Check out this collection of laptops that play 3D Blu-rays and games.
Dan Ackerman
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications.
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Rich BrownFormer Senior Editorial Director - Home and Wellness
Rich was the editorial lead for CNET's Home and Wellness sections, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Before moving to Louisville in 2013, Rich ran CNET's desktop computer review section for 10 years in New York City. He has worked as a tech journalist since 1994, covering everything from 3D printing to Z-Wave smart locks.
ExpertiseSmart home, Windows PCs, cooking (sometimes), woodworking tools (getting there...)
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
ExpertiseVR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tabletsCredentials
Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Sony's take on 3D for laptops is unique. The system uses Nvidia's 3D Vision platform, which is the gold standard of laptop 3D (and honestly, beats most 3DTVs), but instead of using Nvidia's active shutter glasses, Sony includes a custom pair, which works on both this laptop as well as Sony's line of 3DTVs. It's a nice touch if you happen to own both, but it also highlights the consumer-interest-killing fragmentation in stereoscopic 3D.
The Toshiba Qosmio F755, which we saw as a 15-inch glasses-free 3D prototype at CES in January, is now officially for sale in a single fixed-configuration model. It uses special eye-tracking software to track the viewer's head movements via the built-in Webcam and adjust the stereoscopic image accordingly. Just keep in mind that the 3D display doesn't work for video games or streaming-video content yet, only 3D Blu-ray.
The P755-3DV20 is definitely one of the least expensive Nvidia 3D Vision laptops we've seen, and comes packed with features including Blu-ray, midrange graphics, Harman Kardon speakers, and USB 3.0, but lacks full 1080p resolution on its 15-inch screen.
The upscale-looking XPS 17 3D is a variation on the brand, taking the current 17-inch XPS, with its second-gen Intel Core i-series processors, and adding stereoscopic 3D support via Nvidia's 3D Vision platform (which is really the standard for PC-based 3D). You can also send the signal to a 3DTV via HDMI and watch video or play PC games in 3D--a potential draw for fans of PC-only games such as StarCraft II.
This particular Qosmio also comes packaged with Nvidia 3D Vision technology (the most common way for laptops to display stereoscopic 3D) and a pair of Nvidia 3D active-shutter glasses, meaning it can play 3D PC games and 3D Blu-ray movies. Both look good on the large 17.3-inch 1,920x1,080-pixel display, or either can be output to a 3D-compatible HDTV with Nvidia 3DTV Play software.
