Nvidia Tegra 2 3D Processor Details Leaked

A leaked Nvidia slide suggests a spring 2011 launch window for the Tegra 2 3D mobile processor.

Chip maker Nvidia announced the launch of 3D Vision Pro, a 3D stereoscopic solution designed to enable engineers, designers, architects and computational chemists who work with complex 3D designs to see their work in greater detail. The platform is currently available from Nvidia channel partners, according to a company release.

In addition, a leaked slide purportedly showing plans for a Tegra 2 3D chip, a 1.5GHz quad-core mobile processor, caused a stir on the Internet over the weekend. The chip, which would be used in mobile devices to display 3D images, is expected to debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in a few weeks and hit the market sometime in the spring.

Rumors also began to circulate that the company's Tegra 3 chip would also debut at the conference. "I'm going to come pretty close to my cadence of a launch every year," said Nvidia's general manager of Tegra, Mike Rayfield. "It will be in production around the same time as my competitors' first dual-cores will."

3D Vision Pro, designed to work in conjunction with Nvidia Quadro professional graphics solutions, is a combination of wireless, 120Hz active shutter glasses, an RF communication hub (using 2.4GHz radio frequency to transmit), and advanced software, which automatically transforms graphics applications into full stereoscopic 3D to improve the usefulness of the application, deliver better results, and increase productivity.

The platform is available from authorized channel partners including PNY Technologies in the Americas and Europe, ELSA in Japan, and Leadtek in Asia Pacific. Suggested retail prices are $349 for each pair of stereoscopic 3D shutter glasses, and $399 for the RF hub. 3D Vision Pro's RF-based communication provides key features, including extended range - up to 100 feet, no line of sight requirement between the glasses and emitter, bi-directional communication - installations can verify that the glasses are operating and see their battery levels, and explicit connection between the glasses and the hub, without crosstalk, which the company said is ideal for multi-user environments like studios or labs.

Building on the technology of Nvidia 3D Vision (infrared solution for home use), 3D Vision Pro is designed to enable a new ecosystem of professional applications that support stereoscopic 3D, providing a rich, reliable 3D viewing experience for large scale visualization environments like video walls and collaborative virtual environments (CAVEs), as well as studios and theaters.

A -3D Vision Ready' display is required, which includes 120Hz desktop LCD monitors such as those now available from Acer, ASUS, Alienware, LG, and Planar, various 3D projectors, and Mitsubishi DLP HDTVs. 3D Vision Pro supports Windows XP, Vista and 7 (both 32- and 64-bit), and will also support Linux 32- and 64-bit. Digital content creation (DCC) artists, product designers, and physicians can now see their -world' in 3D, with perspectives that are significantly richer than traditional two-dimensional views. Physicians, for example, can now view volumetric scans as well as ultrasound results in 3D.