[PyMOL] Sharp 3D Display (was:RE: [ccp4bb]: stereo glasses)

[Warren D. <wa...@de...>]

Ian,

Yes, I have gotten PyMOL to work with the laptop version of this display
(just Windows so far).  The stereo effect is quite good.  However, your head
does need to be in just this right spot in order to get the effect.  After
15 minutes, I learned to do this automatically, moving slightly off center
to the right (at least on an RD3D laptop).

The stereo quality is excellent for "fat" geometries such as solid surfaces,
transparent surfaces, ball & stick models, and CPK spheres.  They look
almost real!  However, thin lines, such as those normally used for electron
density, don't come across as well due to the reduced horizontal resolution.
A line width of at least 2 pixels seems necessary with this technology,
which kind of makes sense if you think about it.

Though the display works fine in normal light (unlike shutter glasses), it
isn't good for group presentations since there is really only one "sweet
spot" where everything looks right.  Off center, you get some depth
discrimination, but it'll be out of phase, with some bands appearing
stereo-backwards.

Since I don't fit density for a living, I can't say whether or not this
technology has a chance of displacing shutter glasses for crystallography,
but it does seem ideal for occasional stereo work right at your desk without
needing a big ugly CRT monitor or a dark room with incandescent lighting.  I
do think the product will be popular with corporate IT, since it is simple
and self-contained with no emitters or fragile & expensive glasses to worry
about.  However, as with all stereo technologies, expect individual
preferences to vary -- there are still some who swear by cross-eye!

Also, though you can do stereo-in-a-window with this technology, the rest of
the screen is impacted, with half the pixels going to one eye and the other
half going to the other.  Your brain can still sort everything out, but it's
not like shutter-glasses where both eyes can still see every pixel on the
screen.  Note that this effect only occurs when stereo mode is activated.
Mono mode works just fine like an other display.

In summary, I was very impressed.  This might be the killer technology that
opens up routine stereo visualization to scientists who have typically not
had it before.  My only big concern right now is resolution:  1024x768 is
just too small for people accustomed to large LCD monitors.  If they had a
1280x1024, I would strongly recommend it.  If they had 1600x1200, then I'd
buy one myself.

Cheers,
Warren

PS.  It would be great if Apple could get with Sharp and make sure that this
display does stereo fine on Macs too! : )

--
mailto:wa...@de...
Warren L. DeLano, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
DeLano Scientific LLC
Voice (650)-346-1154 
Fax   (650)-593-4020
  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: own...@dl... [mailto:own...@dl...] On 
> Behalf Of Ian Ollmann
> Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 10:19 AM
> To: cc...@cc...
> Subject: Re: [ccp4bb]: stereo glasses
> 
> ***  For details on how to be removed from this list visit the  ***
> ***          CCP4 home page http://www.ccp4.ac.uk         ***
> 
> 
> On a bit of a tangent, I noticed yesterday that Sharp has 
> reportedly introduced a LCD display that can do 3D without 
> glasses. Has anyone seen one in operation?
> 
> 	http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/08/10/sharp/
> 
> Ian
>