PC World > Feature

Nvidia plans to make business meetings 3D

The company's new 3D Vision Pro products are designed for business meetings and presentations.

By Agam Shah / Wednesday, July 28 2010

• 10 Technologies That Should Be Extinct (But Aren't)
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
• 10 tell-tale signs your PC is infected
• Who is the average Kiwi gamer?
• Microsoft simplifies Visual Studio
• Is Google itching for a face-off with Facebook?

LATEST Feature

• Apple releases redesigned iPod nano, shuffle
• Trend Micro brings encryption to the cloud
• Chrome jumps into hardware speed-up game
• 10 Technologies That Should Be Extinct (But Aren't)
• Toshiba working on Android tablet
• Canon signals end of the road for SED TV dreams
• Google Chrome tablet due for November release?
• How to spot Facebook scams like 'dislike'
• Beware the Facebook "Dislike" button scam
• Droid 2 on sale in US on Thursday

Nvidia is extending its 3D offerings from homes to businesses, announcing new 3D glasses and transmitters for use in meetings and presentations.

The products in Nvidia's new 3D Vision Pro portfolio could help multiple participants look into a single 3D screen from up to 100 feet away, said Scott Fitzpatrick, product manager for Nvidia's Quadro business unit. Users could also look into multiple 3D screens in a room depending on how transmitters, glasses and workstations are configured.

The transmitters and glasses communicate wirelessly using RF technology that has a range of up to 100 feet. That is a longer range than is afforded by the infrared technology used by current products in the 3D Vision portfolio.

With an extended range, users can move freely inside a room and still see 3D images on a screen, said Andrew Page, senior product manager of 3D Vision Pro at Nvidia. The original 3D Vision kit requires users to stand within the line of sight.

The longer range helps extend the 3D images on one screen to more users, Page said. Traditional 3D installations would have required multiple infrared transmitters, but 3D Vision Pro requires just one hub. Hubs with transmitters can also operate in range of each other, each working on its own channel.

"The easiest model to think of is wireless mice -- you can connect one or more mice to your computer, but your neighbour's mouse doesn't interfere with your computer," Page said.

A hub connects to a workstation and talks with a graphics processing unit (GPU) inside the PC. Stereoscopic 3D involves delivering a slightly separate view to the left and right eye, and the GPU instructs the hub how to break down the images, which the hub then relays to glasses via an RF link.