Samsung has been making a big push into gaming in recent times, with the launch of its Gaming Hub on compatible smart TVs, and a swathe of interesting monitors.
The one that caught our eye at IFA most (apart from the Odyssey Ark – which we also saw at Gamescom), was the Odyssey OLED G8 – a 34-inch curved display with an exceptional Quantum Dot-enabled panel and the ability to be your sole games machine. You don’t even need a PC or console.
That’s because, like most of Samsung’s connected monitors, it too sports Gaming Hub and therefore offers access to cloud gaming platforms, such as Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Stadia. And so, all you need to do is connect a keyboard, mouse and/or game controller (wirelessly or wired) and away you go.
Truthfully, its more likely to be paired with gaming PC, not least to get the most from its OLED-powered picture performance. But we played a game on it without any external source and came away suitably impressed.
Pixel perfect
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 monitor sports a 21:9 aspect ratio with a QHD (3440 x 1440) resolution. It also has an extreme 1800R curvature, so wraps around you significantly.
It is VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified and we could tell – the black levels were superb, even in the weird lighting of an IFA trade show booth. We’d have liked to have seen some non-game content running on it too, but the one playable title that was on offer was smooth and crisp.
Also impressive was the thickness of the monitor. As OLED doesn’t require a backlight, the display itself is just 3.9mm. It’s attached to a tiltable stand, of course, which adds extra girth, but none more so than many other monitors – and certainly less than most.
Finally, if you do want to hook up a console or PC, there are several inputs available: Micro HDMI (2.1), Mini DP, and USB-C ports for good measure.