by: Justin Amirkhani

3D displays don’t seem to be going anywhere—both in regards to producers’ dedication to the technology and consumers’ unwillingness to adopt it. For all the effort put into developing easy to use 3D solutions and all the marketing devised to bolster its appeal, there just hasn’t been an option to date that has garnered mass market appeal.

Much in the way the PlayStation 3 helped Sony bring Blu-Ray to the masses, they’re looking to have the brand help push their 3D solutions with the PlayStation 3D Display. With a lower cost of entry, slim form factor and special gamer-specific features, the set is designed with gamers in mind but lacking the robustness of similarly priced monitors it’s not the ideal solution for everyone.

The set is a slick looking 24” display with a rounded bezel that looks very similar to a flattened PSP Go. The stand is stylish and understated while the embedded speakers meld seamlessly with the contoured frame. Sony’s classic design sensibility comes through strong and makes the set look far nicer than most at its price-point.

The picture is crisp and colors are brightly pronounced, but the brightness is enhanced by the sheer glass that reflects far too much. 3D setups work best when glare is minimized and this set unfortunately suffers even in dark rooms, leaving the experience imperfect. It’s a nice display, but for its purpose this is a design flaw sorely overlooked.

Setting things up for 3D display with the PlayStation 3 is very simple with the system doing most of the setup work itself. Once running the effect is startling, providing depth to the gaming experience. The system’s poor native anti-aliasing does become much more noticeable in stereoscopic though, making everything look like poorly cut-out pieces of a boxed diorama. That’s more of a fault with the system than the display, but it does factor into the overall experience and it does make it harder to justify the purchase.

The provided glasses are a little boxy and are made from uncomfortable (and easily broken) hard plastic, but the lenses have less discoloration than others I’ve tried. They are a tad on the small side though, leaving too much visible in the periphery. They do hold a decent charge though and look much more normal than most other active shutter glasses.

Audio on the other hand is a little underdeveloped. The stereo speakers produce middling sound at best, with poor mixing and no definite sub or tweeters. The quality passes far below acceptable for the type of home theatre enthusiast who would care about 3D in the first place, sounding like it’s broadcasting out of tin cans.

Another large failure is Sony’s over-confidence in their proprietary 3D formats. For those who consider this as a desktop solution, it works wonderfully with PCs as long as you’re okay not using it for its prime purpose.