3D conversion software

ARCSOFT MEDIACONVERTER 7.5                                            

More of a media conversion utility rather than a dedicated 2D to 3D conversion utility but includes easy 2D to 3D conversion capabilities. It is very simple to use and at the click of a button you can convert to MP4 3D (a side-by-side format suitable for uploading to YouTube 3D), WMV 3D or a range of anaglyph formats. You can also apply some basic enhancements such as colour, dynamic lighting and denoise. It is very quick too (the test video took 4.17 minutes to convert). ArcSoft MediaConverter 7.5 also converts photos to 3D. It appears to convert by assuming scene elements closer to the camera are likely to be in the lower half. On some scenes, the 3D effect appears to be spread diagonally rather than attempt to pick out individual objects. Sometimes this works really well but when it is not working correctly, the resuts are still viewable.

DVD FAB 2D TO 3D CONVERTER                                                  

More settings than the above (although everytime we selected Video Effect Settings the application would crash). If you can avoid a crash, you will be able to adjust the 'visual depth' and 'gain' but anyone would be forgiven if they did not understand what each meant, even after reading the instructions. It supports a variety of output options like side-by-side/top-and-bottom as well as anaglyph. Our test footage took about 10 minutes to convert to 3D. We found the interface a bit clunky and tempramental. Also, we think the results are not as impressive as the cheaper ArcSoft MediaConverter 7.5. Compare the videos to decide for yourself.

AXARAMEDIA 3D CONVERTER                                                  

2D to 3D home converter with limited options. There is a depth ajustment slider which simple appears to push a 2D image backwards and forwards in Z space. It is by far the quickest 3D conversion utility here, converting our test clip wuthin one minute. The results are flat and it does not appear to dimensionalise (or attempt to) different scene elements at different depths.

MOVAVI 3D CONVERTER                                                                

A very simple home 2D to 3D converter. A great feature about Movavi Video Converter 3D is that you can preview the results before rendering. There are three slider controls for depth, perspective and shift but no explanation about that effect changing these parameters would have – it is difficult to know what differences these controls make and the preview feature is painfully slow. There are the usual anaglyph export options as well as side-by-side (called stereo); ideal for YouTube 3D uploads.This was the slowest 3D converter by far, taking over an hour to convert and results were less than impressive but at least it was clearly trying to differentiate the objects.

XILISOFT 3D CONVERTER                                                                

We would lean to suggesting this is reasonably effective for the price. Some of the converted shots work very well. For example, the rotating sphere has been recognised as that shape and the software has nicely rendered the curves. Unfornately other scenes do not benefit from the same accuracy, an issue with all these home 3D conversion utilities. Like Movavi, the Xilisoft 3D converter offers a real time preview but this is a vast improvement. Although the video plays in slow motion, it does provide a   true idea of how the final conversion will look as you adjust the depth slider. You should also try to swap the left and right eyes around (or turn your glasses upside down) as you might achieve a better result. . It is also worth swapping the left and right as you might get a more accurate result.