Need guidance deciding what hardware to buy - 3D movies
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:35 pm
Hello all,
First of all, my apologies if this is not the correct board for this question - my question covers multiple areas and I thought this would be the most appropriate place for it.
I am, like many people, trying to watch 3D movies in the comfort of my own home.
Unfortunately, I have somewhat of a "rare" setup, and I am having trouble finding information.
Seeing as the most knowledgable of the 3D world seem to be hanging around this forum, I thought I'd ask for help here
First, let me list my setup as of right now:
- A Mandriva Linux desktop computer, with as of right now, no videocard (using the build-in GPU functionality of the Intel Pentium G6950 it runs on).
- An Acer H5360 DLP Projector (120Hz, compatible with "DLP-3D" and "NVidia 3D"), hooked up over VGA
- A pair of DLP-link glasses
- Several 3D movies, in left-right-half format
Also, let me list what I have found out so far:
- The projector's "3D mode" will activate whenever I select it in the projector menu, no matter what input it is getting
- The DLP link glasses also always activate and sync properly in this setting (yay!)
- The projector expects the input in a frame-sequential manner.
This last part is an issue - I have not found a way to play my movies in this format.
There is a linux-compatible stereo player available - Bino ( http://www.nongnu.org/bino/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) which I managed to compile and run just fine, and it can read my movies just fine. Output in anaglyph mode for example, works perfectly.
However, I obviously want frame sequential. There is a mode that will output to quad buffered OpenGL stereo. Of course my non-existant GPU does not support quad buffered stereo, but Nvidia Quadro cards do.
So, I have been considering getting a Quadro card. Specifically, I have my eye on the Quadro FX 380.
I checked, and the linux driver for quadro cards will indeed support quad buffered OpenGL stereo. However, the readme of the latest driver ( http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) worries me.
As far as I can tell, the Quardo X 380 is a "G8xGL or higher GPU". This means mode 1 (DDC glasses) and 2 (blueline glasses) will not work - which I hopefully will not need.
The mode I seem to need is "Onboard DIN", listed as for "Displays with high refresh rate". Yet, the FX 380, being a budget model, has no DIN connector... Unsure whether this will work at all, I don't really want to buy the card and end up not being able to use it.
This is where my current knowledge and research ends, and I turn here for help.
My questions are basically:
Am I on the right track here? Should/will any of this work at all?
Will the FX 380 work in "Onboard DIN" mode, even without the connector? In other words - should I buy it?
Any other suggestions? Maybe a different stereo player? I tried the "genlock" method listed elsewhere on this forum, without much (okay, any) luck.
Any suggestions and/or direction would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance
First of all, my apologies if this is not the correct board for this question - my question covers multiple areas and I thought this would be the most appropriate place for it.
I am, like many people, trying to watch 3D movies in the comfort of my own home.
Unfortunately, I have somewhat of a "rare" setup, and I am having trouble finding information.
Seeing as the most knowledgable of the 3D world seem to be hanging around this forum, I thought I'd ask for help here
First, let me list my setup as of right now:
- A Mandriva Linux desktop computer, with as of right now, no videocard (using the build-in GPU functionality of the Intel Pentium G6950 it runs on).
- An Acer H5360 DLP Projector (120Hz, compatible with "DLP-3D" and "NVidia 3D"), hooked up over VGA
- A pair of DLP-link glasses
- Several 3D movies, in left-right-half format
Also, let me list what I have found out so far:
- The projector's "3D mode" will activate whenever I select it in the projector menu, no matter what input it is getting
- The DLP link glasses also always activate and sync properly in this setting (yay!)
- The projector expects the input in a frame-sequential manner.
This last part is an issue - I have not found a way to play my movies in this format.
There is a linux-compatible stereo player available - Bino ( http://www.nongnu.org/bino/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) which I managed to compile and run just fine, and it can read my movies just fine. Output in anaglyph mode for example, works perfectly.
However, I obviously want frame sequential. There is a mode that will output to quad buffered OpenGL stereo. Of course my non-existant GPU does not support quad buffered stereo, but Nvidia Quadro cards do.
So, I have been considering getting a Quadro card. Specifically, I have my eye on the Quadro FX 380.
I checked, and the linux driver for quadro cards will indeed support quad buffered OpenGL stereo. However, the readme of the latest driver ( http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) worries me.
As far as I can tell, the Quardo X 380 is a "G8xGL or higher GPU". This means mode 1 (DDC glasses) and 2 (blueline glasses) will not work - which I hopefully will not need.
The mode I seem to need is "Onboard DIN", listed as for "Displays with high refresh rate". Yet, the FX 380, being a budget model, has no DIN connector... Unsure whether this will work at all, I don't really want to buy the card and end up not being able to use it.
This is where my current knowledge and research ends, and I turn here for help.
My questions are basically:
Am I on the right track here? Should/will any of this work at all?
Will the FX 380 work in "Onboard DIN" mode, even without the connector? In other words - should I buy it?
Any other suggestions? Maybe a different stereo player? I tried the "genlock" method listed elsewhere on this forum, without much (okay, any) luck.
Any suggestions and/or direction would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance