Samsung just convinced me that 3D is making a comeback

Even when I was editor of a home cinema magazine back during its heyday, I was never convinced by 3D in the home. And it hardly surprised me when manufacturers opted to remove it again from their TV specs.

I'm never really been a fan of the format in theatres either. Wearing 3D glasses always seems to be a chore and reduces the brightness of a movie, I also feel directors – maybe with the exception of James Cameron – overuse the tech as a gimmick, rather than an extension of the art.

That's why I've definitely had a foot in the "3D is dead and buried" camp for quite a while.

Until now, anyway...

Having been invited to give the Samsung Odyssey 3D (G90XF) monitor a test in London recently, I can actually, finally see a purpose for the tech. Its implementation here helps – glasses-free and primarily for gaming – but it's also the quality of the experience that has started to change my mind.

Samsung's new monitor is hardly the first example of glasses-free 3D – I've owned just about every 3DS Nintendo released, while other manufacturers have recently introduced their own gaming displays. However, it's the first I've genuinely seen myself owning.

That's because, even when not playing supported 3D games or watching converted YouTube videos, it's an exceptional 2D monitor.

Coming with a 27-inch 16:9 IPS display, it has a 4K resolution which results in a super high 163 ppi. When combined with some of the deepest black levels I've seen from an IPS panel, that results in an excellent image for daily use. There's a 1ms response time too, along with a 165Hz refresh rate.

It also supports FreeSync Premium and is G-Sync compatible.

The 3D effect

However, that's almost literally only half of the story. The monitor uses two cameras set into the upper bezel to track your eyes and present supported content in full 3D. And although you don't need 3D glasses to see the effect, it also works for those who wear conventional spectacles – something that has proved tricky in the past.

That's where the high density of pixels help, as the panel effectively needs to present two images when in 3D mode – one for your left eye and one for the right. It does so without much of a perceptible drop in resolution, too.

I played part of The First Berserker: Khazan which supports the technology and it looked better than any 3D game I remember on the 3DS. Images were pin-sharp, smooth and presented with a very convincing layer of depth.

Games will need to support the monitor – they won't just appear in 3D without a dedicated update – but I've been told that 50 or so are in development and could arrive before the end of the year.

What PC specs do you need?

You'll also need a hardcore gaming rig, I'm afraid. To capably run one of the supported titles you'll need a beefy processor and at least an RTX 4070 CPU or equivalent.

3D video will work on a lesser PC, which can present non-DRM YouTube clips with AI-powered 2D to 3D real-time conversion, just not the full-fledged games with dedicated modes.

I must admit, the conversion was much better than I've seen in the past – clips genuinely had a believable sense of foreground, middle and background. And I've been told that actually 3D movies – such as those presented online in side-by-side form, will also work, although I didn't get to see any in action.

However, you wouldn't spend so much on a 27-inch gaming monitor just to watch cat videos in 3D. It's the whole package that makes it worthwhile.

I certainly left impressed enough to think there could be something in this 3D malarky after all – not least because the monitor itself is one of the best 4K IPS options I've seen, full stop.

And with £200 currently knocked off the usual £1,499 RRP, bringing it down to £1,299 in the UK, it could be an investment for the future. Let's just hope supported games do start to flow as promised.