I've seen a lot of conjecture on here about the 3D Depth Slider, and what effects turning the 3D off might have, but I still haven't seen anyone clearly explain what the slider actually does.

To generate a 3D image, each eye must be fed a slightly different picture.
I understand that with the 3D turned on, two images are rendered and a parallax barrier inside the screen blocks the view of one of them for each eye.

What I don't quite understand though is that the 3D Depth Slider is said to be able to adjust the depth of the 3D effect.
How does it do that? Does it send a signal into the software and cause it to render the second image from a view point farther apart from the first? Or is it just some kind of hardware manipulation within the screen?

Also, with the 3D turned off (Slider all the way down), does the device then just render both images from the same view point, or block the second image entirely?

 

I think you're looking to deep into the technology. All we need to know is that the 3D effect can be lowered until off. As for how it works, I don't know how anything works. I mean, I understand technology to a high degree, but when you really think about it, it's all magic. Cavemen discovered the wheel, and now we have 3D technology, which makes sense when you consider all of mankind's achievments up until this point.

I do often wonder, if a natural disaster wiped out all of our technology and resources, how long would it take us to retain where we left off? Our technology helps to create new technology, but what if we had to start from scratch, like in a forest with twigs, moss, and no computers.

Perhaps I would ask questions beyond, about the depth slider, but I'd rather enjoy the fact that it works, and no ponder "How it works." Curiosity didn't kill the cat, Grandma did (food required), and they all went to heaven in a little row boat.

 

It's gotta' be software. The depth would be adjusted by both the camera locations and angle (to retain the same focal point).

 

Because it's still a 2D projection of 3D space. Just done twice. So you need a real focal point on the screen.

 

You're understanding it wrong. If turning off the 3D blocked out the 2nd image, that would basically be saying that turning off 3D halved the 3DS's resolution. "Both images" wouldn't be at the same location either, there just simply wouldn't be a 2nd image being rendered. There would be one, double-sized image.