NVIDIA see 3D becoming a whole "new category" of PCs
The first wave of 3D TVs may now be hitting UK shores and grabbing all the limelight, but there’s every bit as exciting a revolution beginning to flourish on PCs. NVIDIA are so sure of the potential of their 3D Vision kit, which can make compatible PCs and monitors 3D-ready, that they now believe a “new category” exists for so-called “3D PCs”.
It’s partly due to the relative ease with which a PC can be made 3D-ready. A 120Hz monitor paired with 3D active-shutter glasses and a 3D-ready graphics processor as found with the NVIDIA 3D Vision kit can have you up and running for a fraction of the cost of a 3D TV.
“We’re just in the early phase of 3D adoption, but the market is likely to grow dramatically over the next five years. Although in 2010, only about 1 million 3D PCs will ship, by 2014 that number will rise to more than 30 million. TVs will experience a similar curve, rising from a 2-3 million in 2010 to more than 50 million in 2014,” said Roger L Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates.
“During that time, the price premium for a 3D PC will drop from $300 to nearly nothing, and while 30 million sounds like a lot of 3D PCs, that figure must be understood in the context of the overall PC market, which will ship around 350 million units in 2010 and rise to almost double that by 2014.”
Compared to 3D TVs there is also masses of 3D content available to PC users. From live sports streams including Tiger Wood’s recent return to PGA golf, to 5000+ 3D videos available on YouTube or hundreds of classic PC games that are fully compatible with 3D tech, there is plenty for early adopters of 3D on PC to already sink their teeth into.
NVIDIA are not alone in this 3D PC push – Alienware, Dell, ASUS, Toshiba, Microsoft and Acer all share the same level of confidence.
Whether it warrants classification as a whole new form of computing remains to be seen, but the signs are good, and the technology is convincing and engaging. One thing is for certain though, 3D technology looks set to grow and grow, in whatever shape or form it presents itself.
