Can I watch 3D movies on my TV if my graphics card doesn't support it?

Question

I have a 3D TV (which support "2D to 3D", "Side By Side", "Top and Down"). I use an HDMI cable (3D supported 1.4) to connect my TV to the PC.

My PC doesn't have a graphics card capable of outputting 3D format (like nVidia nVision or ATI 3D cards).

Can I still watch 3D movies using my PC? If so, what kind of player can I use?

Answer 1

You can use open source free software called Bino 3D: http://bino3d.org/

It supports all of these output formats. I do not have a HD3D nor a 3D Vision card, but instead an older ATI card, but I can still watch 3D movies with Bino 3D. (My TV supports 3D and has shutter glasses of it's own.)

I do think the graphics card may have to support 60hz output though. In my case, my TV only supports 3D mode in full 1080p resolution, and therefore my graphics card must be set to that resolution. If my desktop resolution is set to anything different, then my TV's 3D mode option is not available from the remote.

Answer 2

If you have a 3D video in Side by Side format (SBS) this means that the images for the left eye and the right eye are transmitted in the same frame at the same time. If you see a Side by Side video on a normal TV or monitor you will see both images beside (You can try that by downloading a 3D movie (*.mkv) and look it in Zoom Player or VLC Player).

Even on a 3D TV (like the current LG models (in 2012) wich use polarized light) you initially see both images side by side.

Only after switching the TV to 3D mode via remote control the TV will separate the two images one for each eye and they can be seen 3 dimensional with the glasses. So the answers given above (the 3D signal is a encoding, just like color is an encoding in the signal) are nonsense.

The only thing you need is a TV that allows to switch a side by side video into 3D mode via remote control.

I repeat again: A 3D video is a normal video that shows both images at the same time in the same frame! It is the television that separates them for the eyes, not the computer. And: It does not matter if the TV uses polarized light or shutter glasses: The video is the same: side by side.

Have a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4x6smktTJQ and you will understand.

P.S: If you have a LG TV you don't even need to connect your computer directly with the TV (no HDMI graphics card required). Instead you connect the TV via network cable with your router and install Nero Media Home on your PC that comes with the TV on a CD. This is a media server that streams your videos and photos into the home network. With the remote control you can chose a movie from that server.

Answer 3

Unlikely to be possible -- the 3D signal is a encoding, just like color is an encoding in the signal. So imagine I had an old Black-White Herculess Graphics card, I would not expect to be able to play any color movies no matter what cables or what software i had.