March 2007
I have recently been researching companies which supply high-quality passive stereo projection systems, and am recording what I have found here, in case it is useful to others. I aimed to find all suppliers which could potentially suit my requirements . I’ve also included others I came across, even where they did not fit my needs, in case these are of use to someone else with different requirements. As a guide, I’ve put prices where these are available or I was quoted an estimate. However, the price will depend on exactly what you end up getting (lenses etc) and will of course change anyway, so this is just a rough indication.NB The only single-chip DLP projectors I have found which synch to the vertical refresh are made by the Norwegian company ProjectionDesign, distributed in the UK by RGBComms. These synch to the vertical refresh when operated at their native frame rate of 60Hz. A single SXGA+ projector costs about £8000. Thus, it seems that currently, any system which fulfils my requirements must use ProjectionDesign DLP projectors. 

Virtalis StereoWorks

Based in the UK. They were very helpful and knowledgeable, arranging a visit to a local university which has one of their systems and designing a set-up which takes all my requirements into account. We are going to their offices in Manchester for a demo.

Cyviz Viz3d

Based in the US; distributed in the UK by RGBComms. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Their Viz3d seems to fulfil all my requirements. ProjectionDesign DLP projectors synched to vertical refresh, 1400×1050, in an adjustable frame. Bruce Cumming at NIH has one of these, and says the frame allows alignment to within 1 pixel in about 10 minutes. $25,000.or $32,000 with 1:1 lens

Immersaview/Visbox VisDuo

Based in the US but can supply to the UK with an international warranty. Again, very helpful and knowledgeable. They don’t use single-chip DLP projectors because of the rainbow effect. Their standard VisDuo range comes in a range of resolutions and luminances, up to 1920×1080; only uses LCD projectors; costs $21-$32k depending on specs. They offered to make a special version of this which would meet my needs. It would use high-end LCOS projectors which synch with the vertical refresh, and offer 1920×1080 resolution, 500 lumens, and 2000:1 contrast. Including 1:1 short throw lenses with subpixel geometric distortion, the two projectors, stacker and stand would cost $45,000. Rather outside my budget, but I was very impressed with the way they got to grips with my needs and designed a system to fit them.

Digital Image Cube 3D

Based in Germany. Again, I found them very helpful. Cube 3D uses 1024×768 DLP projectors. Takes only VGA inputs, not DVI. Their DLP projectors are not synched to the vertical refresh, so images would be out of synch. They offered to build me a system using ProjectionDesign DLP projectors, which are synched, but were pessimistic about the chances of achieving pixel-perfect alignment across the image. Since I’m based in the UK, they suggested I try Virtalis.

Inition Duality

Based in UK. Only an auto response received so far. Low-end LCD XGA system £9,450 = $18.5k

More3D Morpheus

Based in Germany. Not heard back from them yet. The Morpheus system comes in a range of resolutions and luminances. 2x3500lumen DLP projectors, 1400 × 1050, 25k euro = $34k.

3Dims

Based in Germany. Quick and helpful response to my email. They suggested a system with 3-chip DLP projectors, 1280×720, 6000 euros.

Infitec

Based in Germany. As well as making the Infitec filter technology, they appear to offer complete stereo projection systems. Not heard back from them yet.

Barco

Based in US. Their webpage suggests they may make something suitable. Not heard back from them yet.

Christie-Digital Montage LX3

Based in the US but with distributors in the UK. When I bought my Matrix 2500s from Christie, I found their sales staff very pleasant & helpful, but not so good at answering the kind of very specific technical questions I was posing. The Montage is quite an old system (2002), using LCD projectors with XGA resolution, so not suitable for me. They don’t seem to offer another set of projectors in a custom frame, although I know other companies use Christie projectors in their stereo systems.