Or, if you like, Hewlett-Packard’s new three dimensional personal computer.
The TouchSmart 620 3D Edition has been announced, and it’s getting some favorable press. It will go for $1800 starting next week. It’s not really meant as a computer for everyone, but it has a touch screen and a 3D display so if you want a desktop computer for serious PC gaming or entertainment and you don’t mind sinking $1800 into it, and really who am I to judge you, then this might be an option.
In practice, the 3D technology worked great on movies optimized for 3D, like “Avatar” or “How to Train your Dragon.” Movies like “3D Tron Legacy” were decent if unremarkable in 3D, and up-converted 2D Blu-ray titles fared the worst with the 3D technology on. While the images on 2D Blu-ray titles had some depth, you can see that the effect comes with a price: lowered resolution and fuzzier details on the screen. It’s best to use native 3D Blu-ray discs to show off the 620-1080 3D.
And does it require glasses? It does require glasses.
Native 3D of course has better resolution and works better than the pseudo 3D that Cyberlink calls “TrueTheater3D.” The desktop comes with one pair of active shutter glasses; you’ll have to buy more (at $99 a pop) if you want to share the experience with friends. The glasses use a standard CR2032 button battery, instead of the rechargeable glasses we’ve come to expect from Nvidia-based 3D Vision systems.
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