The Official VEFXi 3D-Bee Owners' Thread - Page 2

@archer16
The 3D-Bee::trainer has two 3D modes. The first mode is 60Hz side-by-side up to 1080p like the 3D-Bee::home. This will work with most 3DTVs and also 3D-ready projectors that accept side-by-side video. The second mode is 720p 120Hz frame-sequential. This is the mode that works with most inexpensive 3D-ready projectors. When you use the frame sequential mode, you need to change the settings on your video sources to only 720p as the 3D-Bee does not scale. If you don't change the setting, you'll be able to get in to the SBS mode, but when you try to change to the frame-sequential mode, it will kick back to 2D/Bypass if the input resolution is not 720p.

@Steve Tack
The 3D-Bee::home is primarily for 3D TVs, however a few people do have side-by-side projectors which the Home model will also work on up to 1080p resolution. The 3D-Bee::trainer works on 3D TVs up to 1080p in its first 3D mode, and works with the more common type of 720p 120Hz frame-sequential 3D-ready projectors in the second 3D mode.

@sddp
ERRATA for the 3D-Bee::home and 3D-Bee::trainer
When in 2D/Bypass mode, the 3D-Bee will bypass 2D video from the input to the output to enable the viewing of video in 2D if desired. It will also bypass 3D video from input to output for some types of 3D sources. While the 3D-Bee is HDMI certified, some types of 3D sources may have different HDMI characteristics and not be able to bypass through the 3D-Bee. In these situations you can:
Connect these directly to another HDMI input on your TV, or
Add an HDMI splitter where one splitter output goes to the 3D-Bee for conversion of 2D to 3D, and the other splitter output goes to another HDMI input on your TV for viewing original 3D from that video source.

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback from everyone!

I'm interpreting that to mean:

1. The "home" version supports side-by-side, which means each eye gets a 960 x 1080 image.

2. The "trainer" version also supports 720p frame-sequential, which means each eye gets a 1280 x 720 image.

3. The "pro" version can display full 1920 x 1080 HD to each eye, but requires two projectors.

Is that right? If so, is there a version coming that simply supports 1080p frame-sequential with a single projector?

would love to try one but the price has me waiting. Also the box doesnt do 1080P 3d right?

Hi Dave, I just responded on the 3D-Bee Releasing thread to these very questions you have. Here's a copy of what I wrote:

All of the 3D-Bee models output the same format that is input. So if you watch a 1080p movie, it will be converted to 1080p 3D. For our side-by-side conversion we can output 1080p, 1080i and 720p depending on the input.

You may have seen something somewhere about the 3D-Bee::trainer only outputing 720p. The 3D-Bee::trainer is frequently used with frame-sequential projectors which only come in 720p, in those situations the 3D-Bee will output 720p 3D (as output is the same as input), but this is not a limitation of the 3D-Bee but of the projector. On the other hand, the 3D-Bee::trainer also works on 3D TVs and will output 1080p 3D from 1080p sources.

As for pricing, if you're really looking to utilize your 3D TV's 3D display feature, your options other than buying a 3D-Bee are to buy 3D DVDs/Blu-rays and/or subscribe to 3D channels which I promise will eventually cost more than a 3D-Bee. And, even then you will not be able to watch half as much as you'd probably would like to since not everything is available in 3D version or on the available 3D channels. With a one-time purchase of a 3D-Bee you can then watch literally everything in 3D, even B&W movies, home videos and we have the highest quality 2D to 3D conversion currently on the market.

That's what I thought too. But having a large home theater, I thought to myself, okay I've got around 250+ DVD/Blu Rays.

Dvd's and BR now go for around $4-10 on average used.
3D BR are about $22-25 or so only when they first come out on sale then they all jump up too $30-39. Just 8 x 3D BRs would cost the same as the 3D-Bee.
Blockbuster has had this sale in their stores for used Blu Rays 5 for $20.
First, I'd have to be a more of a celibrity to uprade all of my DVD'BR to BR which would cost $5,000+ at best. And to top it off all the DVD/BR we have will never go 3D anyways.

Okay, about gaming on PS3 with the 3D Bee. All I can say after being a gamer since atari 2600 (yes die hard gamer as well) I can't and will not play with out the 3D Bee. Ever again! turning off the 3D Bee makes it dull, flat, mundane, and bland.

Okay, now for TV. Um... how many channels are there these days on Direct TV or Dish?
200? 300?
24 hours a day times 300? with trailers and commercials that over 10,000 progam materials a day.
Those shows, movies, commercials, trailers, etc will not be in 3D in a LONG time, if ever. With 3D Bee you have it all, NOW.

If you're getting the basic one, mine as well spend $100 more and get the trainer so you have more options on the - & +

just my 2 cents

As far as I can tell, "converted to 1080p" in this context means that each eye gets a 960 x 1080 image, both of which are scaled to 1920 x 1080. You'll find that AVS forum folks are sticklers for details and do not typically consider a scaled image to be "full" resolution.

If you can answer a yes/no question, it would shed a lot of light on this:

Is there a model of the 3D-Bee that does full 1080p frame-sequential 3D with a single projector and no scaling?


EDIT: What I meant (I think) to ask is:

Is there a model of the 3D-Bee that does full 1080p frame packed 3D with a single projector and no scaling?

Or perhaps just:

Is there a model of the 3D-Bee that does full 1080p 3D with a single projector and no scaling?

This would be an answer i am looking for also

I just realized that I used the wrong terminology in my question. According to this page that explains 3D terms:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/what...ready_mean.htm

..."frame sequential" is only supported at 720p by certain projectors anyway. What I really meant was "frame packed" (I think), the same format that Blu-ray players output for full HD and that is supported over HDMI. That's actually two 1080p images stacked vertically with a small gap between them.

I don't recall seeing on the 3D-Bee site any mention of frame packed output, which would seem to be the only realistic way to support full HD with one projector. That doesn't mean their current products *don't* support it I guess, but their forum posts and web site don't really say one way or the other.

i was interested in ordering the trainer model for my set.contacted the company and was told it wouldn't work well because my set was 60hz.if i am correct the set runs at 120hz when in 3d mode.it is disappointing when the seller doesn't know the facts about compatibility issues.i still don't know if it will work with my set.

Hi Steve, There is no model yet that supports 1080p frame sequential at 120Hz. There's not much in the way of interface chips today that support 1080p 120Hz frame-sequential. And monitors that support this don't support 120Hz 1080p on the HDMI port but instead use dual-link DVI. We would expect things to change and will support it when its available and to corresponding monitors.

We like to be sticklers about exact numbers, too, so let's clarify "converted to 1080p." The 3D-Bee doesn't have a resolution scaler built-in right now. So if you feed it 720p you'll get 720p. If you feed it 1080i then you'll get 1080i. And when we say "converted to 1080p" what we mean is "we take your 1080p image and we don't downscale it before creating the most beautiful automatic 3D conversion you've ever seen and then giving it back to you in un-scaled full-resolution 1080p." Does that help?


Right now we don't have any products that support frame packing. We plan to offer it in the future, but it's not the next product out of the pipe for us yet. (We're getting ready to start shipping our Ultimate box which is for 9-view lenticular screens. www.3D-Bee.com/ultimate/ )

Quick note: Although the site you linked to says so, HDMI 1.4 certification does not actually mean that every 1.4 feature is implemented. (http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.aspx#96) Kudos for being savvy and asking about specific features! And thanks for all the wonderful questions

First, thanks for the reply! It means a lot to see you guys post on the forums. Yeah, the frame sequential thing makes sense now.



I think that helps, yes! What I'm curious about is what format comes out of the 3D-Bee box to get un-scaled full-resolution 1080p in 3D. My (limited) understanding of 3D formats leads me to think that side-by-side is typically limited to half horizontal resolution (per eye anyway), frame sequential is limited to 720p because of hardware availability, and that frame packing is the only realistic way to preserve 1080p to both eyes.

How is it possible to support full resolution without frame packing? (I'm talking with the single projector Home or Trainer models in this context) I'm sure you can see how that could be confusing to a 3D noob.

so you dont support 1080p frame packing nor frame sequential at 120Hz. I really like what you guys are doing but i will not sacrifice picture quality just to see it in 3d. Maybe in the future you'll have a full supported product. Although if there was a , lets say 14 day money back guarantee id be tempted to try one

Exactly. Personally, I like to know exactly what I'm getting into, plus I like educating myself on this stuff. You've got the "uber" setup that sounds like it produces results comparable to native 3D Blu-rays.

I sit nine feet from a 106" screen and recently got LASIK eye surgery (20/15 vision!), so resolution tends to be a big deal for me. Would I notice the difference? I suspect I would not, given that it's often difficult to distinguish between 720p and 1080p, but it's possible the single projector setup wouldn't quite be in the same detail league as a "real" 3D Blu-ray, right?

For me, i think that's more of a psychological barrier than a real one. It's sort of like using a lossless audio format versus a lossy one. A high bitrate lossy soundtrack can sound almost identical to the lossless version, but there's something about knowing that you're "losing bits."

Hmm, with that way of thinking the 3D Converter at Monoprice would be just as well, just way cheaper. BTW has anyone compared it to a 3D-Bee? It also offers support for 60Hz TVs via anaglyph red/cyan.

Does the 3D-Bee do any SD to HD upscaling or noise reduction? Or just claim to have a better 2D-3D algorithm?

If the 3D Converter is indeed trash compared to the 3D-Bee, I'll give them one thing, they have a wayyy better marketing video. Watching a video stating that you are an upstart company is a lil sketchy to me, I'm unsure if I want to drop this kind of cash with a company less than a year old. Kinda scary wondering if you'll be around to warranty it. So ditch the video.

Kudos on dual projector support, so many companies ignore them.

What about things like, Dual-DVI, Displayport, Vesa-3 port or additional formats like line interleaved, checkerboard, Sensio3D?

No offense, I'm just skeptical. If indeed your product is as good as you say, I wish you the best.

I also nominate >>>>rdjam<<<< for the Monthly Buzz Award

I apologize rdjam if you felt offended in any way, that was not my intention. I loved your review, very thorough.

I'm just curious as to what I'd get for my money? It's obviously not additional formats or connectivity. Is there any additional processing being done to the input signal other than 2D-3D conversion?

Cyberlink has a good 2D-3D converter, do you have that to compare?

I'm also curious how the Monoprice converter stacks against the Bee, after all it is 1/3 of the price of their cheapest unit.

Also, once again, I'd like to applaud 3D Bee for offering a dual projector product. That segment of the market is often overlooked.

My gut tells me that something that inexpensive is going to be more in the league of the converters built into many 3D sets, but you never know. But just from rdjam's enthusiasm, I get the impression that there is something truly unique about the 3D-Bee's design.

Here's a Blog reviewing the 3D Bee, check out the comments. One guy said he has the Bee and his Samsung does better, another guy states the 3D-Bee is smoother but does not have the seperation like the monoprice. These are users opinions and so be very subjective. As anyone knows results vary significantly due to source material, hardware, software, firmware, etc.. etc...

http://lvlone.com/2011/08/08/3d-bee-...verter-review/

3D - BEE sounds awesome, it is truth that it sound to be a great product but have anyone compare their product vs other competitors out there like KanexPro 2DTO3DSSW CUBEUP 4x1 4:1 HDMI SWITCHER SWITCH with 2D to 3D CONVERTER

Nice connectivity, supports more resolutions and upscales. That'd be great for early gen gaming consoles as well as OTA broadcasts.
http://www.kanexpro.com/item/?id=2DTO3DSSW

I'd love to see a comparitive shootout between them.