DTI 2015XLS: Dimension Technologies' 3D monitor. (reviews).(Evaluation)

SOFTWARE designers are always developing new rendering algorithms to make 3D models look more realistic. However, these models, be they the latest designs for a cell phone or animated creatures for a new movie, eventually end up on flat 2D screens.

So that 3D models can also be viewed in 3D, some companies have created products based on stereoscopic technology that incorporates 3D glasses. In conjunction with the proper software, a user wearing the glasses can view 3D models that appear to project from or hover in front of a display.

While this technology has become cheaper at the same time that it has improved, many users don't like to don goggle-like eyewear when designing. So, to take stereo viewing to the next level, other companies are creating products that enable 3D viewing without glasses or other special gear. I recently tested one of these glasses-free displays, a 15-inch flat-panel LCD called the 2015XLS from Dimension Technologies Inc. (DTI) based in Rochester, New York. Setting up the monitor was like setting up a regular flat-panel display except for an additional cable that gets connected to the computer's serial port. This cable has to do with the various 3D modes that the monitor can output.

The monitor comes with a demo application called TextureEyes that allows users to view sample 3D models as well as bitmapped images. There is also a program called dtint32i that helps the user set up bitmapped images in order to create a 3D photograph. As opposed to the "popping out" effect you see when looking though 3D glasses, the images on the DTI monitor generally seemed to be receding into the screen, which was equally effective.

Besides not requiring glasses, another advantage of DTI's technology is that three people can sit comfortably next to each other at arm's length from the screen and still observe the 3D effect. This is because the monitor uses a lenticular screen to help create the stereoscopic effect, and as a result three "viewing areas" are created. The monitor has a red indicator light on the front, and when it appears to be off, this means you are in an ideal zone. However, even when this light was "off," I noticed that, with certain models, distortion was still visible. This occurred mainly near the edges of the screen, although it was less noticeable in the TextureEyes program than it was with images created in off-the-shelf software.

Stereo CAD

Once I was familiar with the monitor's capabilities, I wanted to view models created in standard CAD and other 3D programs. However, just because you have a 3D monitor, or any stereoscopic device for that matter, doesn't mean it is plug and play, as several hardware and software requirements must be meet.