Pling3D – What Is It?



🎬 Pling3D – What Is It?

Pling3D is an advanced AI-powered 2D to 3D conversion system.

This is not just a basic depth-map generator. It doesn’t simply calculate flat depth — it uses AI to detect planes, layers, and spatial separation in the image to create a much more natural 3D effect.

It’s inspired by the effect Facebook and Instagram use on Quest for posts and reels. Pling3D recreates that same effect — or as close as technically possible.

You can:

  • Convert 2D videos to SBS 3D and watch them in players like Bigscreen or similar apps.

  • Convert your screen in real time and view it in your Quest using:

    • PlingQuest

    • Virtual Desktop

    • Or any VR app that mirrors your monitor



🎥 Converting a 2D Video to 3D

Step 1 – Add Videos to the Queue

Select your videos and add them into the queue.
They will convert one by one, in order.




Step 2 – Choose the Power Mode

You’ll see different power modes. Increasing power increases your it/s (iterations per second).

  • Higher it/s = faster conversion

  • But depth maps may be reused between frames

The difference in quality is honestly small in most cases. Try all four modes and judge for yourself.




🔍 Mode Explanation

🟢 Normal

  • Creates a new depth map for every single real frame.

  • Maximum accuracy.

  • Best quality consistency.


🟡 Turbo

  • Generates one depth map every 2 real frames.

  • Reuses depth once.

  • Much faster, but still very stable.

In cinema, it’s rare for a scene to change dramatically in just 2 frames, so your eyes usually won’t notice.


🟠 Ultra

  • Generates one depth map every 3 real frames.

  • More reuse, faster processing.


🔴 Maximum

  • Generates one depth map every 4 real frames.

  • Reuses that depth across frames.

  • Fastest mode.

This one may show artifacts in high-action scenes. Only recommended if there’s almost no motion.
If you’re extremely sensitive to visual imperfections, you might notice it.


📦 Lossless Compression

After conversion, you can compress the video completely lossless.

Typical size reduction:

  • 20% to 40%

  • Sometimes more, depending on the content

Example:

  • A 2-hour FHD movie (~12GB)

  • Could go down to ~5GB





Enable Auto Compress if you want it to run automatically after conversion.

Compression is much faster than the conversion itself, so it won’t slow things down much.

The final file:

  • Saves in the same folder as the original

  • Adds _SBS to the name

Example:

myvideo.mp4 → myvideo_SBS.mp4

It never replaces your original file.

⚠️ Make sure you have enough storage. If you run out of space, conversion stops.





🖥 Live 3D Mode (Real-Time Screen Conversion)

How to Start




  1. Press Live 3D

  2. Select the display you want to capture

  3. Select the display where the SBS output will appear

It can be the same display, but this is not recommended.




If you capture and show on the same display:

  • You may see multiple mouse cursors

  • One will appear in 3D

  • Another 2D overlay cursor cannot be hidden

  • Maximizing windows may break SBS mode




It becomes annoying in 3D because one eye sees the overlay differently.






Recommended Setup


Create a second virtual display. On Mac you can:

Options:

  • Plug in a capture card (even unused) to create a second display profile

  • Or use software

Highly recommended: BetterDisplay (the one I personally use).

Create a second display profile.

Then:

  • Capture Display 1

  • Show Half SBS on Display 2

Done.


This system is designed for content consumption — movies and games — not for working.

The desktop does not look great in 3D, and small white text is the worst enemy of any 3D system. Letters can appear heavily distorted, especially against bright or light backgrounds.


🍎 Retina Resolution (Mac Users)

Mac uses Retina scaling.

Example:

  • Logical resolution: 1440×900

  • Actual render resolution: 2880×1800

If you choose 2x Retina, depth will be calculated at double the pixel count compared to logical resolution.

This:

  • Reduces it/s by around 5–6

  • May cause minor lag on weaker Macs

It won’t affect the final output FPS directly, but it can affect depth quality if your hardware can’t keep up.


Recommended for Mac M1 

  • 2x Retina at 25 FPS
    OR

  • 1x Logical at 30 FPS

This avoids depth reuse and keeps results clean.

1.5x is a balanced midpoint between logical and Retina.


🎮 FPS Settings

Choose FPS based on your hardware and display.

If your display supports 120Hz and your system can handle it:

  • Choose 120 FPS

If not:

  • Choose the maximum your display supports

Setting 120 FPS on a 60Hz display is useless and wastes resources.


♻️ Depth Recycling Explained

If your system can process 30 it/s but you set 60 FPS:

It behaves similar to Turbo/Ultra mode — depth gets reused across frames.

At 60 FPS, this is usually barely noticeable.

It becomes noticeable only when:

  • 4+ frames are constantly recycled

  • Depth starts lagging behind the actual image


💻 Performance: PC vs Mac

On PC

  • Uses GPU and VRAM directly

  • Games and 3D effect share resources

  • Heavy games may lose FPS


On Mac (M1 or newer)

Runs almost entirely on the Neural Engine.

  • Barely uses GPU

  • Minimal VRAM usage (~100MB max)

  • You may lose 1–2 FPS at most

That means you can realistically play games in 3D with almost the same performance as without 3D.

That’s one of the big advantages of Apple Silicon.


📊 Performance Estimates (PC)

Practical estimates for 1080p, same visual quality, and modern drivers. Normal mode in conversion means depth per real frame (no depth reuse).

Tier Typical Hardware Depth Latency 2D→3D Conversion Live 3D Feel
Integrated GPU Intel Iris Xe / Intel UHD / AMD Vega iGPU ~220–380 ms/frame ~2–6 it/s Output can still look smooth at 25 FPS with depth reuse in Live mode
Entry/Mid dGPU GTX 1660 / RTX 2060 / RX 6600 ~20–45 ms/frame ~18–45 it/s Usually stable 25–60 FPS
Mainstream Current RTX 3060/4060 / RX 7600 ~8–20 ms/frame ~40–90 it/s Very fluid 60 FPS, often close to 120 depending on pipeline
High-End RTX 4070 / RTX 4080 ~4–10 ms/frame ~80–180 it/s 120 FPS is often achievable and stable
Flagship RTX 4090-class ~2–6 ms/frame ~140–300+ it/s 120 FPS comfortably with high depth cadence


🍎 Performance Estimates (Mac / Apple Silicon)

Based on practical behavior of Apple Silicon for this workload. Mac M1 lands around ~30 it/s in Normal, and Live 3D around 30–60 FPS depending on target FPS and scene complexity.

SoC Tier Examples Estimated Conversion Estimated Live 3D Notes
Base Apple Silicon M1 / M2 ~25–45 it/s ~30–60 FPS M1 commonly around ~30 it/s in Normal
Pro/Max Gen 1–2 M1 Pro/Max, M2 Pro/Max ~40–90 it/s ~60 FPS very stable, high headroom Better sustained throughput under long sessions
Newer High Tier M3 Pro/Max, M4 family ~60–120+ it/s 60–120 FPS depending on capture/display limits Usually less stutter at high target FPS

Final performance always depends on input resolution, depth resolution multiplier, selected FPS target, and scene motion complexity.


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