A method of characterizing time-sequential stereoscopic 3D displays based on the measurement of the temporal behavior of the systems vs. the grey levels is proposed. An Nvidia 3D vision kit with a 3D-ready SAMSUNG 2233RZ LCD display is characterized in the paper. OPTISCOPE SA especially designed for the precise measurements of the luminance and temporal behavior of LCD displays was used. The transmittance and response time of the shutter glasses was first evaluated. Then the grey-to-grey response times of the display were measured. The 2D and 3D behaviors of the display were then compared. Finally, the temporal behavior of the complete system was modeled, and the grey-level variations on one view were deduced as a function of the synchronization and level of the other eye. The main sources of imperfection were identified and quantified, and a full computation of the system performances was done.