Reviews - ASUS VG278H 3D Vision 2 monitor

[HEXUS]

Brighter and bolder. But is the newest iteration of 3D Vision better?

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[NitrousX]

kind of put off by having to use DVI ports just to activate 3D Vision 2. If they make a revision of this model then i might consider buying plus reduce the price as well.

[Tunnah]

i don't get what's so bad about using DVI instead of HDMI, sure the cable is a lil bit more bulky but how much of an issue can that be ?

[shaithis]

it has to be DVI.....because there is no such thing as dual-link HDMI.

HDMI and single-link DVI only has enough bandwidth for 3D in 720p@60Hz or 1080p@24Hz - neither of which are modes I would care to game in!

[Hicks12]

Now if only the technology gods will answer my prayers and give us IPS panels with true 120hz and passive 3d.... PLEASE GOD!

[Roobubba]

I hope my Samsung holds on for a good number of years yet. 16:10 is just SO MUCH NICER than 16:9! It really bugs me that all the monitors you can get now are in this too-widescreen format. Forget the 3D stuff, give us a proper aspect ratio, and this one goes to all monitor manufacturers: PLEASE STOP PUTTING SPEAKERS ON MONITORS! Anyone who's going to splash out over 500 quid on a monitor/glasses is guaranteed not to use the speakers on that thing. Anyone using speakers on a monitor could have saved a bit of cash buying one without them and getting either a cheap set for their desk which will already be infinitely better quality, or they'll be using headphones. Complete waste of time putting them in, save the space, weight and money to invest in a decent dot pitch, smaller bezels (though on this monitor the bezels look good) and more pixels!

There, rant over.

[Biscuit]

it has to be DVI.....because there is no such thing as dual-link HDMI.

HDMI and single-link DVI only has enough bandwidth for 3D in 720p@60Hz or 1080p@24Hz - neither of which are modes I would care to game in!

HDMI 1.4 supports 4K and dual stream 1080p. Edit: wait i see this is where is is limited to 24fps... how pants!

[Irien]

Roobubba - not everyone wants extra stuff on their desk (space issues), and extra things to wire up, power on/off and run from separate power source. Monitor speakers do suck, *but* provide a huge benefit in terms of convenience. I don't know how good these are, but I have a previous Asus which included a dedicated sub-woofer on the back, which has been a faithful gaming screen for the last 4 years. Each to their own, of course, but 2/3 of my customer base (admittedly not a Hexus-type gaming audience) would be miffed if they *didn't* get speakers.

[crossy]

i don't get what's so bad about using DVI instead of HDMI, sure the cable is a lil bit more bulky but how much of an issue can that be ?

I'd be quite happy to have the 3D-capable PC connection driven by DVI, mainly because the HDMI port on my current (crappy LG) monitor is being used for the XBox.

I'm still not 100% convinced by this "3D" gaming - heck, most of the time in the cinema I'm not aware of any major difference (apart from a bigger ticket price) in 3D films v's 2D.

Since I wear glasses anyway, I'd also prefer passive 3D glasses, but that's another matter...

PLEASE STOP PUTTING SPEAKERS ON MONITORS! Anyone who's going to splash out over 500 quid on a monitor/glasses is guaranteed not to use the speakers on that thing. Anyone using speakers on a monitor could have saved a bit of cash buying one without them and getting either a cheap set for their desk which will already be infinitely better quality, or they'll be using headphones.

+1 on this - by all means offer a "soundbar" (a la Dell) for those who want it. Although my LG's worse - no speakers thankfully, instead a headphone output that's at a fixed level (no volume control) and so quiet that you need a headphone amp to be able to use it.

[McPhee]

I bought 3D Vision. Wish I hadn't, complete waste of money. It's cool for like... a week. It's nice enough, but the flaws outweigh the visual impact. I'd sell up if it wasn't for the fact that I don't expect I'd pocket much cash after buying another 24" monitor.

PLEASE STOP PUTTING SPEAKERS ON MONITORS

I wish it was more common in all honesty. Maybe some form of detachable soundbar add-on? I don't need quality sound from my PC speakers, I need a small desk footprint. Non-existent would be even better, they're only used for Windows and web browsing. I've got a pair of Sennheisser HD55's for gaming and some AE Floorstanders hooked up to a HiFi amp for music, both of which provide far better sound than any cheap, crappy PC speakers will.

[Lee H]

I bought 3D Vision. Wish I hadn't, complete waste of money. It's cool for like... a week. It's nice enough, but the flaws outweigh the visual impact. I'd sell up if it wasn't for the fact that I don't expect I'd pocket much cash after buying another 24" monitor.

What flaws are you experiencing?

I've had my 3D setup a while now and found that the majority of games I play at the moment look a lot better in 3D than in 2D with crysis 2, BF3, HL2 + various stuff and SC2 as well as batman look great with 3D on and with a little OC of my graphics card the performance in 3D is great as well

I actually dont mind the glasses now, and sometimes check my head when at work as I keep thinking they should be there, but they aren't. At home I love using the glasses as my rooms not lit that bright, so when the glasses are worn, its just like playing games at night in the dark.

The only issue I had was finding a way to wear the glasses while I wear my X-TATIC 5.1 headset, but I've sorted out that issue with a few sticky pads

[GingerNinjaRay]

I hope 3D gaming doesn't take off since I've just bought a new 2D monitor. I didn consider 3D but didn't fancy the pricetag, might have to push the boat out if everything goes 3D though although hopefully by then the price will be reduced anyways.

[Scarlet Infidel]

NVIDIA's solution with 3D Vision 2 is to reduce the time the glasses' shutters are closed: simply keep the shutters open for longer.

Half true.

Faster-switching shutters work if more light gets through, and this is why 3D Vision 2 requires newer, brighter screens. The premise here is to boost the backlighting such that the glasses' shutters don't need to be closed for as long: there is cause and effect. This is 3D LightBoost technology in a nutshell - brighter monitors that enable lenses' shutters to close more quickly.

Nonsense.


There are two separate changes to the technology here:

1.
The new displays are brighter to compensate for the unavoidable loss from shutter glasses. No matter how fast or slow you toggle the shutters you will always lose at least half the light.
How this boosted brightness affects contrast and colour will be interesting.

2.
In the ideal case each shutter is open exactly half the time. In reality this would allow each eye to briefly glimpse an intermediate image as the display swaps images intended for one eye to the other. This causes crosstalk (a ghost image) which can ruin the 3d experience.

The existing solution is to block both eyes for a period to allow the monitor to transition the image ready for the next eye. This obviously reduces overall light below the maximum 50% I mentioned above.

In this new version they reduce this period of 'blocked' time but simultaneously turn off the monitor back-light during the transition. Neither eye can see a transitional image if the back-light is off. These timings can be played with to optomise brightness without risking crosstalk. there is the added bonus that everything else (keyboard etc.) becomes brighter.

[Scarlet Infidel]

...

Actually, Nvidia have a good explanation (unsurprisingly):

Today, NVIDIA announced 3D Vision 2, a new range of panels and glasses that increases the brightness of 3D images by up to 2 times. At the heart of 3D Vision 2 is a new technology called NVIDIA 3D LightBoost, a technology that lets monitors go beyond their standard level of brightness when used in 3D mode. This effectively compensates for the loss of light from the LCD lenses shuttering, making the 3D image feel almost as bright as a standard 2D image.

In addition to increased screen brightness, 3D LightBoost monitors also increase environmental lighting. Currently, the 3D vision glasses are closed in both eyes during right-to-left and left-to-right transitions. With the new 3D LightBoost monitors, the backlight is switched off during frame transitions and the glasses stay open longer. This brightens up not only the image but also the overall environment, making the keyboard much more readable. This is great for those who play games such as World of Warcraft that require lots of keystrokes and macros.

[tigertop1]

Interesting. I have two 3D screen set ups using the Samsung2233 SynchMaster and the very much better Acer GD245HQ. With the latter the quality of 3D playback on Blu-ray 3D and in MS Flight Sim is excellent and from what I read and considering the cost of the Asus set up I see no reason to upgrade. Maybe if Acer bring out a reasonably priced alternative monitor for v2 3D and I upgrade the glasses/emitter software I might be tempted. but right now its a no-no.