3D output tests

Carnival of Souls 3D will be released in side by side format which will allow the viewer to choose whichever 3D output that they prefer or can achieve.
For these tests I am using the following displays as a guideline. Of course the movie will work best with a 3D TV or other 3D ready display.

Infocus DLP projector (3D compatible at 1024 x 768 and 85 Hz)
Samsung 27" LCD screen (anaglyph 3D mode only)
19" CRT monitor (all outputs)

It is recommended to watch the movie in page flip or frame sequential output in software like Stereoscopic Player or the Nvidia Stereoscopic Player. Using this output, both frames are presented at 640 x 480 resolution and the quality achieved is the best. I have tested it this way with shutter glasses, output onto a 70" screen with the Infocus DLP projector. The 3D depth looks terrfic and there is absolutely no ghosting. The best 3D effects are achieved with a DLP display or other 3D ready display. It also looks very nice with this setup on the CRT monitor too, but there is some ghosting compared to the projector.

I have also tested it in Interlaced mode and although the 3D depth looks very good and the results are similar to above, the image is significantly darker and faint horizontal lines are evident on the DLP projector but not the CRT monitor. The brightness may be better though on a 3D monitor or 3D TV that is specifically designed for interlaced mode. The 3D depth is very nice too.

The anaglyph (red/cyan) tests have been surprisingly good, almost to the point where I have considered doing an anaglyph release at first. The 3D image has nice depth and is almost comparable to page flip mode via shutter glasses. The main difference is that there is some slight ghosting artifacts resulting from the conversion software. The ghosting can be reduced though by adjusting the Red,Green,Blue (RGB) settings on the graphics card or display. I think the reason that the anaglyph version looks so good overall is because as it is a greyscale image, there is no colour degradation in the image of course. The main downside of anaglyph though is that wearing the glasses for a long time can result in eyestrain. The main advantage is that it is not display dependant and so will work on any display. It is a cheap and cheerful way of seeing the 3D effect. I found it worked quite well on both the Samsung LCD screen and also the CRT monitor. It seemed to lose some of it's depth and quality when projected onto a bigger screen though. Some gamma and colour setting tweaks might improve this.
As a quick and cheap 3D solution though, anaglyph (red/cyan) output works very well.

The Red/Cyan 3D glasses from the following 3D DVDs have been tested and are all working.

Sharkboy and Lava Girl 3D
Fly Me to the Moon 3D
Friday the 13th Part 3 3D
Sea Monsters 3D
Shrek 3D
Final Destination 3D
Call of the Wild 3D
Santa vs. the Snowman 3D


With regards Colorcode (yellow/blue), this output may be preferred by some but because I have a dominant right eye I find it unwatchable. All I see is a wash of blue and less of a 3D effect than with the anaglyph (red/cyan) glasses.

Here, in order then, are my preferences for the best 3D viewing of this movie.

1) Page Flip (frame sequential) output to DLP display or 3D TV, using shutter or polarized glasses.
2) Interlaced output and Anaglyph(red/cyan)(viewable on any display) are equally good.
3) Colorcode (yellow/blue) only if you have no other glasses and a dominant left eye.

2D23Dconversions