Hardware

Cracking open the iZ3D 22-inch LCD monitor

By · July 27, 2007, 6:58 AM PST · markwkaelin

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  • iZ3D LCD monitor teardown

    TechRepublic has been testing and reviewing the iZ3D monitor for about a month now. After creating a First Look gallery and then publishing a review on how well the 3D technology translates to real game play, we felt it was time to crack it open to see what was inside. The folks at iZ3D were very gracious and brave to allow us to do this and we appreciate the gesture.

    The iZ3D Web site said we would find two LCD panels inside, but we were not sure how they would be configured. We envisioned elaborate optical trickery was needed to get the 3D effect, but we found the engineering to be rather straightforward. Scroll through the images and see for yourself.

  • How it's put together

    To get the iZ3D monitor open we have to remove four screws.

  • More screws

    There are also two smaller screws to remove.

  • The stand

    The stand slides right out.

  • Sturdy

    This single piece, the part that holds the iZ3D monitor up in the air for us to look at, is the heaviest single piece we remove.

  • Front grill

    The front grill snaps off. You have to be careful with the tabs because they are just plastic and can easily break.

    This is a pre-production model so there are some hand written markings inside the case. I'm not sure what Sample A means exactly.

  • Tab A

    A closer look at the tab/slot connection for the housing.

  • Slot B

    Another angle of the tab/slot connection.

  • The front grill

    Here is the front grill fully separated from the back piece of the monitor housing.

  • LEDs

    The LED board just sits in place when the two casing pieces are snapped together -- no screws or glue required.

  • Anticipation

    Now we are getting to the real meat of the monitor. There should be several pieces of electronic circuitry and two LCD monitors in there.

  • Out of the case

    Now that all of the monitor housing is removed we can begin to see how the iZ3D monitor is engineered.

  • How hazardous could it be?

    First, we have to observe the obligatory warning of danger. We disconnected the plug so we have nothing to worry about -- right?

  • Some ID

    I don't know what the serial numbers represent, but I do notice a couple of dollar signs.

  • Two LCDs

    Our first indication that there are indeed to LCD panels under all this other stuff are these two ribbons.

  • Power connections

    The power connections are pink and white, but I think power wire should be red.

  • Slide it open

    We remove two screws and slide the circuitry housing off to reveal two circuit boards.

  • Circuit boards 1

    After getting some help from Bill Detwiller on the ribbon connectors we are able to get our first look some electronic insides of the monitor.

  • Circuit boards 2

    A closer look at the two circuit boards. I see lots of exposed power electronics -- good thing we unplugged the monitor.

  • Inputs

    There are three video-in ports; 2 DVIs and 1 VGA. Besides needing to be an NVIDIA card, your video will need to have two outputs to power the iZ3D monitor.

  • RealTek

    I've been seeing a lot of RealTek chips lately.

  • We got the power

    There is some serious power control going on here. One suspects that with two LCDs more electronic circuitry is required.

  • Backlight

    There is a florescent lamp inside here, but I didn't want to break it so I did not open this any further.

  • LCDs at last

    There they are -- two TFT LCD panels.

  • Taking a closer look

    I asked Bill Detwiler to help me show off one of the LCD panels.

  • I can see myself

    You can see the reflective surface of the LCD panel.

  • Wafer thin

    Well, I guess you can say it is a flat panel after all.

  • In pieces

    Here are all the major pieces laid out.

    I actually was able to get the monitor back together without pulling my hair out.

iZ3D LCD monitor teardown

TechRepublic has been testing and reviewing the iZ3D monitor for about a month now. After creating a First Look gallery and then publishing a review on how well the 3D technology translates to real game play, we felt it was time to crack it open to see what was inside. The folks at iZ3D were very gracious and brave to allow us to do this and we appreciate the gesture.

The iZ3D Web site said we would find two LCD panels inside, but we were not sure how they would be configured. We envisioned elaborate optical trickery was needed to get the 3D effect, but we found the engineering to be rather straightforward. Scroll through the images and see for yourself.

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By Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.

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