Acer's GD235HZ 23.6-inch 3D display is ready for your glasses-equipped exploits
By Paul Miller 
posted February 1st 2010 9:33AM
posted February 1st 2010 9:33AM
Acer Delivers Full HD NVIDIA 3D Vision-Ready Display for Consumers in the United States
New Acer GD235HZ Display Was Designed to Provide a Full HD 3D Experience for Today's Popular Games and Videos Featuring 1920x1080 Resolution and a 120Hz Refresh Rate
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acer America today debuts a new high-end, high-resolution display that features a 120Hz refresh rate. This display can also perform as a full HD 3D display when combined with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ active-shutter glasses, making it perfect for showcasing high-definition 3D games, Blu-ray movies and other multimedia.
"As 3D content becomes more widely available in popular games and videos, users desire computing products that can take advantage of these new capabilities," said Irene Chan, senior product marketing manager for peripherals, Acer America. "We are excited to offer Acer's first monitor to support 3D technology, enabling consumers to fully immerse themselves in leading-edge 3D games and movies at an affordable price."
Chan continued, "We see a strong market for 3D technology products that offer the quality and value that Acer is known for providing, as we've demonstrated with our Acer notebook with 3D technology and now with this new Acer GD235HZ display."
The new Acer 3D display becomes available at an opportune time. In its recently released 3D Display Technology and Market Forecast Report, DisplaySearch forecasts that the total stereoscopic 3D display market will grow from 0.7 million units and $902 million in revenues in 2008 to 196 million units and $22 billion in revenues in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38 percent for revenues and 75 percent for units.
Leading-Edge Features Enhance 3D Viewing Experience
Users can clearly view detailed images and crisp graphics due to the Acer GD235HZ display's 80,000:1 (ACM) contrast ratio. The Acer Adaptive Contrast Management (ACM) features advanced technology that allows users to adjust images frame by frame to optimize contrast by enhancing detail and gradation. Additionally, Acer ACM enables the new monitor to use less power and save energy while providing a superior viewing experience.
The new 23.6-inch display boasts a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1920x1080 resolution, providing excellent high-definition picture quality. Users can enjoy the clarity and precision of Blu-ray Disc™ high definition technology for watching movies in extraordinary detail. The 16:9 aspect ratio allows users to view high-definition digital content without image distortion that arises from incompatible aspect ratios. Additionally, the Acer GD235HZ features a rapid 2ms response times for viewing high quality moving images and a 300 cd/m2 brightness, further improving the visual performance.
Acer's unique software solutions boost usability. The eColor Management on-screen interface allows users to tailor the performance of the display, such as brightness, saturation and contrast. The Empowering Key enables users to switch between viewing scenarios and create their own to compensate for application and environmental constraints. The eDisplay Management function is a powerful color enhancement and display rotation tool.
State-of-the-Art Technology from NVIDIA® 3D Vision™
The Acer GD235HZ 23.6-inch display provides a revolutionary new 3D viewing experience when combined with the NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology, adding depth to the image displayed on the flat surface of the monitor. NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ is a combination of high-tech wireless active-shutter glasses, a wireless USB transmitter, and advanced software that can transform hundreds of PC games into an exceptional 3D experience. The Acer display with NVIDIA 3D Vision can deliver 3D images from any PC content, including 3D photographs, 3D videos, and upcoming Blu-ray 3D movies. The glasses are lightweight, can be worn over regular eyeglasses, and can provide up to 40 hours of 3D entertainment on a single charge. For more information on NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, please visit www.nvidia.com/3DVision.(2)
Specifications, Pricing and Availability
The Acer GD235HZ bid 3D display will be available early this month for U.S. customers at leading retailers for an MSRP of $399.99. The NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Kit is available for an MSRP of $199 from leading e-tailers.
Acer® GD235HZ bid 23.6-inch LCD Display
23.6-inch Widescreen
1920x1080 Maximum Resolution
0.2715mm Pixel Pitch
120Hz (Maximum) Refresh Rate
2ms Response Time (G to G)
80,000:1 Max (ACM) / 1000:1 (Native) Contrast Ratio
300cd/m2 Brightness
170° (H)/160° (V) Viewing Angles
16.7 Million Colors
6Bit + HiFRC
1x HDMI (w/HDMI), 1x DVI, 1x VGA Inputs
Vesa 100mm Wall Mount
Internal Power Supply
About Acer America
Since its founding in 1976, Acer has pursued the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Globally, Acer ranks top 3 for total PCs(1) and No. 2 for notebooks(1), with the fastest growth among the top-five players. A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental to Acer's continued growth, while the successful acquisitions of Gateway and Packard Bell complete the company's global footprint by strengthening its presence in the U.S. and enhancing its strong position in Europe. Acer is proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement in staging the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter and London 2012 Olympic Games. The Acer Group employs more than 6,000 people worldwide. 2008 revenues reached US$16.65 billion. See www.acer-group.com for more information.
© 2009 Acer Inc. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners.
1 Source: Gartner data, FY 2008
2 Source: NVIDIA Corporation
New Acer GD235HZ Display Was Designed to Provide a Full HD 3D Experience for Today's Popular Games and Videos Featuring 1920x1080 Resolution and a 120Hz Refresh Rate
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acer America today debuts a new high-end, high-resolution display that features a 120Hz refresh rate. This display can also perform as a full HD 3D display when combined with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ active-shutter glasses, making it perfect for showcasing high-definition 3D games, Blu-ray movies and other multimedia.
"As 3D content becomes more widely available in popular games and videos, users desire computing products that can take advantage of these new capabilities," said Irene Chan, senior product marketing manager for peripherals, Acer America. "We are excited to offer Acer's first monitor to support 3D technology, enabling consumers to fully immerse themselves in leading-edge 3D games and movies at an affordable price."
Chan continued, "We see a strong market for 3D technology products that offer the quality and value that Acer is known for providing, as we've demonstrated with our Acer notebook with 3D technology and now with this new Acer GD235HZ display."
The new Acer 3D display becomes available at an opportune time. In its recently released 3D Display Technology and Market Forecast Report, DisplaySearch forecasts that the total stereoscopic 3D display market will grow from 0.7 million units and $902 million in revenues in 2008 to 196 million units and $22 billion in revenues in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38 percent for revenues and 75 percent for units.
Leading-Edge Features Enhance 3D Viewing Experience
Users can clearly view detailed images and crisp graphics due to the Acer GD235HZ display's 80,000:1 (ACM) contrast ratio. The Acer Adaptive Contrast Management (ACM) features advanced technology that allows users to adjust images frame by frame to optimize contrast by enhancing detail and gradation. Additionally, Acer ACM enables the new monitor to use less power and save energy while providing a superior viewing experience.
The new 23.6-inch display boasts a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1920x1080 resolution, providing excellent high-definition picture quality. Users can enjoy the clarity and precision of Blu-ray Disc™ high definition technology for watching movies in extraordinary detail. The 16:9 aspect ratio allows users to view high-definition digital content without image distortion that arises from incompatible aspect ratios. Additionally, the Acer GD235HZ features a rapid 2ms response times for viewing high quality moving images and a 300 cd/m2 brightness, further improving the visual performance.
Acer's unique software solutions boost usability. The eColor Management on-screen interface allows users to tailor the performance of the display, such as brightness, saturation and contrast. The Empowering Key enables users to switch between viewing scenarios and create their own to compensate for application and environmental constraints. The eDisplay Management function is a powerful color enhancement and display rotation tool.
State-of-the-Art Technology from NVIDIA® 3D Vision™
The Acer GD235HZ 23.6-inch display provides a revolutionary new 3D viewing experience when combined with the NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology, adding depth to the image displayed on the flat surface of the monitor. NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ is a combination of high-tech wireless active-shutter glasses, a wireless USB transmitter, and advanced software that can transform hundreds of PC games into an exceptional 3D experience. The Acer display with NVIDIA 3D Vision can deliver 3D images from any PC content, including 3D photographs, 3D videos, and upcoming Blu-ray 3D movies. The glasses are lightweight, can be worn over regular eyeglasses, and can provide up to 40 hours of 3D entertainment on a single charge. For more information on NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, please visit www.nvidia.com/3DVision.(2)
Specifications, Pricing and Availability
The Acer GD235HZ bid 3D display will be available early this month for U.S. customers at leading retailers for an MSRP of $399.99. The NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Kit is available for an MSRP of $199 from leading e-tailers.
Acer® GD235HZ bid 23.6-inch LCD Display
23.6-inch Widescreen
1920x1080 Maximum Resolution
0.2715mm Pixel Pitch
120Hz (Maximum) Refresh Rate
2ms Response Time (G to G)
80,000:1 Max (ACM) / 1000:1 (Native) Contrast Ratio
300cd/m2 Brightness
170° (H)/160° (V) Viewing Angles
16.7 Million Colors
6Bit + HiFRC
1x HDMI (w/HDMI), 1x DVI, 1x VGA Inputs
Vesa 100mm Wall Mount
Internal Power Supply
About Acer America
Since its founding in 1976, Acer has pursued the goal of breaking the barriers between people and technology. Globally, Acer ranks top 3 for total PCs(1) and No. 2 for notebooks(1), with the fastest growth among the top-five players. A profitable and sustainable Channel Business Model is instrumental to Acer's continued growth, while the successful acquisitions of Gateway and Packard Bell complete the company's global footprint by strengthening its presence in the U.S. and enhancing its strong position in Europe. Acer is proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement in staging the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter and London 2012 Olympic Games. The Acer Group employs more than 6,000 people worldwide. 2008 revenues reached US$16.65 billion. See www.acer-group.com for more information.
© 2009 Acer Inc. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners.
1 Source: Gartner data, FY 2008
2 Source: NVIDIA Corporation
@Solidstate89 It *IS* 120Hz, which is why I'm interested. And good luck with finding new 16:10 monitors, manufacturers are switching all their production to 16:9 to reduce overall costs. In any case, it's only 120 pixels you're losing.
@Solidstate89
Bingo. I may only be missing 120 pixels, but those extra pixels are the main reason I'm in want of a larger monitor.
@BigJayDogg3
And it isn't pixels you lose, its lines of resolution. There is a difference.
@BigJayDogg3 Yes, lines of resolution are lines of pixels. So yes you just lose pixels, you just lose whole lines of those pixels at a time (speaking as if there was some other way to lose pixels without losing lines, or losing lines without losing pixels). In other words, it is another way to say the same damn thing.
Yup, let me know when it's 1920x1200. Seriously. It does make a difference. I'll take 16:9 on a laptop; practically speaking it makes more sense for the screen to be wider in that case, but for a desktop, 1920x1200 is basically the best resolution ever (I'd take 2048 x 1280 though).
@Solidstate89
Same here.
Would be nice if it had good colour for design work too - I find gaming monitors usually have poor colour performance.
@RandomGuy
No it isn't the "same damn thing." If that were the case, every monitor that had a 1920 x 1080 resolution would have the exact same number of pixels, regardless of size. You're telling me a 30 inch 1080 monitor has the exact same number of pixels as a 22 inch?
@BigJayDogg3
Seriously?? Of course a 30" 1920x1080 display has the same pixel count as a 22" 1920x1080 display! What does 1920x1080 mean? 1920 pixels across by 1080 pixels. Lines of resolution refers to a line of pixels. So in the case of 120 lines of resolution missing from this weird looking monitor, you could say it's missing 120 horizontal lines of pixels or 120*1920 total pixels. Which is quite a lot. 16:9 sucks
They need to make a 3d touchscreen monitor. And then 3d interactive porn. I think you see where I'm going with this.
@Ted2 No...please continue.
@CRA1G
Please don't. Imagining men with 3D porn isn't my idea of fun.
@Ted2: They already have that, it's called "women". Perhaps you've seen them on TV and in movies? Granted, that product is way overdue for an upgrade.
@tonicboy
The beer goggles you have to wear give me a headache.
@Ted2 OMG I knew someone would bring up porn. lol
@Ted2
One hand in the wrong place and your gay.
3D not for me: one eye dude here.
@Sarcasme
Its aiite, I've got two and even i'm not interested.
@Sarcasme well, its like, like those red picture-viewers you had as a kid... if you ever had 2 eyes, otherwise, its like having cardboard cut outs of people just standing at different distances in the room...
That's actually not to expensive.
I hope the image quality is also good in glasses-free 2D mode.
@(Unverified)
It's rather expensive actually, considering that basically it's a $200 premium for nothing more than some additional vertical refresh Hz and that for a 24" class display it;s not 1200 vertical lines. My 22" display can do 120Hz (minimu required for 3D) over HDMI 1.3 and/or DVI, has 1200 vertical lines, 16:10 view, and it was under $200 2 years ago when i bought it. It's "3D ready" per all prerequisites, all I'm lacking is a driver and some software.
@(Unverified)
It will be fine. All it does is display left eye frame, right eye frame, alternating really fast. The glasses block your right eye from the left eye frames and your left eye from the right eye frames.
There's no reason why the image quality would be less than normal for glasses-free 2d viewing.
@Dr Spaceman
Hmm, i seem to have been a bit confused about the type of technology that was used here, i thought it had double the number of pixels and used polarizers to produce the left and right eye images simultaneously.
If it's just flickering both images one after the other it really shouldn't be much different from ordinary monitors.
This is a 120hz monitor, for PC gaming. Thats the real headline here: 120hz finally comes to mainstream LCDs, which have forever been limited to 60hz (with few exceptions). LCDs finally catch up to and surpass CRTs in refresh rate, lessening the curse of LCD input lag and allowing display of more than 60 frames per second from the video card.
The 3D part is just a marketing checkbox. You still need the fancy shutter glasses, sold separately.
Been waiting a long time for one of these. Mine shipped Friday.
@ritorix What's wrong with 16:9 for a PC monitor?
I think we just need to stick with 16:9, we got 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 for movies. How much wider can we go? They got us to movie to 16:9 TVs and movies are even wider.
@sevenalive
Computers have been using 16:10 for the longest. Televisions are pretty much capped at 16:9. If I were in the market for televisions, I'd want a 16:9 television. But for my computer monitor, I want more resolution. I like being able to display that teeny-tiny bit more that a 1920 x 1200 resolution can give me.
Not to mention the fact that most midrange monitors can also display 1:1, so it centers the picture and gives the actual resolution.
Basically, I can "turn down" a higher res monitor, but I can't "turn up" a lower one.
@BigJayDogg3 actually it's been 4:3 for the longest time. 16:10 is like a blimp in the lifetime of pc display resolutions.
im confused.
why do we need these new 3d lcd ?
last night, i had no problem seeing the Grammys in 3d
@dark star
red/blue shift 3d technology sucks compared to RealD style of 3d. with this monitor, your right eye sees a completely different image than your left eye.
After watching Nightmare Before Christmas 3D and Avatar 3D, then being hit with 3D that I had no glasses for at the grammy's (nice double vision effect), I'm really not interested in 3d anymore. I found the images (yes, even with glasses on) to be blurry and incredibly inferior to hi def 2D. Wearing those ill fitting glasses for that long was a little painful on the ears as well. I really don't want to be bothered with having to have pairs of 3D glasses all over the house so I can play games or watch TV, nevermind have extra pairs for guests. It's just kind of a disaster, I'm not sure this 3D thing is gonna fly.
Now if they had 3D projected images that didn't require glasses, different story.
@Blacksheep I bet you haven't tried using an active shutter 3D system. Go ahead and wait a decade for 3D projected images if you want, but I might be one of those "fools" who falls for the new upgrade to this "gimmick"
@sondun2001
Well done glossing over the whole "I don't want to have to have glasses all over the house" point. It's VERY valid. And the active shutter glasses you mention are ever MORE expansive. So not only do I need a 3D TV, a source that provides 3D programming, a 3D compatible graphics card and 3D kit for that, 3D Monitor...but now I have to make sure there's enough glasses and spares lying about just to watch TV or play a game. How expensive is all this going to be just to give most people a headache?
I can't believe people who are reading Engadget are actually confused as to the "load of crap" fake anaglyph (red-blue) 3D tech used in the Grammy telecast and the new 3D used by theaters and upcoming TVs.
If you watched Avatar in 3D, you probably noticed the glasses were different than the ones you used for scary movies in the 1950s, the grammys, SI swimsuit editions or superbowl commercials in the 1980s. The reason for the different glasses is because your TV, like 1950s movie theaters, is not really 3D capable.
Thinking the Grammys last night were in real 3D would be like thinking DVD was real HD, just because it was higher definition than your VHS.
@rk0
Nobody is "confused". This isn't red/blue 3D. This uses shutter glasses which will give your eyes a truly different picture fast enough where to you it looks like things are moving in three-dimensional space. That's why a special monitor and graphics card are necessary.
Did you not see /any/ CES coverage?
@BigJayDogg3
Er...you just told him what he was telling everyone else. Did you read his post?
@BigJayDogg3
Duh. For the confused, see "dark star" and "blacksheep"
I assume that the monitor will not be exclusively reliant on the NVIDIA technology? That is, you could hook up a 3D-ready Blu-Ray player like the PS3 via the HDMI input and bypass all the NVIDIA hardware??
@rk0
Good question. Until I see how 3D content is going to be delivered I am not going buy any 3D related equipment. I learned that from HD-DVD.
I would guess that since the blueray player (if integrated into your desktop or HTPC) would have to speak to the nVidia software, it would really be up to nVidia whether this would be possible. You could connect a standalone player directly to the monitor I suppose - would check the HDMI spec etc required first though.
Checked out Nvidia's 3D Vision demo/display at Fry's over the weekend. Meh.
@digitalh
Let me guess, crysis? That game is one of the worst in 3D, nvidia needs to get their shit together and put some proper titles on the demo machines if they want to sell this shit.
@Astounding Nah. Twas something more Wii-ish, quite yawn-inducing.
With a different stand, I'd be interested, but boy is that ugly!
So when is Microsoft going to start getting out a 3D desktop? Y'know, icons hovering over your wallpaper and stuff.
I love my Acer monitor, and I need a new one, and I want it to be 3D. But I'm not buying anything less than my current size (26 inches)
How soon will it be possible to get shutter-equipped prescription eyeglasses for hybrid use: daytime and 3d?
@Dan Fruzzetti
decades unless you want a weird looking box on them with power, electronics.
What a stupid looking display. I wonder why equipment manufacturers feel the need to trick out pro gaming equipment with gaudy colours, knobs, lights, dials, bulges and angles. Alienware, Toshiba and Acer seem to be competing in some kind of ugliest computer competition.
Anyone have any idea if I can buy the NVIDIA device, hook it up to my PC and hook my PC up to my 120hz TV?
This needs a full orange version.
Mega ugly stand/base. A lot of the mainstream lcd monitors in general have very ugly/cheap exteriors. Look at most monitors on newegg; they're ugly, save for the expensive professional monitors. Same with PC cases. Man are they ugly! Weird transformer looking POS plastic. Only one case manufacturer (lian li) I've seen that has elegant all metal cases.