Duane's Hardware Page - Elsa 3D Revelator LCD Shutter Glasses

The 3D Revelator is a holographic display accessory from Elsa that has the capability to create a spatial display in 3D games and applications. Although games such as Quake 3 and Unreal are touted to be "3D" games, the actual fact is that the graphics they display are merely flat 2D images displayed on a two dimensional screen. This is similar to a photgraph that is trying to represent an actual object in a two dimensional form. But I'm sure that you will agree with me that a 2D photograph is hardly the real thing! The holographic techniques employed by the 3D Revelator, however, add a third dimension that dramatically increases the realism of just about any game. In previous years, Canopus released a similar product with their Total 3D Rendition V1000 board. However, that was a few years ago and the technology unfortunately failed to become popular. Now with today's advancements in display technology, it is Elsa's turn to revolutionize and redefine 3D with the Revelator. Now let's get on to the review! Elsa 3D Revelator Specifications: Real 3D in practically every Direct3D game or every Direct3D application; no additional patches are necessary Full 3D resolutions in games: 1280 x 1024 pixels Full color display in games with 16-bit or 32-bit color depths Completely flicker free with max. 140-Hz shutter speed Complete field of view, high value LCD shutter glasses with high translucency and darkening Multi-player capability-four sets with cable the version or eight sets with infra-red ELSA Dyna-Z™ for optimal adjustment to the spatial relationships within the scenery Elsa 3D Revelator Requirements: Monitor must support 100hz refresh rate at desired resolution (Minimum) Monitor should support 120hz at desired resolution (Recommended) Any Elsa Graphics Board (Elsa Victory II, Winner II, Erazor II or Erazor III) A PC with a Pentium 2, Pentium 3 or K6-2 processor Package Content (What yer gettin') - besides the glasses Comprehensive user manual - Very good WINNERware CD Latest drivers and Direct X versions for the Elsa graphics board Elsa 3D Sampler - Includes over 30 game demos. 1 year service warranty and support via hotline and the Internet Installation: Not much to say on this topic. Installation of the Elsa graphics board and drivers went smooth with no conflicts. The installation of the Revelator glasses and drivers went just as smooth. It is a very simple cord that you plug the glasses into and anyone should be able to do it. How they work: They use spatial perception to make your eyes think that the image has more depth than it actually has. Here is some more detailed info. The graphics driver gets instructions from the game, to draw a 3D scene of the game. Depending on their distance (their Z value), objects will be moved to the left or right , and pictures with the correct perspective for the left and the right eye will be calculated together. While this is happening the images are shown in order as the CPU works on the next scene .The image for the left eye is shown while the right LCD is darkened and this repeats itself absolutely fluid display with 60 images per second per eye. The lack of the eyes speed and the glasses make sure that they are outside of the eyes focal range which will ensure that the user sees a true 3-Dimensional image with no or little flicker. The Good Stuff In the following paragraphs I will sum it up short and sweet. These glasses ROCK! Oh yeah and don't forget to readthe manual or you could have some seriously sore eyes. They have many advantages over their competition such as the fact that they will work with any game that supports Direct 3D. By choosing to support this API they have just about chosen to support every single game in the market. That in itself just about allows the glasses to have an effect on just about every game you play. They are also high quality glasses and have a low price. They retail for $49 for the cable version and $79 for the infrared wireless version. They support up to 140hz shutter speed and a resolution of up to 1280x 1024 in 32-bit color. They also make your games more realistic and you may find yourself ducking the next time you play Half-Life with these glasses. With these glasses you may find yourself with a whole new gaming experience and in another dimension. Just thought that I should add this: Don't wear these glasses in public because they are sure nerdy! Nothing against the glasses or Elsa, just dont think you can brag about being stylish when wearing these. But and I give credit to Elsa for this one, that is the only thing that you won't be bragging to your friends and co-gamers about these glasses. Conclusion These glasses are definitely a good product. They are very low priced compared to their competition and add anotherdimension to the game that before was not possible. The fact they work with also any game on the market at a veryhigh resolution makes them a gotta have it. So, if you are looking for a more realistic gaming experience and have$50 to spend I would definitely recommend these. The only reason that I give them 4 1/2 stars out of 5 is the factthat they lack support for the Open GL interface. Hey I had to find something wrong with them didn't I? I give theseglasses a full fledged 4 1/2 stars.