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Stream to 3D by IWAHDK LTD

Stream to 3D User FAQ and Troubleshooting

Updated

Already purchased? This page is the fastest route to a working setup and to the most common fixes. If you’re still deciding whether Stream to 3D is right for you, see the Pre‑purchase FAQ.

Docs hub: Stream to 3D Documentation

Support: Stream to 3D Support

Billing, cancellation & refunds: Billing, Cancellation & Refunds

Symptom-first checklists: Tools & Dependencies, “It looks wrong”, Streaming first checks, Performance primer.

Quick start (first successful 3D)

  1. Open the docs hub and pick a workflow: Documentation home.
  2. In Stream to 3D, check Settings → Tools so the media player and supporting applications needed for your workflow are detected correctly.
  3. Start with a short test clip and an easy, compatible output format like HSBS (Half Side-by-Side). See Settings → Format.
  4. In your player/device, enable the matching 3D layout (SBS vs TB/OU). Most “double image” issues are just a layout mismatch.
  5. If you see an LVE0xx error code at any point, start with Licensing & Activation and Error Codes. If you contact support, include logs from Logs & Diagnostics.

Choose your workflow

Stream to 3D supports multiple workflows. The right one depends on what you’re trying to do:

For a first test, choose Play with a familiar 2D video file. Video files remain the normal source for Play, Stream and Convert; Live Sources are an additional option when you specifically want to use a PC screen, camera or capture device.

  • Play (real-time playback on your PC) — watch on your PC, often mirrored into a headset via Virtual Desktop/Bigscreen. See Real-time Conversion and Playback.
  • Stream (to a remote player/device) — send converted video over the network to another device/player. See Streaming.
  • Convert (make a 3D file for offline playback) — create a file to play later (often the most reliable for headset playback). See Video File Conversion.
  • Live Sources (camera, PC screen or capture device → 3D) — for webcams, capture cards, or PC screen capture. Start with PC Screen or Live Video Conversion to 3D.

Supported platforms and remote devices

  • Stream to 3D itself is a 64-bit Windows application. SteamOS, Linux and Proton are not supported application hosts.
  • A device receiving a network stream does not need to run Stream to 3D. Run Stream to 3D on a Windows PC, then open the displayed stream URL in a compatible player on the headset, phone, tablet, TV, SteamOS device or another computer.

Trial, editions and changing stores

  • The one-week free trial is the Gumroad Real-Time edition. It includes Play, including Live Sources for immediate playback, but not network Stream or file Convert.
  • Complete and current Standalone purchases include Play, Stream and Convert. Some earlier Standalone licences require separate feature upgrades for functions introduced later.
  • A Gumroad trial or purchase does not become a Steam licence. Buying on Steam is a separate purchase and installation managed by Steam. Cancel the Gumroad trial separately if you do not want it to renew.
  • After changing edition or store, check Settings → Tools if a media-player or supporting-tool path is no longer correct.

Compare the current editions on the Store page and see the Purchase guide.

Wizard and manual settings

  • Always present the Wizard: asks the questions and derives settings for each Play, Stream or Convert operation.
  • Apply previous responses automatically: does not show the questions, but still derives settings from your saved Wizard answers. This can replace manual changes.
  • Do not apply Wizard: uses the current settings. Select this mode before making manual changes that you want Stream to 3D to retain and use directly.

If a manual setting appears to change back when you select a video or Live Source, check Settings > Wizard before resetting or reinstalling anything. See Settings - Wizard.

Licensing & activation

If Stream to 3D won’t start, says your license is invalid, or shows an LVE error code, start here:

Tools & dependencies

Recommended: use the dedicated checklist page first: Tools & Dependencies Checklist.

Many setup issues occur when a selected player or supporting application is missing or its saved location is no longer correct.

“It looks wrong” (layout/aspect/depth)

Recommended: see “It looks wrong” troubleshooting for layout, aspect ratio, eye-division and depth checks.

Double, repeated or displaced image / apparently no 3D

  • Confirm that the player or display is using the exact layout selected in Stream to 3D: SBS or TB/OU, including Half or Full where the viewer distinguishes them. Many players initially show the packed frame in 2D.
  • Select the layout manually when possible and keep the player at its default or best-fit aspect ratio while diagnosing the result.
  • If the source has black borders at the top and bottom, try a supported SBS output. If it has borders at the left and right, including padded 4:3 video, try a supported TB/OU output. This moves the eye division away from the borders that can confuse automatic 3D detection.
  • Bigscreen: it only supports Half formats. Start with HSBS or HTB. Virtual Desktop supports Full SBS/TB as well as Half.

When the packed frame is divided and scaled correctly, the 3D effect should be pronounced. Doubling, ghosting, displaced views, discomfort, an unexpected repeated edge or an apparently flat image should be treated as an alignment or viewing-path problem before changing depth settings.

Squished or stretched image

  • Return the player to its default or best-fit aspect ratio and disable additional zoom, crop or stretch while testing.
  • Remember that a Full SBS frame containing two 16:9 eye views is 32:9 overall. Do not force that complete packed frame into an ordinary 16:9 player window.
  • “Force 16:9” in Settings → Format crops the source picture where necessary; it is different from player-side scaling and can remove picture area.
  • If the result still looks wrong, check device display calibration and TV/projector overscan or 1:1 pixel settings. See Player, streaming-device and display scaling.

Weak depth or uncomfortable depth

  • First establish a clean, correctly aligned stereo image using the checks above. Only then adjust Temporal Offset and stabilisation settings (labelled “Stabilization” in the app). See Settings → Algorithm.
  • Fractional temporal offsets (e.g. 1.25) can be more CPU intensive because they rely on interpolation; if you need real-time performance, prefer whole-frame offsets.

Performance & stutter

Recommended: see Performance primer for quick improvements and the main bottlenecks.

  • Start with Half formats (HSBS/HTB) for compatibility and performance, then move up to Full formats if your hardware can keep up. See Settings → Format.
  • Frame-rate interpolation (doubling output FPS) is resource intensive and may not be practical in real time at high resolutions. See Settings → Algorithm.
  • If you can’t hit real-time in Play/Stream, consider converting offline (Convert) for the best quality and smoothness. See Video File Conversion.
  • If you are using a Live Source or PC-screen source, reduce the capture frame rate and/or capture region to match your hardware. See Screen Capture.
  • A headset running at 90 Hz or 120 Hz does not require Stream to 3D to generate 90 or 120 unique movie frames every second. Start with the source/sample frame rate; interpolation to higher rates is additional work.
  • GPU model, VRAM and CPU core count alone cannot guarantee a target frame rate. Source resolution, output layout, interpolation, encoding, capture, network and the receiving player all matter.
  • Use Full only when the complete output path supports the larger combined frame. Use Upscaled Half only when the player requires a Half layout but the display/player can retain the larger frame; otherwise it adds work without visible benefit.
  • Audio stutter or cut-off can be a symptom of the conversion, encoding, network or receiving player failing to sustain the selected video output. Test a lower resolution and Half layout before treating it as an audio-only problem.

Streaming first checks

Recommended: for the dedicated checklist (with protocol notes and client/player gotchas), see Streaming first checks.

  • Start with HTTP streaming for best compatibility. See Streaming.
  • Test the stream URL on the same PC first (for example using VLC), using the exact URL shown in Stream to 3D.
  • If it works locally but not on your device: check your network (same LAN/Wi‑Fi), VPN, and firewall rules.
  • RTSP requires a server (e.g. MediaMTX) running while you stream. See Streaming protocols overview.
  • Subtitles are only supported over HTTP streaming.
  • On the client player/device, select the correct 3D layout (SBS vs TB/OU; Half vs Full).

Conversion & playback compatibility (MKV/MP4)

  • Stream to 3D uses MKV by default for conversion, but some players/apps require MP4. See MP4 output instead of MKV.
  • Batch conversion produces a summary (including CSV results and per-file logs for failures). See Video File Conversion.
  • If your player/app does not support MKV (for example Bigscreen), switch to MP4 output: MP4 output instead of MKV.
  • When choosing the converted file name, keep the suggested 3D output name or choose another new name. Do not select the original 2D source file as the destination.
  • If subtitles are present in the converted file but your player does not display them correctly, try MP4 output. MKV can retain a source subtitle format that the destination player does not support, while MP4 uses a narrower, more predictable subtitle representation.
  • If Stream to 3D says a 2D source appears to be already in 3D and bypasses conversion, check whether its file name matches the configured 3D file-name pattern.

Live Sources and PC-screen sources

  • Start with Live Sources: PC Screen, Camera and Capture Devices.
  • Stream to 3D 5.5 creates and manages Live Sources inside the main application. Choose the Live Sources shortcut from Play, Stream or Convert to create the defaults, or use Settings > Live Capture for a specific device or audio input.
  • If a built-in laptop camera is not listed, enable it with the laptop camera hotkey, OEM privacy utility, or BIOS/UEFI setting, confirm it works in Windows Camera, and close Windows Camera. If Screen Capture was created while the camera was disabled, select the Live Sources shortcut again to create the missing Main Camera source; a restart is not required.
  • If a saved Live Source no longer works after changing devices or moving to another PC, create a replacement in Settings > Live Capture.
  • For Virtual Desktop or Bigscreen showing the converted Windows desktop, use Play. Use Stream only for a compatible network media player.
  • For browser video, put the browser on the captured display and the converted output on a second extended Windows display. Some protected content cannot be captured.
  • Games can use the same Screen Capture and Play route, but conversion and desktop/headset presentation add delay. Test the specific game before relying on it for latency-sensitive play.

If your edition includes Convert and capture plus 3D conversion is too demanding, use No 3D Conversion to record the Live Source as a 2D file first, then convert that file to 3D in a second pass.

Error codes (LVE0xx)

If Stream to 3D shows an LVE code, look it up here:

Common examples:

  • LVE022 - read the complete message. It can indicate the three-machine installation limit or a temporary Itch.io validation limit.
  • LVE023 — communication error. Check your internet connection/VPN/firewall and retry.

Before contacting support

To get the fastest resolution, include the standard diagnostics bundle:

  • Your store (Steam/Gumroad/Itch/etc), and your Stream to 3D version.
  • The exact error code/message (e.g. LVE023).
  • Logs and key screenshots. See Logs & Diagnostics.

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