Stereo (3D) for Structural Biology Workstations

Last update: May 11, 2010

Stereo technology is at the beginning of a transition from using CRT monitors with emitters and shutter glasses to supporting LCDs with either shutter glasses or passive image polarization. Whereas CRT stereo technology sprouted from the demands in engineering and research, LCD stereo is being targeted largely towards the gaming community. This, combined with the fact that LCD support is in relative infancy, means we can't be certain to what extent the stereo LCD market will develop for Linux research workstation purposes. Regardless, we'll continue to test the latest options available and advise structural biologists that recognize a benefit in stereo 3D imaging.

What are our LCD Stereo Options?

There are two recommended stereo LCD configurations. The technology you choose is largely dependent on your budget, workstation type (Mac/Linux) and desired application support.

Active stereo is provided through LCDs that offer a high refresh rate (120Hz). This allows LCDs to provide a similar stereo experience as the old CRTs. And like the CRT stereo solution, it requires the purchase of an NVIDIA quadro card and an emitter/glasses (the NVIDIA 3D Vision kit).

Available 120Hz monitors:

• Viewsonic VX2265wm FuHzion - In our tests, the Viewsonic VX2265wm provides a great 2D and 3D experience. Additionally, this is one of the lowest cost 3D LCD monitors available. Recommended, though sometimes difficult to locate online.
• Samsung 2233RZ - untested, but this monitor is often bundled with the 3D Vision kit on the NVIDIA website, so it's certainly supported.
• Acer GD235HZ - Untested. This is a newer to the market and while it supports 3D, we can't vouch for its quality.

Required graphics cards:

• NVidia Quadro FX 3700 or higher graphics card. Linux support requires the card to have a 3-pin DIN output. You can not use USB emitters for Linux stereo. The latest NVIDIA drivers (beta quality) are required for Linux support.

Required emitter/glasses:

• NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit

Passive LCD monitors superimposes two images onto the same screen through different polarizing filters. As each filter passes only that light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized in the opposite direction, each eye sees a different image. Despite its overall lower cost, passive stereo is qualitatively lower quality than the NVIDIA solution and in stereo mode, you have half the monitor's vertical resolution available to you due to the underlying polarization technology.

Available passive LCD monitors:

• Zalman ZM-M220W - The Zalman requires software to be explicitly configured to support the monitor. PyMOL and a few other applications do have support (email us for the latest list of SBGrid software with support).

Required graphics card:

• No special graphics card is required, so you can use this monitor with Macs as well as Linux workstations.

Required emitter/glasses:

• No emitter is required for passive LCD stereo. Polarized glasses are included with the monitor.

The problem with CRTs is that they are only available as used/remanufactured from 3rd party vendors and the Quadro cards required to drive them are becoming increasingly expensive. That said, if you have a CRT monitor (or can find one) that's capable of sufficient refresh rates and a Quadro NVIDIA card with a 3-pin stereo DIN, you can continue to use them for your stereo needs.

What you need for CRT stereo:

1. NVidia Quadro FX 3700 graphics card or one of the cards in their “Ultra-High-End” product line. Or, if you search for older models, any Quadro FX with the 3-pin Mini DIN stereo output.
2. CRT display capable of at least 100Hz refresh rate @ 1280×1024+. These are becoming very hard to find. The latest model we saw produced with these specs was the ViewSonic G225fB, but it is no longer available. Try searching eBay for ”SGI 061-0061-001”. Visit http://pymol.sourceforge.net/stereo3d.html for some more recommendations. Note that at this point, if a CRT has problems or fails, it may be very difficult to replace or repair.
3. CRT Stereo emitter and glasses (http://www.reald.com: E2 emitter and CrystalEyes 3 glasses)

1. Install the 195.36.15 (or newer) NVidia "Linux AMD64" binary drivers
2. For CRT stereo displays only:
   • Edit the “Screen” section of /etc/X11/xorg.conf to include:

     Option         "Stereo" "3"
     Option         "AllowDFPStereo" "1"
     Option         "UBB"    "1"

3. For LCD stereo displays only:
   • Edit the “Screen” section of /etc/X11/xorg.conf to include:

     Option         "Stereo" "10"
     Option         "AllowDFPStereo" "1"
     Option         "UBB"    "1"

4. Add the following to the end of your xorg.conf:

   Section "Extensions"
        Option         "Composite" "Disable"
   EndSection

http://pymolwiki.org/index.php/Stereo_3D_Display_Options http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_shutter_glasses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarized_3D_glasses