Samsung has introduced the new Odyssey monitor series, one of the highlights of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The new Samsung Odyssey G9 offers a diagonal of 49 inches and a resolution of 5,120 × 1,440 pixels, while the Odyssey G7 is available in 32 and 27 inch diagonals and has a resolution of 2,560 × 1,440 pixels. All models in the Odyssey series are predestined for fast games thanks to their refresh rate of 240 Hz and their response time of only 1 ms.
At first glance, the strong curvature of all models in the Odyssey series is striking. While the tightest radius for gaming monitors was previously 1.5 metres (1500R), the new Samsung monitors have a radius of only 1 metre (1000R). The 49-inch Odyssey G9 in particular is likely to benefit from this, as the widely spaced display edges are bent more into the user’s field of vision. Besides a better overview, this should allow for a significantly higher immersion in games.
Samsung Odyssey G9 as new 49 inch reference
If the Samsung Odyssey G9 does not manufacture itself as a “paper tiger”, but is able to meet the high expectations in practice due to its impressive technical values, the monitor should become the new reference in the 49 inch monitor segment for gamers. The Philips 499P9H (Gold Award) offers the same resolution, but is hardly suitable for gamers due to its low refresh rate. The Samsung C49RG90 also offers “only” 120 Hertz and is thus considerably slower than the new competition from the same manufacturer.
Display Stream Compression (DSC) is probably used to process the enormous amount of data that is generated at 240 Hz and 5,120 × 1,440 pixels. This is a technique that reduces the amount of data to be processed by means of color subsampling. It is also possible to distribute the data to several connections that supply the monitor with the image signal in parallel.
The maximum brightness of the Samsung Odyssey G9 is 1,000 cd/m². A DisplayHDR-1000 certificate was also awarded to the monitor. Typical for gaming, the Odyssey G9 has a circular LED lighting on the back, which is supposed to extend the in-game atmosphere to the room in 52 colors and with five effects.
Samsung Odyssey G7 with 32 and 27 inches
The Samsung Odyssey G7 models also have RGB lighting on the back. Apart from the low diagonal and resolution, the brightness of the G7 models is also significantly lower with a maximum of 600 cd/m², which is still a good value.
AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync supported
All models of the Odyssey series have a VA-LCD panel. The colour display is worse than an IPS panel but better than a TN panel, which is otherwise often used in gaming monitors. Thanks to the overdrive technology, Samsung has also been able to increase the response speed, but still shouldn’t be able to reach TN panels. In return, the contrast ratio of the display technology used is significantly better than with IPS or TN.
The South Korean company does not specify whether the advertised response time of 1 ms is Grey-to-Grey (G2G) or Moving Picture Response Time (MPRT). In all likelihood, however, it is the MPRT value, because other gaming monitors with VA panels have a G2G value of 4 ms. If it is indeed the MPRT, it is also likely that backlight strobing will be used to reduce motion blur. Tearing is suppressed on both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards thanks to FreeSync and G-Sync support.
Samsung didn’t reveal when and at what prices the new Odyssey monitors will be released during the fair. Indications point to a release in the second quarter of 2020. A detailed data sheet has also not been published yet.
