Live stream in 3D: Acer SpatialLabs Eyes First Impressions

At the Computex 2024, one thing that literally caught my eye was the SpatialLabs area at the Acer booth. Now Acer‘s SpatialLabs technology isn’t anything new. In fact, we got to experience it at Computex last year.

Photo from Computex 2023

No doubt Acer’s SpatialLabs display is quite an interesting piece of technology. For the past few years, SpatialLabs has mainly been used to turn video games into 3D without requiring the use of 3D glasses or goggles. Instead, it uses real-time eye tracking technology to turn what you see on the monitor into 3D. However, it has been limited to games in the past.

Now, it seems that Acer has found a different use for SpatialLabs, and it is through their new camera. Called the SpatialLabs Eyes, it allows users to let other people view your content in 3D. That’s provided they have a monitor or device capable of viewing stuff in 3D.

On the Computex show floor, Acer gave a demo of the new SpatialLabs Eyes through live streaming. We watched a person live-streaming in a separate room what they were doing, and through the SpatialLabs monitor everything was turned into 3D. It gives the users a more immersive experience as compared to just watching it on a regular monitor.

Mind you, the pictures you will see here don’t do the product justice since it literally requires a pair of eyes in order to get the 3D effect. Viewing it through a camera lens only lets you see so much.

Almost everything shown in front of the SpatialLabs Eye is turned into 3D when viewed in front of the SpatialLabs monitor provided they put it in front of the camera. As such, you get to experience or offer a new kind of live-streaming service.

Imagine live-selling on social media or streaming an unboxing video on YouTube with the SpatialLabs Eyes. As long as you have a SpatialLabs monitor or a device such as a VR or AR headset, you can experience it in 3D. From our experience, you get a lot more detail as compared to when you normally watch on a standard monitor.

It also works when you’re in a Zoom meeting for work. Since you do get a lot more details from the SpatialLabs Eye camera, I can imagine how easier it would be to preview a product to clients or more.

Outside of live streaming and real-time Zoom calls, we were told it could also be used to capture 3D images. Unfortunately, we did not get to try it out since all of the SpatialLabs Eye devices were in use, and it caught the attention of the crowd as well.

Nonetheless, SpatialLabs Eyes is a pretty cool piece that I can’t wait to see more of. Rather than just focusing on gamers playing games in 3D via the monitors, Acer made their SpatialLabs 3D technology more useable to others.

The only issue that SpatialLabs Eyes may have to deal with is that you will need to use a SpatialLabs monitor to view the 3D images or live stream video in 3D. The alternative would be to have a VR or AR headset. Otherwise, it would just look the same as if it was taken using a webcam or a camera. Since most users still use a standard monitor, only a select few will be able to watch or fully take advantage of the 3D offerings of SpatialLabs Eyes. It’s not like there are multiple users of VR or AR headsets either.

Still, this is very new, and who knows things might change in the future. I for one am very excited at the prospect of watching my favorite streamers live in 3D whether it’s on YouTube, Facebook, or any other platform. I’m sure content creators or companies that do live selling on social media will also be able to take advantage of SpatialLabs Eyes too to deliver more.

For now, it seems we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for SpatialLabs Eyes. And for those of you wondering, there is no word yet whether it will arrive in the Philippines. There is no price for the device yet, so be sure to stay tuned for that.