3D may have crashed and burned at the cinema, but it lives on in TVs and some other smaller screens.
With the tech industry constantly seeking new ways to make video games even more immersive (see virtual reality), it’s no wonder the unloved format has made it into gaming monitors.
Acer, LG, and Asus have all released 3D displays — and now another household name has done the same.
Korean giant Samsung, known for making stellar screens for almost every major electronics manufacturer from Apple to Sony, is releasing a 3D gaming monitor with a cool perk.
The firm’s new Odyssey display doesn’t require 3D glasses, so you won’t look like a weirdo using it (and your mates can marvel at it over your shoulder, too).
How did Samsung pull it off? Well, the monitor has a lenticular lens in the front panel (actually an array of lenses) to make it seem like you're looking at an image with 3D depth. That way, even if the content you’re viewing is flat, you’ll still get the effect of a three-dimensional moving scene because you see slightly different angles from each eye.
It’s an effect that has been used in printing for a while, including in books, posters, and novelty items such as keychains. Nintendo also did something similar with the 3DS handheld in 2011 but on a smaller scale.
To enhance the effect, Samsung has used a built-in stereo camera that tracks the movement of both your eyes. The monitor continuously adjusts the image to boost depth perception based on where you’re looking.
Samsung says the two features work together to ensure the 3D effect remains optimal — even when you move or change position.
It also packs many other features to make your games look more stunning, including a 4K QLED panel and 165Hz refresh rate, a 1-millisecond response time, and AMD FreeSync support.
Of course, this cutting-edge tech doesn’t come cheap. Although Samsung has kept mum on the price (and release date), Acer’s glasses-free 3D monitor costs £2,200.
The Samsung Odyssey 3D is on show at the Gamescom convention, a mecca for gaming fans in Cologne, Germany. Visitors can play upcoming games on the monitor, such as the gorgeous-looking SIMS rival, inZOI; the new World of Warcraft expansion, the War Within; and the open-world action-adventure Genshin Impact.
