Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has release the Quad Buffer SDK for AMD HD3D technology. The SDK is ideal for developers working on building stereo 3D capabilities into upcoming game titles.

Concurrently, new passive and active monitors from Acer, LG, Samsung, and Viewsonic have further expanded their ecosystem support for AMD HD3D technology. End-users with systems including any of the following: the AMD A-Series APUs, AMD Radeon HD 5000 or HD 6000 HD3D-capable graphics products now have even more choice thanks to the Open Stereo 3D initiative in building their stereo 3D gaming or Blu-ray 3D playback system.

A big part of enabling stereo 3D support is the ability of AMD graphics hardware to drive four frame buffers simultaneously. AMD Quad Buffer SDK, available on AMD Developer Central, is designed to enable game and application developers to accelerate development time of stereo 3D within their titles. The SDK provides clear guidelines on how to implement stereo 3D to help ensure that it can be enjoyed across the expanding ecosystem of monitors and stereo 3D glasses supporting AMD HD3D technology. Additionally, the quad buffer can be used to add native support for stereo 3D in video games and supports DirectX 9, 10 and 11.

Overview

This SDK allows developers to access AMD’s Quad-Buffer API to support stereoscopic 3D displays that require frame sequential or frame packed format input using custom DirectX 9,10, and 11 extensions.

Examples of these displays are listed here: http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/amd-hd3d/pages/supported-hardware.aspx

The API outlined in this SDK can be used for showing DirectX games in stereoscopic 3D, video playback applications and viewing 3D pictures. This API also abstracts the underlying display interface technology. This means the developer doesn’t have to code differently for DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA 3D displays since the transport mechanism of the stereo image pairs is transparent to the application.

Notes

• This API is supported by the following GPUs - AMD Radeon® HD 5000 series, AMD Radeon® HD 6000 series.
• DirectX 9, 10 and 11 are all supported.
• Support for HDMI 1.4a 3D displays is included in the latest AMD Catalyst : http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/downloads.aspx
• Support for HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort and DVI 3D displays is included in:http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/Catalyst118DriverPreview.aspx
• The application is required to generate the Left and Right eye images, which will then be written onto the Quad-Buffer.
• Some monitors may require a special method to indicate frame polarity – please communicate with the display vendor for more information.

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