IZ3D, a manufacturer of stereo 3-D LCD screens for gaming applications, has an interesting international background: founded by Russian game developers, it was funded as a 50/50 joint venture between one of the largest Taiwanese LCD screen manufacturer Chi Mei Optoelectronics and Neurok Optics (USA). The company is now headquartered in San Diego. The company has developed “stereo” LCD monitors that provide real 3-D effect – the “stereo” feature adds a level of depth to the image that non-stereo 3D technologies cannot equal. The monitor is based on DirectX technology for 3-D support and supports Windows Vista. The 22"-wide monitor is actually composed of two flat screens (transparent to the consumer), and users have to wear 3-D glasses to get the full 3-D experience.

IZ3D, which is part of Microsoft's Startup Accelerator Program, exhibited at CES as part of Microsoft’s booth – they showed a demo of a shoot-‘m-up game developed Xbox360 and their screen by their comrades Creat Studios (a Russian game studio, which is a developer for Xbox360) and booth visitors were in awe. I observed them for a while and actually saw some of them physically jump away from the screen when they had the impression that the guns, bullets, tanks and all that gear were actually jumping out at them.The first monitors hit the U.S. market in September. They are selling through online distributors at $850, a price which includes three pairs of glasses.