Hi-tech xmas: 3D gaming monitor

3-D: iZ3D gaming monitor:

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iZ3D gaming monitor

Of the attempts in the past to bring more immersive 3D gaming to the masses, most have involved bulky glasses that induce headaches and are just downright uncomfortable to wear.

The iZ3D gaming monitor still has a pair of glasses that you have to wear (they look similar to those $10 sunnies you buy from the local tourist market) but the technology is in the monitor, which is essentially two LCD panels, one transparent, sandwiched together and uses software, combined with the two LCD layers, to create 3D images. And it works -- for the most part.

Without the glasses, the desktop image is slighty blurry, but putting on the glasses produces better results. I tested the monitor on a variety of game demos, including Lock On, ArmA and Full Spectrum Warrior: 10 Hammers.

Lock On worked well, producing 3D images that jumped out at you, and it was fun being able to rotate the game's camera around planes.

Full Spectrum Warrior, while producing a decent looking 3D effect, ran like a slideshow, making it unplayable. The monitor's literature claims compatibility with dozens of current PC games, including World of Warcraft, Crysis, Bioshock, Halo 2 (Vista), Need for Speed: Carbon and the Battlefield series.

It's clear that the iZ3D monitor is evolving technology, and some games performed better than others, but it will be worth keeping an eye on how it develops over the next few years. I wouldn't rush out and buy one just yet, though, the New Zealand distributor has said it will probably retail for about $2000!

So put the iZ3D in the keep-an-eye-on-it-for-the-future category. --Gerard Campbell

- © Fairfax NZ News