Glossary
Glossary of NVIDIA technologies: 3D Vision, G-SYNC, SLI, Optimus and other graphics and display terms at a glance.
3D Vision
NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ is a combination of stereoscopic 3D glasses and software that allows you to view many PC games, digital photos and videos in stereoscopic 3D. To use this, you’ll need a compatible NVIDIA graphics card, a 3D Vision-enabled display and a PC running Windows Vista or later.
3DTV Play
NVIDIA® 3DTV Play™ is a piece of software that enables you to view content in stereoscopic 3D on HDMI 3D TVs. To use it, you’ll need a 3D Vision-compatible GPU, a PC running Windows Vista or later, and an HDMI 3D TV with compatible 3D glasses.
Analogue display
An analogue display generally refers to your CRT screen. The terms ‘CRT’ and ‘analogue display’ can be used interchangeably in this context.
Anti-aliasing
A technique for reducing staircase effects – jagged lines that should actually be smooth.
G-SYNC
NVIDIA® G-SYNC™ is an advanced technology that synchronises the monitor’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate. G-SYNC eliminates screen tearing and minimises stuttering and input lag, enabling a faster, smoother gaming experience. G-SYNC requires a G-SYNC-compatible display.
HDMI 3D Video
HDMI 3D Video refers to NVIDIA software that enables the viewing of stereoscopic Blu-ray 3D videos via HDMI on 3D TVs. The software requires a 3D Vision-compatible GPU, a PC running Microsoft Windows 7 or later, compatible Blu-ray 3D playback software, and an HDMI 3D TV with compatible 3D glasses.
HDTV
High Definition Television. A system for transmitting a TV signal with a significantly higher resolution than the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standards.
Optimus technology
NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology is an energy-efficient GPU technology that automatically switches the high-performance NVIDIA GPU on or off, depending on which programmes are running.
SLI technology
NVIDIA SLI multi-GPU technology utilises the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express™ bus architecture to enable multiple GPUs to work together to deliver accelerated performance. A NVIDIA SLI system consists of a PCI Express motherboard that supports two physical slots into which two NVIDIA PCI Express graphics cards can be installed.
Stereoscopic 3D
The technology for displaying two-dimensional images in a way that creates the impression of depth. This effect is achieved by presenting each eye with slightly different images.
This information provides an overview of the various NVIDIA technologies that may be relevant to centron, particularly with regard to graphics performance and visual rendering.