The 3D laptop that's ahead of its time

When Volvo unveiled its crash-proof car, it crashed. When Honda unveiled the first robot that could walk up stairs, it fell down the stairs. So I shouldn’t have been surprised my first experience of YouTube 3D didn’t go exactly to plan... After a three-hour solo man-versus-machine  battle, the score rests at Machine 1, Man 0. I have read a vast number of error messages but I have yet to see one of the new Nvidia-laptop-compatible YouTube videos. Despite the plethora of 3D video cameras unveiled this year, there still isn’t that much to watch on 3D laptops such as Sony’s VAIO F Series (its first, pictured right) – even including the dubious delights of demo videos made by total strangers. YouTube’s 3D channel has just 6,000 clips available. Otherwise, without a Sky 3D or Virgin box, you’re back to a very sparse range of 3D Blu-ray discs. It’s a shame – the F Series is a superb machine, lifting tech out of its Bravia screens and pairing it with a fast pair of 240Hz active-shutter glasses (the ones that flick little shades in front of your eyes) and it delivers clean, solid 3D without even a whiff of flicker. It’s so different from the squint-inducing, headachey 3D of early sets that it might as well come from a different era. But apart from the odd demo video, I was once again watching Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Tron: Legacy is better – but once you’re done with that you’re back to less-than-classic material such as Gnomeo & Juliet. The F Series’ screen is brilliant, a tribute to how quickly 3D is evolving. But it doesn’t have a gaming-grade graphics card – a howler in a machine costing £1,800 – and an all-in-one 3D Blu-ray laptop would be great, if there was anything to watch. Tron: Legacy is fun, but there’s a limited amount of Jeff Bridges a man can take – he plays four roles. YouTube 3D? For now, you need ‘Pro’ NVidia drivers – a 20 euro extra. Not that their site ever offered me a hint of this.