IOGear 3D Complete+

3D content is best when it's shot or rendered in 3D. If it isn't, it has to be converted. Sometimes the conversion is decent, sometimes the conversion is unconvincing, but it's almost never excellent. The IOGear 3D Complete+ is a box you connect to your 3D HDTV to add depth to 2D material. While it does succeed at this task, it can't come close to games and movies made for 3D, and when most 3D HDTVs already convert 2D to 3D, it's tough to justify spending the money ($199.95 direct) on this device, unless you really need a four-port HDMI switch.

Design
The converter is a small box that measures 0.9 by 5.9 by 3.9 inches (HWD) and weighs just 6.4 ounces. The front has Power and Input buttons, and five blue LEDs to indicate that it's powered on and to show which HDMI input is active. Around back, there are three HDMI inputs and one HDMI output, and on the left panel, there's a fourth HDMI input.

The 3D features are controlled through a credit card-sized membrane remote with Power, 2D, 3D, and individual HDMI input buttons. Below are three sets of Up/Down buttons to control 3D Level, Depth, and Pop. Counterintuitively, the 2D button switches from 3D to a 2D video enhancement mode, requiring an additional press of the button to return to standard 2D mode.

Performance
I tested the 3D conversion mode with a Sony PlayStation 3 and a Panasonic TC-L42ET5 passive 3D HDTV. I played Journey, which isn't a 3D game, but has sprawling desert landscapes that would easily show depth. The default 3D settings showed only slight depth between the foreground and far background, but cranking up all three of the 3D settings increased the effect, with the main character and mysterious ruins in the sand popping out slightly against the dunes behind them. The 3D effect was subtle, though; while certain contrasting objects popped, like the sand dunes against the lighter sky, same-colored objects like cliffs and ruins showed no depth at all.

Playing?The Sound of Music on Blu-ray with the 3D conversion feature enabled resulted in a very subtle and inconsistent effect. In a scene with a car against a distant and bright background, the characters popped out against the sky but not the car, or each other. When the Von Trapp kids introduce themselves to Maria, they showed little depth regardless of where they stood in the scene. Here, the 3D effect looked superficial, like they were different planes of film separated by a few inches. Some characters popped out of the screen, but it wasn't realistic looking at all.

Besides the 3D conversion, the 3D Complete+ also offers video upconversion. The Video Enhancement mode upconverts video to HD, and performs other color and contrast processing on it. I loaded the DVD of The Sitter on the PlayStation 3 and disabled its built-in upconversion, and the 3D Complete+ upconverted it to 720p. It only converts up one step, from 480i/p to 720p and 720p to 1080p, so you can't bump up a DVD to full HD. The upconversion made the movie look slightly less grainy, but it wasn't noticeably better than the same effect you'll find on any Blu-ray player.

The IOGear 3D Complete+ is an interesting product, but the 3D conversion it provides isn't compelling, and most 3D HDTVs already do this (also not particularly well). Its HD upconversion is decent, but so is the upconversion found in most Blu-ray players. It works as a four-port HDMI switch, but most modern HDTVs already have four ports. It doesn't do enough or work well enough to justify its $200 price tag. In the end, if you want to watch 3D content, you should stick with 3D media; we've yet to see any 3D conversion, on-TV or on another device, that works well.

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