R E L A T E D C O N T E N T

ELSA 3D Revelator

newmedia newmedia, What PC? 31 Aug 1999

Make the flat earth round again, says ELSA in its promotional bumf - what heresy could this be from the German graphics gurus? Everything becomes clear as soon as you sample your first taste of 3D gaming through Revelator-clad eyes.

The Revelator glasses are based on two LCD shutters - one for each eye - that flicker on and off around 140 times per second. At the same time the PC's graphics card is generating two, slightly different, versions of the onscreen image. The theory is that the flickering glasses trick your brain into combining these offset two-dimensional images into one 3D scene. The principle is much the same as those old Disney 3D viewers that showed scenes from The Jungle Book, which abounded in '70s playgrounds.

In practice, most previous attempts to recreate the trick on a PC have been dogged by poor image quality or slow software. The Revelator is the first successful effort we've seen, although there are a few caveats.

We looked at the version that connects to the PC via a cable - a model with an infrared link is also available. Setting up the equipment was easy enough, with just a few software tweaks here and there, although you do need to have an ELSA graphics card in place. These start from around £80, which more than doubles the overall cost if you don't already have one.

Firing up a few classic games, including Half Life, we were impressed with the quality of the three-dimensional image - the bad guys really did appear to reach out and touch you - and there was little or no delay evident in the game speed. But, a higher level of concentration is necessary to keep everything in focus, which can prove tiring.

The 3D Revelator glasses produce outstanding results, which make gaming even more fun, although the cost may be prohibitive if you don't have a compatible graphics card.

SPECIFICATIONS

3D gaming glasses

Creates 3D images in any game based on Microsoft's Direct 3D

Infrared or cable link from glasses to PC

Flicker-free images

Multi-player capability

Suitable for some 3D-design software packages

£55 (inc VAT)

Force 2 Int: 01844 261872

www.elsa.com

ELSA 3D REVELATOR

Ease of use ***