Vortex entertainment system promises simulated 3D, real headaches

Australia's 3D Visual is looking to bring the wonders of 3D a little closer to home with its Vortex home entertainment system, providing an ample supply of hype to go along with it. So what exactly does this " portal into the future" consist of? Well, at the core is a fairly decent Windows XP-based PC, packing a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA 6800 GTOC graphics card, and two generous 300GB hard drives spinning at 7,200 rpm; a projector provides the display. The 3D part of the equation comes in the form of some apparently standard issue shutter glasses -- the very same technology that's been kicking around since the days of the Sega Master System. To round out the set , 3D Visual's also seen fit to include a couple of wireless controllers and a ton pre-loaded PC games (either 90 or 150 depending on the paragraph you read), which either means that you can look at paying quite a premium for that convience (they haven't announced a price yet) or 3D Visual's going to be hearing from some dissapointed customers when they discover they've got a hard drive filled with demos.

[Via Slashdot]

[kendachi @ Nov 20th 2006 6:41PM]

I saw this at the Games expo in Melbourne last weekend and it was actually quite impressive. However, I did ask the guy whether he had used it for a long period of time and it was a very unconvincing "yes, no headaches at all"!
Kind of thing that could bring on epilepsy real quick.

[alloneword @ Nov 20th 2006 8:12PM]

I went to the Epxo in Melbourne, this is nothing new, and completely crap. It uses LCD glasses that shut off each eye in turn, and the screen (in this case it was a projector) displays what the left eye sees, then the right eye. It kind of looks 3D, and adds a convincing motion blur that makes it look like the whole image is vibrating, but I got a head ache because I can see the flicker. Worse than looking at an old CRT with a refresh rate of 60hz.

I remember seeing this same thing about 10 years ago at a 'Big Boy's Toys Expo' (at the same location in Melbourne). Then they were demoing the 'latest Tomb Raider', now they are demoing Doom3. Strangely, this is one technology that seems to have gotten more expensive over time. I remembered I could have bought the system for well under $100AU (then).

The best 3D theater setups I have used and worked on use two image sources with polarized glasses. This completely removes the flicker. Usually two projectors. http://vr.swin.edu.au/

[Loonie @ Nov 20th 2006 8:41PM]

When are they gonna make with the polarized light projectors? Why mess around with all this "shutter" crap?

[ian rees @ Nov 20th 2006 8:48PM]

We have a similar system (don't recall manufacturer): stereo 3D projector, LCD shutter glasses. We use it for scientific visualization. It's pretty neat. Of course, as someone said, the best results are obtained by a passive system using polarized light.

[Seth @ Nov 21st 2006 12:15AM]

Interesting how the logo looks like the exact Title and graphic from an SNES game of the same name, that Debuted the FX chip.

[Dirkus @ Nov 21st 2006 3:53AM]

I think the fact that it's called the "Vortex" is rather telling. It sounds like a spiraling whirlwind of suck.