rivalry or binocular rivalry. What it all boils down to is quite simple: nearly all humans have a dominant eye, and thus when two dissimilar images are sent to the brain, it will opt for only one image as being the “correct” one. It can be alleviated somewhat by increasing the displayed text’s size, but even going this route results in a sub-optimal viewing experience.
The one trick the ViewSonic V3D231 has up its sleeve is the ability to easily transform 2D movies into simulated 3D. To do this, the software simply makes everything at the bottom of the screen “close” to you and everything higher up “further away.” This produces an effect that is much like looking out a window: Nothing in the scene will “pop out” at you, but it will be in 3D instead of 2D.
Like many things with this monitor, the result is extremely variable. Some 2D movies don’t look better when displayed in this virtual 3D, and some even look worse. However, other movies look surprisingly good.
All of this certainly makes the V3D231 a less user-friendly and seamless experience when compared to NVIDIA’s active solution. Nevertheless, given the disparity in price—and other fringe benefits such as lightweight glasses requiring no batteries—it can be considered a good bang-for-your-buck setup. More importantly, while there are issues to be overcome, they are for the most part not insurmountable and ViewSonic’s passive 3D implementation does still provide a fairly decent and enjoyable experience.
In our final estimation, the ViewSonic VD231 has some weaknesses that must be addressed. The screen door effect we ran into with 2D content and gaming is also noticeable in 3D movies. Basically, anytime a scene consists of mainly solid colors, such as a blue sky, large grass-covered fields, white clouds, ice rinks or anything similar, there is a very noticeable graininess to the image. Also, while the 3D is often good, we did notice that images were generally darker than NVIDIA’s second generation active setup and the resolution was noticeably worse. Halving the image resolution in order to get 3D is a decent tradeoff considering the lowered price, but when you add all these issues together the ViewSonic V3D231’s implementation does leave something to be desired.
Movie Performance

Pre-calibration

Post-calibration
Some further discussion of the V3D231’s 3D video capabilities is in order. Since this monitor can handle polarized (aka interlaced, or 3Di) 3D format, as well as compatible frame 3D formats such as Left-and-Right (aka Side-by-Side or SbS) and Top-and-Bottom (aka TaB) formatted stereoscopic movies, you will have very little trouble finding compatible content. The included software may not be able to play Blu-Ray movies in 3D, but with some ripping and re-encoding this too can be accomplished. It may not be a perfect solution, but it is possible if you are dedicated enough.

Be warned that in order to view SbS-encoded 3D material you must download the latest version of the software (1.0.3), as SbS compatibility was only recently re-added to the software due to a patent dispute. You will also need to properly label your media, adding, for example, an “-lr” or “-lrq” to the end of file names for SbS-format content in order to tell the media player how to properly decode the movie. Not doing so will result in a pair of 2D images being displayed (for example) side by side, both in “virtual” 3D.
If the limitations we have listed above don’t overly concern you, there is one more that may: as with gaming, subtitles and other small font texts are simply unreadable in 3D mode. Even watching the opening credits of a movie while wearing the polarized glasses is an exercise in frustration, as only half of each letter will be displayed to each eye. In theory, your brain should be able to connect the dots and recreate the words, but don’t count on it.
This phenomenon is usually called retinal rivalry or binocular rivalry. What it all boils down to is quite simple: nearly all humans have a dominant eye, and thus when two dissimilar images are sent to the brain, it will opt for only one image as being the “correct” one. It can be alleviated somewhat by increasing the displayed text’s size, but even going this route results in a sub-optimal viewing experience.
The one trick the ViewSonic V3D231 has up its sleeve is the ability to easily transform 2D movies into simulated 3D. To do this, the software simply makes everything at the bottom of the screen “close” to you and everything higher up “further away.” This produces an effect that is much like looking out a window: Nothing in the scene will “pop out” at you, but it will be in 3D instead of 2D.
Like many things with this monitor, the result is extremely variable. Some 2D movies don’t look better when displayed in this virtual 3D, and some even look worse. However, other movies look surprisingly good.
All of this certainly makes the V3D231 a less user-friendly and seamless experience when compared to NVIDIA’s active solution. Nevertheless, given the disparity in price—and other fringe benefits such as lightweight glasses requiring no batteries—it can be considered a good bang-for-your-buck setup. More importantly, while there are issues to be overcome, they are for the most part not insurmountable and ViewSonic’s passive 3D implementation does still provide a fairly decent and enjoyable experience.
In our final estimation, the ViewSonic VD231 has some weaknesses that must be addressed. The screen door effect we ran into with 2D content and gaming is also noticeable in 3D movies. Basically, anytime a scene consists of mainly solid colors, such as a blue sky, large grass-covered fields, white clouds, ice rinks or anything similar, there is a very noticeable graininess to the image. Also, while the 3D is often good, we did notice that images were generally darker than NVIDIA’s second generation active setup and the resolution was noticeably worse. Halving the image resolution in order to get 3D is a decent tradeoff considering the lowered price, but when you add all these issues together the ViewSonic V3D231’s implementation does leave something to be desired.
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