Samsung's New 4K Odyssey Gaming Monitor Lets You Play In 3D Without Glasses
Samsung is evidently unbothered by the lack of embrace for 3D display solutions from consumers over the years, as evidenced by a new display announced at Gamescom 2024 in Germany. Called the Odyssey 3D, it's Samsung's first 3D gaming monitor, and the "groundbreaking" monitor does not required any special glasses thanks to the use of light field display (LFD) technology.
"We are thrilled to present our glasses-free 3D gaming monitor at Gamescom, the world’s largest gaming exhibition," said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Business Team, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung remains committed to leading the premium gaming monitor market by continuously developing cutting-edge technologies that enhance the gaming experience."
While Samsung is certainly excited, it remains to be seen if consumers will share its enthusiasm. We've seen companies try and promote 3D experiences (both with glasses and glasses-free) over the years with varying levels of success. Nintendo's legendary 3DS console comes to mind, which ended up selling nearly 76 million units over the handheld's lifetime. Other efforts have not been as successful, however, especially in the living room TV category.
It seems there is renewed interest to test the 3D waters, though. Back at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year, Acer unveiled its Aspire 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition laptop. Now several months later, Samsung will make a run at gamers with a 3D monitor.
The LFD tech comprises a lenticular lens on the front panel, which works in conjunction with eye tracking and view mapping tricks. Using a built-in stereo camera, the Odyssey 3D tracks the movement of a user's both eyeballs, while the view mapping tech continuously adjusts the image for optimal depth perception.
Samsung says it will offer the Odyssey 3D in both 27-inch and 37-inch size options, each with a 4K resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and 1ms gray-to-gray (GtG) response time. Users will be able to switch between 2D and 3D modes.
These will also be FreeSync Premium displays. For connectivity, they'll come equipped with a DisplayPort 1.4 input and two HDMI 2.1 ports.
Beyond those details, Samsung isn't sharing anything else about its Odyssey 3D monitor just yet, such as pricing and availability.
