nVidia GeForce 3D Vision Kit

by nVidia

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 8 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001PV6MCS
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 942-10701-0003-000
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 2, 2004

Product Description

Tired of living in a 2D world? Upgrade your PC to a fully immersive stereoscopic 3D gaming experience with NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision. A combination of high-tech wireless glasses and advanced software, the GeForce 3D Vision kit transforms hundreds of PC games, 3D movies, and digital photographs into an eye popping, interactive experience. Adjust 3D depth adjustment from the IR emitter Fully supports 3D video players such as 3dtv Stereoscopic Player Easily take in-game screenshots and view them in stereoscopic 3D with NVIDIA's free photo viewer Infrared receiver - Receive signal between 1.5 and 15 feet Infrared transmitter - Transmit signal between 1.5 and 15 feet Battery Life - up to 40 hours of stereoscopic 3D Rechargeable battery connector - USB 2.0 mini-B power connector USB 2.0 mini-B - Connect to the PC for enabling GeForce 3D Vision VESA Stereo Cable Port - For use with DLP HDTV only In the box - One pair of GeForce 3D Vision active shutter glasses with storage pouch, adjustable nose pieces, and microfiber cleaning cloth GeForce 3D Vision USB controller/IR emitter Custom 5' VESA stereo to 2.5mm stereo audio plug cable 10' DVI to HDMI cable 10' USB 2.0 type A to 5-pin mini-B cable 6' recharge cable (USB Type A to 5-pin mini Type B) Quick star guide Installation CD System Requirements - Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 CPU 1GB of system memory 100 MB free disk space Unit Dimensions - 20.3 x 16.6 x 8.2, Weight - 1.76 oz. GeForce 3D Vision currently supports 2-way NVIDIA SLI

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works very well, October 27, 2009

By 

K. Gish (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: nVidia GeForce 3D Vision Kit (Personal Computers)

I'll try to be brief, as to not simply reiterate too much of the other reviewers.

1) These nVidia glasses work very well, and the glasses have wider field of view than the eDimensions 3D glasses (which I bought 2 years ago). The 3D effect is fully adjustable in the two key dimensions: separation (amount of 3D effect) and convergence (how far away the objects appear). Having a 60 Hz refresh rate for each eye is critical; my eDimension glasses with an older 60 Hz LCD monitor could only give 30 Hz per eye and lots of flicker. I haven't tried the eDimension with the new 120 Hz monitor.

2) My computer set up is not excessive, but not wimpy either: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz; nVidia 8800GTS; 2 Gb DDR2-800 RAM; ViewSonic VX2265wm 120Hz LCD monitor; Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. This is about the bare minimum set up for good 3D.

3) Make sure you uninstall your current GeForce drivers before loading the new GeForce + 3D Vision drivers (collectively downloadable as the "Full Driver CD" from nVidia's website). I had mismatched drivers at first (from Windows 7), and got excessive ghosting and got the right-eye signal going to the left eye. Reinstalling with fresh drivers from nVidia solved the problem. Now I have no ghosting, no flicker, great 3D effect.

4) I've only tested one game so far, World of Warcraft, which looks beautiful. There's a setting in WoW to allow the cursor to adjust its depth to match the interacting object - nice! Takes 15-30 minutes to get used to, but then it's fantastic. Setting the convergence (or "screen depth") to a low value makes the objects appear far away and is easier on the eyes.

5) Caveats: (a) you need Windows Vista or 7; XP will not work. (b) There are only two LCD monitors at the moment that offer true 120 Hz refresh rates: ViewSonic VX2265wm FuHzion 3D/120Hz LCD Display (Black) and Samsung Syncmaster 2233RZ 22" 3D Gaming LCD Monito; many LCD TVs claim 120 Hz, but this is upscaled, and none currently take 120 Hz input; some DLP TVs will work - check nVidia's website.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The future of gaming, September 29, 2009

By 

W. Mumford - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: nVidia GeForce 3D Vision Kit (Personal Computers)

I have used the 3D vision kit for about 2 months now and have found it be a great enhancement to my PC gaming. I find myself buying the PC version of multi-platform games now just so I can experience them in 3D. Consider that my 3D vision kit is on a 22 LCD monitor, while my console gaming is done on a 10' wide projection screen system. Yes, 3D is that impressive. The cost of entry is not cheap, but if you can afford it, then I think that is well worth the cost. The one caveat though is that the 3D game mode will cut your framerate by about 40%, so you will want to have a fairly strong computer to play some games at full quality.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nvidia's 3D Vision - A great way to enjoy 3D, April 23, 2010

By 

Mike Nesbit (Northern Cambria, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: nVidia GeForce 3D Vision Kit (Personal Computers)

The 3D Vision kit arrived last week and I was really excited after reading so much about it. It arrived the same day as the Samsung SyncMaster 2233rz so it was all ready to go. Just in case you don't know yet, you will need a 3D enabled monitor and an Nvidia card that supports 3D. Make sure you read up on everything including system requirements if you are entertaining the idea of getting this. It has been a little over a week of using the 3D Vision. I've tried out different things with it to soak in all the 3D goodness that I could and I have to say, this was an excellent purchase!

I won't lie, I disliked the idea of having to wear glasses whenever viewing 3D (it's just that thought process of the old style), but these aren't bad at all. The 3D Vision kit comes with three switchable nose pieces in addition to the glasses and the IR transmitter. The reason for the nose pieces is to help different people obtain a comfortable level when wearing the glasses. We're all different, so it's really cool that Nvidia had the notion to add these. The glasses fit fine and they shouldn't have problems fitting over your prescription glasses (which I have and have had no problem). I can't exactly say the 3D glasses are the most styling things to wear, but they definitely aren't horrible. At first, it may bother you a bit while wearing them only because you aren't used to it. But after awhile, they feel a lot less noticeable and you feel a lot more immersed.

You may think that this kind of setup would require some technical smarts, but Nvidia has made the installation process pretty simple. The kit comes with everything you need. Start off by charging the glasses first - like the manual recommends. A lot of people usually ignore this step because there is some charge in it, but I would recommend charging them first. After that, you can either put in the installation CD, or just download the latest installation CD drivers from the website (recommended). It will tell you everything you need to do and in a few minutes you'll be up and running with your new 3D setup! It really is a breeze as long as you follow the directions. You'll then be treated with a 3D test to make sure everything is working. Once that is done with, you are treated to some lovely in-game 3D screenshots to prepare you for the greatness to come.

So does this really change the game?

I tested a few games with the 3D Vision; Just Cause 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Metro 2033, Burnout Paradise and Left 4 Dead. Let me just say that it completely changed the experience. I felt that I was much more involved in these worlds and I wanted to play even more. 3D is something that is really hard to explain unless you see it for yourself. You feel like you're actually looking down roads or hallways, everything suddenly has a solid feel to it and comes to life. It has this feeling of looking into a box where all this action is going on and you're a part of it more than ever before. 3D completely changes the experience. And yes, there can be things that pop far out of the screen as seen in a nice demo test that Nvidia installs with the drivers. But don't expect everything to be popping out of the screen and going wild just yet. I'm sure we'll see a lot more of that as developers from all walks start creating content that is more 3D based. But here is where 3D at home really shines, at least 3D Vision. You have the ability to change the depth which can really make 3D look outstanding. Apparently in the theaters, the depth is set to 15%,, but with the 3D Vision you have the ability to set the depth far higher than that. This option is such a great touch and I'm glad we have that ability. You may want to take it slow though until your eyes adjust. Other than that, the quality of the gaming is great. While the screen will become darker when the glasses are activated, it really doesn't take much away from the experience. You don't lose anything really (like resolution or dullness), you gain an entirely new way to view pictures, watch videos, and play games.

Not everything can be perfect though and this is no different. There can be glitches at times in certain games. I had an issue with major eye glare in Left 4 Dead sometimes and the 3D effect can make your eyes tire out easily until you adjust. Nvidia usually works hard with their drivers, at times they are amazing, and at other times they fall a bit short. From the looks of it, they haven't exactly been spot on lately, but I'm sure they'll get back to it. A few times I noticed a program crashing like the 3D video player and then my IR transmitter throwing a fit. Luckily, this usually just requires a reboot. Due to this being fairly new, there are going to be ups and downs in the software. It happens, but for the most part it works very well. Another gripe is that I wish Nvidia would have more content available to show off the power of the 3D Vision. I know at some point we'll get barraged with 3D content considering the big push for it this year. But with the 3D Vision being out for nearly a year, one would think Nvidia would have really created more of their own demo stuff to show it off. While they do have some cool stuff such as photo albums and video clips, it isn't a huge amount and that's a shame considering how nice their little 3D tests are. But fear not, if you look around enough you'll be able to find some cool 3D content.

If you're like me and were/are up and down with the latest 3D push, let me say that it is something that you simply have to experience for yourself to really understand it. After a week of using it and showing it off to family and friends, everyone really enjoyed it. I could see this as being the next step in our viewing pleasure. Yes, I understand that the technology has been available for a long time, but now it actually looks good. With over 350 PC games that are available to play in 3D, Nvidia's 3D Vision is a great way to dive into it. It's a blast.