Computex 2011: Nvidia Shows Off Wired 3D Glasses

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Seeing the commercials around 3D televisions raises one very good point. Many 3D glasses usable with 3D televisions, active shutter in particular, require the glasses to be powered up. And if you don’t have juice on your glasses, you may well lose 3D capability during a show. If you’ve seen 3D without glasses lately, you know what kind of experience that is. But the folks out at Nvidia may well have an interesting answer, complete with a decent price tag in the form of their Nvidia 3D Vision glasses.

Nvidia has offered up a lot of great stuff previously in terms of graphics and displays, and sometimes it’s tough to find a PC that isn’t packing some brand of Nvidia graphics at least as an option. And now, with these, they’re offering active shutter 3D glasses with a bit of a twist–a USB cable.

Currently, Nvidia offers a species of glasses with no wires, but they’re priced significantly higher than these new offerings. They only give you about ten feet of range, though, due to their cabling (I find myself wondering if you can boost that range by way of a corded USB hub or the like, sort of like an extension cord, or by plugging them into your laptop and watching a 3D television with both of them nearby), but in every other sense, they seem normal.

Now, here’s the kicker. For those of you willing to settle for shorter range (or possibly by longer range with a few tricky dodges), you’ll get a substantial discount. The wired glasses sell for just $99, and considering that earlier wireless versions went for as much as double that (though there have been some price drops of late) these might well prove a worthwhile substitute. And, of course, there’s a different fit involved too, which may make these more comfortable. Wireless versions require a battery be embedded in the glasses, while wired versions take their power as needed.

They’re expected in stores this June, so I’ll go ahead and ask you now–what do you think of these? Is the loss of some range worth the fairly substantial price savings? Or do you not even bother with 3D glasses at all and stick to 2D in all your entertainment? Hit the comments section below before your next show starts and tell us what you think!