I Tried Samsung's New Glasses-Free 3D Gaming Monitor, and I've Got Questions
Can you really game in 3D without glasses? That's the question I had when I met with Samsung at One World Trade Center to test out its Odyssey 3D, a new addition to the Odyssey line of gaming monitors. Glasses-free 3D gaming was not a new concept to me—I spent many years with my trusty Nintendo 3DS by my side, even if I rarely used the 3D effect for more than a few minutes. Like the little 3DS, Samsung's display comes with a big promise: You'll see high-definition 3D without needing to don any eyewear, via advanced tech built into the monitor itself.
We've seen glasses-free 3D in stand-alone monitors before, like in the Sony ELF-SR2 Spatial Reality Display and the Lenovo ThinkVision 27. But those panels weren't built for gaming, mostly professional workflows instead. Nothing wrong with that, but gaming poses very different challenges and demands different capabilities. What happens when you want your enemies to pop out of the screen?
The Samsung Odyssey 3D uses a technology called "Object-based rendering," which creates three-dimensional images by separating objects from their backgrounds. This allows for more realistic 3D visuals, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
The Good
The co-developed game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remaster, was a joy to play on the Odyssey 3D. The 3D effect was seamless and immersive, with assets popping out of the background like they were carved out of thin air.
The AI video conversion feature is also impressive, transforming compatible 2D video content into 3D with surprising accuracy. I even managed to pull up a YouTube clip of Avengers: Endgame and see it pop up at me seamlessly on my monitor.
The Bad
Not all games are created equal when it comes to glasses-free 3D gaming. The co-developed game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remaster, was a joy to play on the Odyssey 3D. But other games, like Palworld and Avengers, were not as smooth.
The text boxes and character models in Palworld seemed to have different 3D intensities, as if one were more effective than the other. The game was also noticeably choppier than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remaster, but I'm unsure if the 3D effect had anything to do with that.
The Reality Hub software can be finicky at times. The default shortcuts used Ctrl and a combination of the 1-5 keys, which created conflicts with other games. There doesn't seem to be a way to remap these hotkeys within the Reality Hub.
What's Next?
I'd like the ability to create presets for certain games, and I hope the game library will grow to include some of the latest AAA titles. The Samsung Odyssey 3D is still in its early stages, but it has a lot of potential. We'll be keeping an eye on this monitor as it gets more refined.
If you're looking for a cutting-edge gaming experience with glasses-free 3D visuals, the Samsung Odyssey 3D might be worth checking out. But be prepared for some growing pains and a steeper price tag than your average gaming monitor.