Thought we were done with this whole 3D TV trend? Think again. Samsung has some new 3D tech on show over at CES 2024: a gaming monitor that delivers glasses-free 3D gaming using eye-tracking technology.
From a distance you might think this is any old monitor but get up-close and you'll notice it starts to flicker and shift as you adjust your gaze or move your head. If you're right in front of the thing, and adjust your eyes accordingly, it delivers a genuinely decent 3D image. Even in a game like Lies of P.
For the most part, the game environment appears as one plane and your game character on another—closer to the player. Though occasionally during my brief experience with the tech, I'd spot a tree branch or sign that'd reach out towards me.
- Samsung is working with a studio to 'create an immersive 3D gaming experience without the need for 3D glasses' using its fancy eyeball-tracking gaming monitor
- You don't need an RTX 5090 or a 4K monitor for gaming when you can play Snake on your monitor's subpixels. But you will need a microscope or a good macro lens
When I adjusted my head left or right, I could break the illusion. Though it was possible to adjust a decent distance and keep the 3D working as intended.
This monitor uses two cameras built into the top bezel to track your head and eye movements, and it also uses AI recognition to help aid the 3D effect, because it's 2024, everything is AI now. Let's just take a moment to appreciate the Nintendo 3DS, which offered 3D long before AI was a genuinely shippable thing. Damn good console.
Below are some images of the monitor itself, though you can't see any evidence of the 3D effect. Just use your imagination.
Best gaming monitor: Pixel-perfect panels for your PC.
Best high refresh rate monitor: Screaming quick.
Best 4K monitor for gaming: When only high-res will do.
Best 4K TV for gaming: Big-screen 4K gaming.
Anyways, this monitor turns 2D content 3D, though it can also seamlessly switch to 2D content with ease due to an "active lenticular lens". With a Neo QLED display offering heaps of vibrance and brightness, it actually makes for a great monitor regardless of any fancy dimensional features.
I only had five minutes with the monitor, so I can't speak to what it feels like to use the monitor over long periods of time. Knowing these sorts of 3D effects, like the aforementioned 3DS', I'd probably only end up switching it off eventually. But I don't want to be down on the screen, it's a genuinely decent experience and I'd have gone for longer in Lies of P if I could.
Though, alas, this isn't a shipping monitor just yet. Samsung just wanted to show off the concept over at CES 2024, and it might be a while before we see something like this materialise in the market, if ever.
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PC Gamer's CES 2024 coverage is being published in association with Asus Republic of Gamers.
