Stream to 3D Settings
Settings
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Open Settings from the main menu to review or change the current configuration. For an ordinary video-file workflow, start with Wizard, Format and Algorithm. Live Sources are optional; use the exact menu path Settings > Live Capture only when creating a camera, capture-device or PC-screen source.
Choose the settings area
- Wizard - choose whether guided responses are shown, applied automatically or bypassed.
- Format - select the stereoscopic layout, target resolution and file-recognition options.
- Algorithm - choose Temporal or Depth Guided and review the settings applicable to that method.
- Live Sources - create or refresh camera, capture-device and PC-screen sources through Settings > Live Capture.
- Save, load or reset settings - keep named configurations or return to the supplied defaults.
- Tools - confirm the supporting applications and media player used by the selected workflow.
- Streaming settings - choose the network protocol and receiving-player options.
- Conversion settings - choose file, audio, subtitle and batch-conversion behaviour.
Most users can leave advanced tuning at its default and let the Wizard assess the selected source. When tuning manually, change one setting at a time and test with a short, familiar video.
Settings - Wizard
The Configuration Wizard can apply guided settings to Play, Stream and Convert. Control when it appears through Settings > Wizard.
Choose the mode that matches how much guidance you want:
- On: asks the relevant questions and lets you choose suitable settings. For Play and Stream, only Compare and recommend runs performance proving.
- Auto: reuses your previous answers without showing the questionnaire. For Play and Stream, a saved comparison runs proving; a saved Temporal or Depth Guided choice does not.
- Off: uses the current manual Settings without performance proving. Stream to 3D still applies source-dependent adjustments required to process the selected source correctly.
The behaviour of the Wizard when Play, Stream or Convert is selected from the main menu is described at the links below:
Important: For Play and Stream, the Wizard can either Compare and recommend, Use Temporal, or Use Depth Guided. Compare and recommend runs a short performance comparison for the selected source. A direct Temporal or Depth Guided choice applies the selected method and quality settings without performance proving. Auto mode reuses the last saved choice separately for Play and Stream; if no choice has been saved, it starts with Compare and recommend. With the Wizard off, Stream to 3D uses the current manual settings directly and does not run performance proving.
A direct Depth Guided choice still requires Depth Guided feature access, the installed component and compatible graphics support. If a prerequisite is unavailable, Stream to 3D explains what is missing rather than silently changing the selected method.
See Choosing Temporal or Depth Guided conversion for the Release 6 recommendation and report flow.
Settings - Format
The Format settings page controls the stereoscopic output layout used by Play, Stream and Convert. It also contains file-specific options used when recognising or creating 3D video files.
The 3D output drop-down list allows selection of a number of different 3D output formats:
- SBS (Full Side by Side)
- TB/OU (Full Top/Bottom)
- HSBS (Half Side by Side)
- HTB/HOU (Half Top/Bottom)
- HSBS Upscaled
- HTB/HOU Upscaled
- Anaglyph 3D (Red/Cyan)
The "HSBS Upscaled" and "HTB/HOU Upscaled" formats require a little more explanation. HSBS Upscaled outputs the video in HSBS format, but upscales the video so that it has the same resultant resolution as Full SBS, by retaining the horizontal resolution of the original video and doubling the vertical resolution. Similarly, HTB/HOU Upscaled retains the original vertical resolution of the video, but doubles the horizontal resolution. This is for compatibility with devices/media players that only support Half SBS/TB formats. However, the trade off in increased quality is an increased demand in terms of machine resources.
Anaglyph 3D (Red/Cyan) provides the 3D output in a format that can be displayed on a 2D device and viewed with Red/Cyan glasses.
Use the Configuration Wizard as the starting point because it considers the selected device family and the available Windows display resolution. Override the format manually only for a known player limitation or a tested quality/performance trade-off. Use Full only when the complete output path can accept the larger combined frame. Use Half for compatibility or when the Full frame does not fit. Use Upscaled Half when the player requires a Half-labelled layout but the output path can retain the larger frame; otherwise the extra processing provides no visible benefit.
The receiving player or display must use the same layout. A Full SBS frame containing two 16:9 eye views is 32:9 overall; the viewer divides that packed frame before presenting each 16:9 eye view. Forcing the complete packed frame into an ordinary 16:9 player window will squash the result.
The "Resize Input Video to..." checkbox option allows you to optionally resize the resolution of a 2D video before it is converted to 3D. This is usually to scale down very high-resolution videos (e.g. 4K) before conversion, particularly if they are higher resolution than would be supported by the target device.
The value entered or selected in the "Maximum Width" edit box or drop-down list is applied if the "Resize Input Video to" checkbox is ticked. In this case the input 2D video is resized to the width selected, before 2D to 3D video processing is applied. You can think of this as the maximum target, per eye resolution of the output 3D video. The output video may actually end up with a lower horizontal per eye resolution than this if the "Force 16:9 Output" option is selected, as aspect ratio correction may in some cases crop the video further after the initial resize pre-processing is complete. As a guide, note that the maximum per eye resolution of the Meta Quest 2 VR headset, for example, is 1,832 × 1,920 pixels and for the Meta Quest 3 it is 2064 × 2208 pixels per eye. VR headsets have a variety of resolutions, see here for details.
The "IPD Frame Stretch" factor allows tweaking of the depth effect. You can increase the value to heighten the depth effect, but setting it too high will cause the effect to break down and introduce distortion. It is also related to Interpupillary Distance, so if the 3D view is not comfortable for you, try adjusting this stretch factor.
When the "Force 16:9 Output" check box is used, Stream to 3D changes the source picture to 16:9 by cropping vertically or horizontally where necessary, so some picture area can be lost. This setting is different from player-side scaling and does not guarantee removal of black pixels already encoded inside a 16:9 source frame.
For a source with black borders at the top and bottom, first try a supported SBS layout so the eye division is away from those borders. For a source with borders at the left and right, including padded 4:3 material, first try a supported TB/OU layout. Select the matching mode manually in the receiving player or display and keep its aspect ratio at default or best fit while testing. See Black borders and the eye division and Player, streaming-device and display scaling.
The 3D File Name Pattern helps Stream to 3D recognise existing stereoscopic video files from their names. It is relevant when working with video files; the Real-Time edition does not create converted 3D files. See 3D file-name patterns for details.
No 3D Conversion
No 3D Conversion passes the source through without creating a stereoscopic layout. For editions with Convert, this can be used to record a demanding Live Source as a 2D file first and convert the recorded file to 3D afterwards, reducing the amount of work that must happen at the same time.
Settings - Algorithm
Release 6 provides two complementary conversion methods. For Play and Stream, choose Compare and recommend when you want the Wizard to measure compatible choices for the selected source, or choose Temporal or Depth Guided directly when you already know which method you want. With the Wizard off, use Conversion Method to choose the manual method.
| Method | Method-specific settings | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Temporal | Temporal Offset, scene-change detection and eye-view stabilization. | Broad real-time hardware coverage and efficient conversion of video containing useful motion. |
| Depth Guided | Quality or Performance processing mode. | Local GPU-assisted processing based on visual depth cues in each frame, including static and low-motion scenes. |
Output Frame Rate and CPU Cores to Use are shared controls. Output rate can affect both methods because additional output frames still have to be generated and delivered. The Wizard measures the complete selected Play or Stream workload rather than assuming that a method or GPU name guarantees real-time operation.
Depth Guided settings
Quality prioritises the Depth Guided result and requires more GPU processing. Performance is a lighter mode for hardware or sources that cannot sustain Quality in real time. Convert does not have to keep pace with the source, so either mode can be used for a file conversion that takes longer than the video.
Depth Guided does not use the Temporal Offset, scene-change or stabilization controls, so Stream to 3D hides them while Depth Guided is selected. Using Depth Guided also requires the feature to be enabled for the licence or Steam account.
Temporal settings
Temporal Offset and Stabilize Eye Views, together with the Stabilization Threshold, control the Temporal 3D result. A 1-frame offset is the lighter baseline; 1.5 frames provides a stronger depth result and requires additional processing. Fractional offsets can be more CPU demanding because they require interpolation.
Detect Scenes protects the Temporal eye pair at scene changes and large-scale rapid motion. Keep it enabled unless deliberately tuning the behaviour. The Threshold controls how much of the picture must change before the protection applies; the 10% default works well for most videos.
Temporal scene detection and stabilization tuning
Show Detected turns the right eye view pink at detected transitions so the scene threshold can be checked. Stabilize Eye Views reduces uncomfortable left/right differences, while its threshold controls how strongly stabilization is applied. These are diagnostic and preference controls for Temporal conversion only; return the tuning display to off after testing.
Output frame rate and processor use
The default output frame rate follows the rate at which the input is sampled for conversion, called the Sample Rate. For a film this is often 23.976 FPS, but it can be 24, 25, 29.97, 30 or another source-dependent value. You can request Double Sample Rate or a specific rate. In Release 6, the Wizard treats output rate as part of each measured real-time candidate: it does not require frame-rate doubling for every high-quality Depth Guided choice.
Rates above the Sample Rate require additional frame generation and processing. They can be useful for smoother output, but may prevent Play or Stream from keeping pace. Convert can apply them without a real-time deadline, subject to a longer conversion time and player compatibility.
Stream to 3D initially assigns a conservative number of processor cores so conversion does not monopolise the PC. Increase CPU Cores to Use only after measuring the selected source and checking that the rest of the system remains responsive.
Settings - Live Capture
Use Settings > Live Capture to create a Live Source for a specific camera, capture device, screen format or audio input. The dialog is titled Live Capture: Live Sources. Use Refresh Devices after enabling or connecting hardware, select the video and audio sources, review the reported format, enter a friendly Live Source name, and choose Create Live Source.
Creating a Live Source saves the device selection for later use; it does not start capture. Choose Play, Stream or Convert and select the saved source through the Live Sources shortcut. See Create a custom Live Source for every control and camera troubleshooting.
Settings - Saving Configurations
You can save Stream to 3D configuration settings for distinct purposes in different config files, using the Settings/Save Settings menu option as shown in the screen shot below and reload them again with the Load Settings option. Note that you cannot save settings in the StreamTo3D application folder as this is protected, use a sub-folder of your Documents folder or Desktop:
You can edit the name of the settings save file to suit your purposes.
Settings - Loading Configurations
You can load previously saved configurations via the Stream to 3D Settings > Load Settings option.
Release 6 ships an edition-appropriate defaults file. Standalone and Complete use StreamTo3D - Application Defaults.cfg; Real-Time uses StreamTo3D - Application Defaults - Real-Time.cfg. Editions with Convert also provide StreamTo3D - Convert to MKV.cfg and StreamTo3D - Convert to MP4.cfg as focused output-container overlays. The old Virtual Desktop and Bigscreen configuration files are no longer supplied because the Configuration Wizard now provides the corresponding device guidance. To find the current files, select the StreamTo3D shortcut in the left-hand pane:
Settings - Resetting Stream to 3D to its Default Settings
To restore Release 6 application settings, load the defaults file for your edition: StreamTo3D - Application Defaults.cfg for Standalone or Complete, or StreamTo3D - Application Defaults - Real-Time.cfg for Real-Time. See the previous section to locate the files.
Note that resetting by this method does NOT reset the established folder locations for installed tools, as these are discovered automatically on initial install. However, you can change the installed tool locations manually if you need to via the Main Menu/Tools option.
If supporting applications are missing after an uninstall, reinstall or application upgrade, use the repair guidance below.
Repair or reinstall supporting tools
Use Tools and Dependencies as the current repair guide. It covers the Steam optional-tools installer, Gumroad and Itch.io installer repair, component-specific checks and the corresponding Windows prompts.
Repair only the missing or incorrectly detected supporting application where possible. Reinstalling the main application does not necessarily rerun every separate supporting installer.
Settings - Tools
Use Settings > Tools to choose the supported media player used by Play and to confirm that the supporting applications needed by the selected workflow have been detected. The installer configures the normal locations automatically; change a location only when Stream to 3D reports that an application is missing or an existing installation has moved.
If a supporting application is missing or incorrectly detected, follow Tools and Dependencies. Repair the affected item first rather than repeatedly reinstalling the main application.
Settings - Tools - Media Players
Choose the player that Stream to 3D should start when you select Play. MPC-HC is the default supported player; other supported players installed through the optional tools route can be selected from the same list.
The Custom option is intended for advanced compatibility testing. For the first successful playback, use one of the listed supported players so that launch and full-screen behavior are known.
Settings - Tools - Streaming and Conversion
Applies to editions with Stream or Convert. Check that the encoding application path shown in Settings > Tools is correct, particularly after moving an installation or choosing a custom supporting-tool location.
Stream to 3D can use supported graphics hardware to reduce encoding time. If the application reports a driver or hardware-encoding compatibility problem, update the graphics driver or use software encoding.
Use the advanced streaming and conversion options only when resolving a known compatibility issue or tuning an already working setup.
Return to Stream to 3D Documentation.