Samsung is Hiding This Monitor’s Best Feature - Odyssey OLED G8
Thanks to Samsung for sponsoring this video! Learn more about the S34BG85 at: displaysolutions.samsung.com/...
Samsung's new Odyssey OLED G8 is a 34" ultrawide monitor with a 175Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and a gorgeous QD-OLED panel. But for some reason, they don't want you to know it's QD-OLED on their website. What other secrets does this monitor hold?
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
0:50 Unboxing
2:07 The QD-OLED panel
4:45 Odyssey OLED G8 features
7:25 Let's talk colour fringing
Correction: At 5:44, we state that "Doom Eternal can only run high refresh rate OR HDR because the game doesn't support Freesync Premium Pro". In fact, a game doesn't need to support Freesync Premium Pro in order for a Freesync Premium Pro monitor to allow both HDR and VRR simultaneously, and any monitor that supports HDR and VRR should be able to do both simultaneously unless there's an issue (i.e. bug) with the monitor, game, OS, or user. In our case we aren't sure why it didn't show up, but we will investigate and get it working for next time. - LS
bad tech tip 😢😢
Thanks for posting the correction!
idea; mount a 8 inches screen onto SteamDeck/NintendoSwitch
Ordered my Screwdriver August 31st, still no update, no shipping notification, nothing.
Can you make a statement about how terrible or acceptable the media center stuff interferes with it working just as a regular computer screen? Every "smart" TV I've ever seen has horrible UI, and it's commonly accepted that TVs introduce additional delay and are therefore less ideal for gaming. If the "smart" stuff of this screen gets completely out of the way, this would be a candidate for me.
I wish samsung had an "im not an idiot" button on their website, because finding the actual specs on many of their products requires 3rd party websites, which means its almost impossible to know if they're accurate.
That goes for most display makers tbh, most monitors/TVs product pages are generally “uhhh color look good, very bright, screen big 👍” They could at least just put a normal spec sheet in the bottom of the website, hell even apple of all companies have a different page with all the detailed specs of their products
THIS! Same with their older QD-LED TV:s which had names like "1000Hz" and "2000Hz". Do they have HDMI 2.0 and how many ports? Product page said: "HDMI - Yes" Infuriating AF!
I both agree, and know why there isn't such a thing commonly - cause a lot of people who are, in fact, idiots, think they are not. In the case of info on the specs of a screen, it wouldn't lead to harm, besides maybe losing sales somehow, though. So yea, gimmie the data.
@@liamsz not just displays, their phones too lack any sort of useful information. For example, for the SoC they'll say "2.84 GHz 8-core", which you can translate to "latest Exynos" if you go into a 3rd party website that lists the frequencies of the Snapdragon and the Exynos versions. But frankly it's stupid.
i wish that they would make a non smart monitor it ruins the whole point of it being a monitor just get urself a tv instead to play games on
I like how linus mentions students and usage in dorm multiple times like your avg students could afford any of this
I guess that was the only somewhat believable situation where someone buys a 21:9 high refresh rate gaming monitor for 1500 bucks but doesn't own a TV to watch Netflix on. I really don't understand why Samsung picked this monitor in particular and filled it with so much "smart" crap. I have it for a few days now and it looks awesome, but Tizen is driving me crazy. It fucks up at the most basic level sometimes like waking the monitor up from standby and the lag when scrolling through the options can be horrendous. Or the simple fact that all inputs are labeled as "PC" when connected to... well, a pc. So you have to remember which one is your desktop and which one is your notebook if you want to switch manually. Really wish this video wasn't sponsored so they could have shown this shitshow of a menu.
Idk where you went to school but like 25% of the kids I went to school with had rich parents
Basically any first world country financially aids their students. Add on a part time job, and you can afford the monitor within a few months.
Plenty of insanely wealthy people at any top school in the US or Canada (including UBC where Linus went)
It's when I had the most money to spend on stupid things and hobbies. Working part time, living with parents so no rent/no electricity/no food costs beyond going out or booze. No responsibilities. I paid for my car cash, so no car payments, and spent the rest on gaming, snowboarding, and drinking.
The latest version of Windows 11 seems to support QD-OLED subpixel layouts natively. I did a lot of fiddling to get text looking right on windows 10. But since upgrading to 11 it's just been perfect.
For anyone wondering if this worked, I bought one of these and had Windows 10, I saw this comment and upgraded as I couldn't stand it even after trying the various fixes. It was enough to make me finally upgrade to Windows 11 and at first it didn't work and I thought I may have to return it. After running DDU and then reinstalling my Nvidia drivers my eyes are instantly less strained reading text, it's like a headache I didn't know I had went away. If you have one of these and haven't upgraded to windows 11, do it.
Is there a patch note that shows this?
@@jonathanz9889 Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. Seems too good to be true.
The usual solution for LG OLED is turning off ClearType in Windows 10. ClearType exists to fix the pixelation in LCD. There is nothing wrong in OLED in the first place so having ClearType ON destroys the fonts. Let me know if that also works for Samsung QD OLED.
@@mjsheen8445 That's not correct. ClearType exists to smooth fonts on *any* display, preventing jagged edges from showing up ala Windows 95. It's basically font anti-aliasing. You can probably get away with it off with high enough resolution but the problem will still exist and will especially show through with small fonts.
Ah yes. Some of the features from their smart TVs. Like adverts for disney+ in the channel select. I love that feature on my €2500 TV.
And the telemetry back to Samsung so that they can sell that data to a cyber stalker, er, metadata aggregator.
This. It might be fine at the moment, but its only a matter of time before this thing needs to reboot every time you turn it on and fills 90% of the menus with adds. Absolute deal breaker with a monitor, and should be with tv's but that ship has sailed.
Yeah that's an instant no for me too. It took a while to get my 1500€ Samsung TV to tone the ads and annoyances down to an acceptable level, and there's still a bunch of preinstalled apps from Audi and whatnot that the system automatically reinstalls after you remove them... I couldn't imagine how bad it would be to have that mess on a monitor.
Agreed. Worst part of Samsung products these days. I have an S95B TV that I had to buy an Apple TV to stream because I couldn’t stand the new home and menus of the latest Tyzen. Constant advertisements on my expensive TV is absurd.
Happy with LG webos, using my tv with laptop to stream. Adds only on front page that I never haft to use...remote can program to open apps etc
Samsung loves when Linus isn't dropping things
At this point I expect Linus "handling" delicate tech to be just another step of the consumer stress test process.
Exactly.
Linus also loves when Samsung drops new things
*Samsung loves when Linus is dropping things. More marketing materials
Except when he drops this segue ... top our sponsor!
Owning an Alienware AW3423DW (which uses the same QD-OLED panel as the OLED G8), I have to say that the text fringing really isn‘t very noticeable (at least for me) unless you look for it. I‘d recommend checking out a QD-OLED monitor in a store to see for yourself
It must be such a subjective thing. Before I even knew the text fringing thing was an issue I was looking at that exact monitor in a local retailer and within literally 3 seconds my eyes were drawn to the text and it just looked hideous to me. I know 100% I couldn't live with it, I actually thought there was something wrong with this monitor and that's why they'd decided to put it on display instead of selling it. These monitors are awesome but Linus is right, they really need to sort that out...
reading this comment on my brand new G8 and it's an eye strain
I have built in anti-aliasing (astigmatism)
I'm glad Linus is also pointing out the flaws and not just glossing over them. Was very excited to see this new gaming monitor but now I am rethinking things.
Did you end up getting it?
@@MrEtai I wish, bro. I can't even dream about it; I'm still a student 😭
The ClearType issue would be a deal breaker for me. I really appreciate you calling this out and hope you continue to do so with future reviews and sponsored videos.
Same Such an amazing Panel and then there is this little but annoying issue…
I was pretty worried about it, but a couple months into owning the Alienware QD-OLED I completely forgot that it was even an issue and I'm used to 4k and 5k screens with macs.
@@joezuu this is quite useful to me. I was thinking about picking up the same monitor from alienware. So virtually there are no differences between the two monitors?
@@marko93ns the alienware actually uses a samsung panel, but is about 200 bucks cheaper. 10hz less refresh rate (at least on the DWF, which is arguably better than the DW) and the options of gsync ultimate/freesync are virtually the only differences I could find. The DWF is cheaper and better for gaming imo
For some reason it’s not a problem on my Mac. Only with Windows.
The idea that Samsung might eventually put their smart tv software on all of their monitors as well is horrifying
I agree. I will go to almost literally any length to keep that garbage out of my monitors.
yeah bit odd. All tv apps surely support a browser? So maybe double duty when it ain't needed.
If there is a PC mode which shuts all of that off im quite fine with that. I have to say I like the idea of just having my monitor for watching TV. I don't need 2 separate devices
It's to milk you for even more precious data. If a product comes with extra features for free you are the product
Can't wait when they will start locking monitors remotely as they did with TVs.
Man this super extra special if they developed this monitor with a heatsink! Regardless, super stoked to see this panel implemented with ports capable of full 12-bit + 175hz bandwidth.
Finally someone talking about the text issue! Well done Linus.
i really wanna see QD-Oled outside ultrawide, its fine with it, but having a normal monitor maybe with 4k and 144hz would be super cool.
There's a 27" 1440p 240 hz 16:9 Oled monitor by LG that's shipping this month. Pre-orders since the 12th.
I really just want a flat 16x9/16x10 OLED panel from LG or Samsung. The only option is the bendable from Corsair that is also ultrawide that I'd have to spend a premium on to not use the bending feature, or a 42" TV.
@@Postman00 27GR95QE-B from LG
A agree.. a 16.9 32 inch flat oled is what I need to feed my pc and Xbox
Yeah, I would love a low to mid 30" 4k qd-oled, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
It’s a real pity we don’t get the full Labs graphs - any monitor I buy has to handle both games and Lightroom, and so I need to know what the colour accuracy is like on these things. Samsung was notorious a while back for doing naughty things with the gamma to make the image look “better” than an accurate one.
Maybe labs isn't quite up and running? Also it's a sponsored video, so maybe LTT chose to omit that bit of information
@@ethanshenfeld8141 could well be. I’m sure I can find a review with them somewhere, and it’s by far the best looking chassis I’ve seen anyone put this panel in. Though I suspect the upcoming 27” OLED is a better fit for my desk.
And that is exactly why we got the guys at Rtings... Trust them a bit more than LTT and many others for those details anyway since their expertice is testing displays.
@@Oystein87 *RTings
hardware unboxed...just wait.
I found it odd watching a monitor review where you didn’t mention the resolution, pixel density, color gamut. I may have missed the refresh rate. Let alone the onboard software etc. I get its focus was the sub pixel arrangement and tech, but I’d want more info than you provided to make a purchasing decision. Loved the tech deep dive though.
nice review , I have one question though, which port should I choose to get 175hz refresh rate on a laptop which supports thunderbolt 4, hdmi 2.1 and mini display port.
I’m surprised we didn’t get a QD-OLED monitor from Samsung themselves sooner. If they can make one for 16:9, this could be fantastic for fighting games. But I guess OLED being able to turn off the unused pixels would make this less of an issue for games without ultrawide support.
Aw uses the same panel, been out almost a year
if this were 4k and 30-32 inches this would've been a banger
@@jubayerwasidraiyan5874might as well go with a LG TV if you really want 4k. 1440p is enough for me
@@jubayerwasidraiyan5874 do you realize how hard that would be to drive? This is 21:9 which means a 4K resolution would be greater than 4K…unless you have a 4090 you’re not driving it. You would also be giving up a lot of brightness because of the lower pixel aperture. Which is something even qd-oleds still struggle with.
@@mrsittingmongoose I'm pretty sure he just means a 16:9 4k in 30-32". The market still doesn't have OLED 4ks at that size with high refresh rates.
Samsung could contribute an improvement to FreeType themselves or pay one of the maintainers to do it, I'm sure. It's probably not something that the display division is used to doing, but it could be a big improvement for a small cost.
So looking at the freetype dev documentation, freetype does actually support this, it is just that the software that uses it needs to turn it on, the su pixel arrangement is fully configurable there. That is what mac type actually does, it replaces clear type with freetype.
The real thing that needs to be updated here is the directwrite subsystem, which cannot be changed using freetype.
Looking closer there is an open bug in Chrome about this, and it appears. Chrome doesn't support anything other than rgb subpixel order.
it didnt stop there lol, you must WAIT for microsoft to update windows to use these updated software that means months and months of work pending update to testing on widescale windows product *thats means a lot of device* worldwide before making it to stable release
They could make a new type in-house. That said, knowing Samsung, they would probably force you to download bloats to access it.
just bought the neo g8 and now i want this, thanks Linus.
thanks for getting into text clarity. Usually you guys don't make even a single note on monitor reviews
I love everything about this other than their decision to use mini ports.
Yeah on a huge ass display. Wtf
So bizarre, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a micro HDMI.
@@incubeezer The only device I've experienced with Micro HDMI was my original Surface RT, it kind of makes sense on a super thing tablet, or the very few old Droid phones that used to have them for HDMI out (for use in the motorola lapdock!). Some cameras used to have them too, but I think most got mini hdmi, not micro.
I dislike Samsung. Their monitors are problematic. I like LG and SONY.
The thing i noticed was DP 1.4, DAM ! Not just the mini part. DP 2.0 would mean ALOT better specs COULD have been inside,but sadly,are not.
I love how linus keeps saying great for 'students' while showing off a £1300 monitor
There are plenty of situations where someone ELSE will buy something based on how good it (claims) to be for students, though. Universities, wealthy parents, etc. And there are students who actually have money to burn, uncommon as they are.
He is just reading the script Samsung gave him.
@@laurencefraser That is a good point. I am sure, gaming/eSports teams universities at colleges will likely buy stuff like this when they get big investments in scholarship type stuff
Or for any other people with a couch in their home office that like to watch something on there monitor :)
I also found it amusing.
I got this couple of weeks ago. It was this or neo g9. I have no regrets, its amazing
Hi! Excellent video. One question, does this text "green purple" glow affect macs as well? I know that macs are not used for gaming, but I use it for work and often connect it to my gaming display as secondary monitor while working from home
I've heard that it does but I don't have a mac so...
Ya, text in PC use was one of the few strikes against the new QD-OLED tech for me. Ended up landing on the LG c2, and have had a great time so far. Here's hoping you pointing this out will alert someone to work on a fix for the pixel layout.
Text in PC use is kind of the fundamental default entry level requirement for a monitor. If you can't do it, I don't care What other capabilities you have, you're not a PC monitor. Especially if you're loaded up with 'smart' crap, which at best is a bad idea that makes the device worse at its core functions and at worst is outright malware.
@@laurencefraser Yea I don't understand what the point of supporting streaming and other apps on a monitor is. The point of a monitor is to be plugged into a computer which is going to handle everything from your gaming experience to watching twitch streams or whatever else. A monitor should be all purpose and no fuss no special features. The reason a TV has built-in streaming features is simply because nobody uses cable. And your 80 year old grandmother isn't going to be happy if she has to shell out a bunch of money for a TV AND on top of that have to figure out if she wants a roku stick, an amazon fire or an android TV box. The all-in-one solution on a tv makes it so people don't have to fuss over which smart device to make their tv actually useful without requiring a console or other devices.
@@Thatonefuckinguy actually there's a decent reason why... lmao dorm or apartment life. A lot of people don't have space for a TV, and this basically will do it all. You might say "run Netflix from your pc"... except it doesn't support high res or hdr because streaming companies decided that was the most economical for them. In my experience (the last 2 or 3 years) with the older version of this "smart monitor" software, it's basically not been an issue even once. The ability to connect headphones directly to it rather than whatever computers is clutch since I don't need to constantly flip my headphones between my desktop and laptop.
You do realize the c2 isn’t better then this in that regard. This issue faces all oleds. So clearly you don’t notice it.
If you haven't actually used one to assess how much you notice it for yourself then you're doing yourself a disservice. I'm willing to bet most people will not be able to notice any text fringing
I would like a 32" flat 4k QD-OLED. Still waiting for that or something like it. Samsung makes everything curved which is frustrating. Also do not like having to deal with the subpixel layout. Why is the panel made that way instead of with a typical layout?
Yep - looking at this through my 32" dell ultrasharp 4k. I want this exact monitor in QD-oled that would be awesome
I'm equally as frustrated about ultrawides and curved displays. As for the subpixel layout, it's a combination of manufacturing tolerances and maximising brightness/minimising burn-in rather than an arbitrary decision. It's a physical limitation/optimisation. The QD-OLED layout is only "atypical" because backlit TFTs adopted CRT shadow masks' commonly used RGB, as the layout didn't cause the technology any limitations. Software was then developed to improve text rendering on "typical" RGB layout for digital LCD displays. The alternative would be to develop and manufacture OLEDs in an RGB layout that would be dimmer, or be quicker to burn-in, or more be much more expensive to achieve DisplayHDR 1000 due to the limit of physics. I think software should be developed/patched to support QD-OLED, rather than the other way around just like what happened for digital TFT RGB displays. I suspect as non-RGB subpixel layouts become more ubiquitous, support for it will improve. But Samsung will have to be consistent with their subpixel layout. Meanwhile LG is using WRGB which also isn't immune to fringing either. Their layouts being different doesn't bode well for OS/software support as neither will become "standard".
The Quantum Dot layer is why it is like that. If you don't want that you stick to OLED or WOLED.
Was the obvious solution -- disabling subpixel rendering altogether -- even mentioned? I'm pretty sure as resolution gets finer and finer, to the point that "pixels" are actually of the same size as subpixels from a decade before, such optimizations become less and less necessary...
Huh? Samsung does not make everything curved... Most Samaung monitors I see are not curved. The sub pixel layout is no issue in general and as long as ClearType is fixed there is not even really any text issues in Windows either. And you would not need to ask if you search up the info about OLED displays and their sub pixels.
Just got one today, thanks for the review!
Would love a full review of this one
I feel excluded... the entire last 3 minutes of the video talked about how this monitor is a dealbreaker to windows users who are annoyed by color fringing because of a bug with Microsoft, but didn't even think to consider that there are Linux & Mac users who also happen to want to use monitors who might want to know if that issue is also present on their systems without having to buy it to find out. Im a developer on Mac, I would *really* like to know if this would affect text rendering on my computer, but im completely in the dark because I have no idea if MacOs supports the thing you say Windows doesn't, they could also have that issue and I'd be none the wiser.
I use Dell's QD-OLED and I don't notice any issues but you millage may vary just like Windows. No one supports the odd sub pixel layout yet, and you may or may not notice the fringing. Other people have and it bothered them enough to be a deal breaker, I don't, at least not enough to bother me.
1:35 imagine living in a dorm room and spending $1300 on a monitor lol
I have a Samsung CHG90 and it's advertised as 32:9 3840x1080, but in Windows you can also select 3840x2160 as well. The monitor natively outputs 4K in the center 16:9 with no issues at all...
Hey! Great Video to the Tech behind it. I got a question to this specific model. How is the HDR 1000 mode? Is it as inaccurate as the AW3423dwf? Thx for the answer
3440x1440 is an awesome resolution. Been using a 34" 21:9 panel for 3.5 years now. Can't go back to 16:9.
I'm thinking of getting one as well, I've had a 49" 32x9 for 3 years now and that thing is unsupported in so many games. Was great for the home office though. PIP and 2 separate connections make it into 2 regular 1440p displays, so that was still great but I'd like to give OLED and HFR a chance.
It would be nice if all content was 21:9. Annoys me often on my ultrawide.
thought the same but the LG42C2 taught me better
I've been using 21:9 for over 5 years and I'm disappointed (my device LG 34UM88). We live in a *16:9 world* - that's why 99,9% of the time I watch KZhead videos with annoying vertical left and right -black- actually gray bars due to LCD technology!!! Even this LTT video has an 18:9 screen aspect ratio - yes, I'm still with my "beautiful" gray bars. Of course I'm using the 21:9 "zoom to fill" browser extension to fill the entire monitor... but I'm losing the top and bottom information. Also I have same troubles in games - 99,9% of all games does not support 21:9 monitors. In PUBG, when the resolution is set to 3440x1440, the image is simply stretched and the character's legs are not visible. I have to play at 2560x1440 (16:9) to get more information on the screen. In "God of War" I also have to play at a resolution that matches the 16:9 screen format - otherwise the information above and below is lost. I came up with the formula for the ideal aspect ratio: *16 : 9 - for games, entertainment and content consumption;* *16 : 10 or 3 : 2 - for working with documents.* P.S. Unfortunately, I have the same problem in a smartphone with a 20:9 aspect ratio and I see these stupid bars when viewing content. So I'm seriously considering going back to using the old iPhone 8 Plus because of its ideal 16:9 aspect ratio for viewing this kind of 16:9 content.
You haven't tried 32:9. Even better. Can't go back to 21:9
Really wanting an OLED gaming panel... The price is hard to swallow though.
The deep info on CLEAR text is really helpful for people like me who are staring at text all day on the screen lol. Great job Linus, I’ll do the LCD for now.
Very glad you mentioned the subpixel text rendering problem, I can't believe most of your staff doesn't find it bothersome. I've been using an LG c1 for a while as a monitor and the text rendering is very very bothersome, and yes I've tried bettercleartype
I mean, these monitors are for gaming.
@@jimtepedino9295what about watching movies ?
I just got the DWF thanks to your video about it and I absolutely love it. I just wish these displays were 4k instead of 1440p, but oh well.
4k really matter?
The one thing stopping me from pulling the trigger on a QD-OLED is the text clarity issue. My home setup has to double as a gaming rig and work setup. It would drive me crazy trying to write code and all of the text is blurry. But it's promising to see that it isn't a hardware issue. Are these issues still present when using a mac?
Would love an in-depth review of this monitor, like how is the coating, how it compares to the previous generation's top QD-OLED like the AW3423DW was, color accuracy, how good the HDR is an so on.
rtings is your friend
@@hoofhearted4 Hot! Thanks!
How good are visibility with this display under natural light or sunrays reflections. Is it more glossy or anti- glare matte coating ?
I know you said to choose the OLED G8 over NEO , but why doesn’t resolution play a factor in this? I currently have the NEO and considering the OLED. Playing mostly MMORPGS like WoW. Wouldn’t u be sacrificing 4K res to go back to 1440P just for the OLED panel? Or is resolution that negligible and the color benefits that significant on the OLED?
Dlss and Ai tech makes 4k doable on 1440p monitor without having to stress fps
The text/color fringing it the only reason I returned by Alienware last month. As a designer, my monitor needs to be absolutely crisp. I'm personally going to wait for a 4K 34" Ultrawide with similar specs. Hopefully that'll be enough time to give both Apple and Microsoft time to fix this rendering issue.
As a designer, wouldn't you be better off going with a monitor that's aimed at designing? This is a gaming monitor just like the Alienware.
Did you try Better ClearType Tuner or the other tools talked about in the video before returning it?
@@bravethomasyt Not necessarily. I'm in the market for doing both. I also do motion graphics and 3D rendering and the high refresh rates help with that. I don't think it's too much to ask for a high resolution OLED monitor with high refresh rates as well.
@@incubeezer I did not. First off, I do all my designing work on my Mac, which is there's no good solution for. And second, as Linus mentions in the video, ClearType, MacType, and similar solutions are only half measures since they can't fix other programs like Chrome. I spend most of my time on Windows either gaming, in Cinema4D, or on Chrome. None of these apps are supported with these solutions. For a $1400 (with tax) monitor, I can't be making such compromises. I'd rather wait.
@@MrUltimateX it is, actually! OLED technology has come a long way but there are still issues with packing more ppi and the heat they generate causing burn-in. This is also why it’s taken so long to see higher refresh rates with OLED panels. I think you may be waiting a while for the 4K 34” ultrawide!
My G7 had such problem on YT page as well.. all I did was fixed some blacks/white and saturation from monitor settings and it worked.
I have been eying OLED monitors for awhile. I finally settled on this one. It was on sale and I paid considerably less than MSRP. I have bought a lot of high end monitors over the years. Mostly IPS and a couple VAs. But this Samsung G8 OLED is the first monitor (or TV for that matter) I've got that was nesrly perfect out of the box.
I've been wanting this pixel layout since the advent of LCD... in hardware before in software, as even without the software side you'd get better results with greyscale cleartype using this layout than with RGB, BGR, RGBV or BGRV layouts.
It looks like ass in all content. Even sup-optimal WOLED is better. LG C2 looks a fuckton better than this display tech.
@@Deffine That's a short-term thing until the software supports it. Right now the software is assuming everything is RGB left to right, with options for BGR and VBGR layouts, and those layouts look like crap on this new layout. It's not the tech's fault. It's a growing pain in the industry. Like how people hated truecolour displays when they came out because they were so slow and a dithered 15-bit or 8-bit looked the same on blurry SVGA CRT monitors. But once we started using LCD panels, nobody would consider going back to 8-bit pseudocolour graphics modes. And today with GPUs optimised for 32-bit and with 64-bit CPUs that pay penalties for dealing with unaligned data accesses, 8 and 15-bit would be shockingly slower as well as looking like crap. So try not to hate something just because it's new.
@@linuxgeex Bruh, i couldnt care less about text color fringing. At 4k resolution you use 125-150% scaling anyway, so it doesnt matter that much. The problem with the QD-OLED pixel layout is that it makes the whole picture FUZZY. Its not clear, like with standard pixel layout.
@@Deffine Actually, it makes it sharper, which is the whole point of the change. It brings the RGB elements into closer contact instead of being in a row or column, which necessarily spreads the pixel out. I think you're mixing it up with RGBW or RYGB layouts. And it's nothing to do with QD-OLED either. QD-OLED is simply a tech that uses blue LEDs for all three Red Green and Blue light sources, and then uses "quantum dot" phosphors to convert the blue to red and green for those sub-pixels, while passing the blue for the blue sub-pixel. That has nothing to do with pixel layout. Instead it's about energy efficiency which helps increase display brightness.
@@linuxgeex There is no confusion, I'm not talking about energy saving pixel layouts. Have you even tried one of these QD-OLED monitors and compared side by side with a LCD or LG C2 panel? I have. The RGB dots of QD-OLED is not perfectly equally sized and they are not round shapes. All i know is that the picture looks empirically fuzzy and blurry. I've been testing screens for 14 years, my eyes don't lie.
You guys have been doing a lot of monitor stuff that I have noticed. Which, has really gotten me into looking into an upgrade. But, I after looking around I feel like theres still so much I dont understand when it comes to how monitors are marketed on places like amazon. There is a lot of, what seems to be random letters and numbers, and not a lot of transparency on what the actual product is. It feels like another language. I would appreciate a video on how to navigate places like amazon or newegg when it comes to purchasing a monitor. If not, thats ok. I'm sure I can find the info I am looking for. But, I'm lazy. I want Linus meth tips to do it for me. Thank you for all the great content over the years. You guys rock. Merry Christmas
hardware unboxed and monitor unboxed have pretty great videos about monitors
You should have talked about the HDR performance more directly. As far as I can see it has the HDR 400 True Black rating. The Alienware 34" has both HDR400 True black but also HDR 1000, is there any actual noticeable difference here?
Does it have NVidia G-Sync? And if so can it run G-Sync with HDR at the same time? Thanks for any help.
where can i get this monitor? also is this better than the alienware oled?
I would instantly buy a 4K 28" 16:9 flat screen version of this.
I think LG is releasing exactly that next montn
4k at 28in? That’s some crazy PPI.
@@bookinsauna That's the PPI that should be standard some day. Apple calls it "retina". Your TV does it (because of viewing distance), your smartphone, tablet, probably laptop does it. The monitor should do this too
@@bookinsauna I currently have the 4K 28” odyssey G7 and it is a dream. If you add an QD OLED panel to this, you have a perfect monitor for years to come. And even with the 3070 Ti that I currently have, I can easily push 100-144 fps at 4K.
@@georgioszampoukis1966 100-144 fps is not happening without low settings in most games at 4k. I struggle with a 12700k & 3080ti at 5120x1440.
It's not like I'm in a market for one, but that text fringing would be a no-no for me too. Also i would like to see how Mac handles this. I once had corporate macbook and connecting it to my main monitor were nice thing to do.
hey linus im curious with amd going to a chiplet based design for graphics if it would benefit them to go back to hbm memory with its higher bandwith and higher speeds for the high speed interconnect
You said, "hey Linus...", as if you're actually expecting a reply 🤣
when I first searched this monitor I thought the pricing was a typo, but after watching this I kinda appreciate the technology behind the QD OLED display, plus with all thode features it seems like a monitor that is also a smart TV. However being more pricey than a G9 Neo and not even supporting 4k, this could be a deal breaker for many. Hope to see more companies adopting the new LED with better pricing. 🙏
It's not a smart TV, just a monitor with those "smart" features.
Where are you finding a price, I can't find that anyone has this monitor.
@@robertb6276 I got the pricing from the Samsung website. I think in the video it was mentioned to be $1300, over here in Malaysia its close to RM8000 lmao. G9 Neo is only going for RM6000+ now
...when nobody asked for the smart features...
I would love an episode about why monitor development and support is still so jank even in 2022-2023. QC from brands that have been doing this for decades is a joke. They didn’t call it the “IPS lottery” for nothing, and now it’s basically the same thing even though these are newer panel techs. You are playing roulette when you order one of these, and then getting any kind of warranty support or return is a nightmare!
Legislation is key. Minimum guaranteed warranty for example.
Lol, Dell didnt even respond when i wanted to return my Alienware QD-OLED and its a right i have by law in my country. Never gonna buy from them again, what a shitty company.
@@Deffine That's my point though. They're ALL shit. I could tell you a story about Asus that would make your toes curl...I might as well, it's snowing outside and there's a travel ban here, nothing else to do, lol. I bought a ProArt 4K 32" thunderbolt monitor from B&H in 2020. When I got it, it was great. Three months later, I turn it on, and there are stuck yellow pixels all over the screen, like over 20 of them, in clusters. I ask B&H if it can be swapped for an advance replacement RMA since they did some kind of extension for Covid (normally it's 30 days); they said sure...but after checking told me they don't have any more in stock. So they best they could do was a return. So I contacted Asus directly, and they're like sure send it on over to us, we'll fix it for you. I ask specifically how long it will take to fix, they say on average it takes about a week, not including shipping. So roughly two weeks of downtime. They said they'll even pay for the shipping costs since it's so new. I'm down, so I send it in. Immediately after they receive it, I get an email saying that the parts they need to repair it aren't in stock and they need to be ordered, and they don't know how long it'll take for them to arrive. THREE MONTHS LATER, they finally get the new panel in. I asked specifically why this couldn't have been checked before I sent the monitor into them -- because a monitor with stuck pixels that still turns on an "works" is surely better than no monitor at all for three months, right? I mean we can all agree on that, I would think. No answer at all. They ship it out and I receive it a few days later. I open the box, plug it in, and turn it on, and immediately I can tell that they botched the repair. There was adhesive underneath the polarizer layer of the screen that they didn't clean that was still visible, in the top left and right corners. I couldn't get to it and clean it myself without disassembling the thing, and I'm not going to take a chance doing that with a monitor that expensive. At this point I'm furious...I contact their support again, and without even reading my email, they immediately submitted a shipping damage claim to FedEx on my behalf. I nearly choked laughing. There's no way the FedEx man got underneath the polarizer and left adhesive there, lmfao. Eventually, months later, after several irate emails, I get forwarded to a guy named Justin in "level 3 customer experience" -- he's in the USA, and he's awesome. He says sorry for this, pick any monitor you want from the ProArt section on the website and we'll ship it out to you right away. Even if it's a more expensive / newer one than the one you have, go for it. We'll cover it. And so I did, and so they did. It took over a year from the initial purchase date, lol. That's the story, and the monitor they sent is the one I'm still using today. In the end they did make it right, but for it to take literally over a year (not an exaggeration), it's just insane.
@@5urg3x Lmao. Moral of story; stand your ground.
Depends on where you are. Here in Norway the customer/consumer is so protected that there mostly are no issues at all. Just return it to the store, and they have to deal with the RMA, not you as the customer.
I've got the cleartype fringing on my QN90A (BGR subpixel layout).
What aging can I expect for mixed use as desktop office job plus gaming?
I am SO glad you brought up colour fringing. I saw it in the store, didn’t know what it was and made me feel like the Alienware monitor was a cheap piece of crap. Bit of a dealbreaker for me unfortunately but can’t wait for it to be fixed, now I can put a name to the face.
People can turn off Cleartype. Problem solved?
Mactype solves most problems with that
@@maegnificant Except, like the video says, browsers use Freetype
ofc it's a dealbreaker when you have your nose on the screen. from a normal viewing distance you'll never notice it
I faced a similar issue, I was about to buy an ASUS OLED laptop, but boy - the colour fringing gave me a headache within a min of using that laptop at the store.
You made me buy a Odyssey Neo G9. Also what i find weird is they are never mentioned in other monitor videos, in comparison. Can i ask why?
its an unrealistic comparison due to it being so expensive so it doesnt really fit into most benchmarks because they want to convey what the average user might experience
They don't daily drive it.
I love how they couldn't be bothered the make the built-in smart tv interface 21:9 lmao
MacType is ALSO useful for HTPCs hooked to projectors or TVs with similar unconventional subpixel arrangements. Most projectors actually don't have visible subpixels, since the RGB colors occupy the same physical space on the image. Firefox seems to follow the OS type smoothing and is better at playing KZhead videos than Chrome anyway.
That is an amazing looking panel. Good to hear that the OLED burn in issue has been mitigated thanks to the quantum dot trick. Now I wonder: how is SDR performance on this beast? The whole deal with OLED panels is of course that they are sexy as hell in HDR, but I'm on Linux and we don't get to use that fancy stuff quite yet (there are a few projects working on it). Also hoping that the ClearType and OpenType issue gets resolved. OpenType should be easy enough as Samsung could contribute support for these panels to that project directly (them being open source and all that). ClearType just needs to be implemented by Microsoft, which can take a while.
Maybe one day we can have HDR on Linux. :)
@@graysonpeddie its currently being added to Wayland Probably would be ready till next year
I mean… Black is black, regardless of color space or HDR-trickery. So anywhere with contrast it’ll still be a massive difference.
from longetivity tests it seems like burn-in is worse with qd-oled thanks to it's higher brightness..
@@t666nu1 except that's not true, everyone says RTings said QD OLED has worse burn in, but their longevity tests have shown it was only gen 1, and gen 2 like the s95c are fairing the better than the rest in the CNN 24/7 test, which is literally worst case and will never actually be experienced by anyone. i must admit though, i did buy a 77"s95c so i am a little bias, the sony a95l is just so expensive and the LG G3 is just so....white? colors feel like they are clear and crispy, but lack depth and warmth.
A word of warning on this monitor. I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and I've experienced multiple issues. Firstly it fails to wake from sleep 9 out of 10 times. Sometimes you can bring it back by pulling the power cable, but generally I have to reboot my PC. Sometimes when switching modes, for example HDR to SDR, there are some weird flashing pixels along the bottom edge of the screen. These usually go away when switching modes again. The HDMI input loses connection and shows a black screen for 3-5 seconds while re-establishing the handshake. This could be my cables, but I've tried two claiming to be 48gbs. There's not much choice when limited to micro-HDMI so if anyone can recommend one then please do. Finally, the screen occasionally fails to display a source at all, showing garbled patterns and static. All these issues were with the latest available firmware. If you are determined to get this monitor, you may want to wait for some updates to hopefully improve the stability, because as it stands it's not really usable.
Samsungs will be Samsungs.
Hopefully, subpixel arrangement will be part of a display's EDID in future and software will handle it automatically.
What DID I DID? 🤷
With windows 11 apparently supporting the QD-OLED subpixel layout and a belief in updates from the other text rendering projects I have just ordered this monitor as my first entry into ultrawide monitors. Excited to see this beauty in the flesh.
@@thecwwshow8036 It's awesome. Looks so freaking good and mine is without any bugs reported by some
I've heard there's been burn in issues? Probably to early to tell
i just ordered mine now since i got it on sale for $1032. How are you liking it still? this will be my first ultrawide or a monitor over 28". i was skeptical if this would be better than my samsung G7 WQHD 240hz monitor. Im sure picture is much better being OLED.
@@probilliards101 It's still amazing
How does the color fringing issue affect other operating systems?
@@ssl3546video games and superior software compatibility (MacOS comes close with this though)
I find the text thing to be very important. When I took a test to get my GED that facilities monitors had really bad looking text which made it take extra time to complete the test and when time is limited it only made it more frustrating. Like i'm not expecting them to have the best hardware but, when the purpose of that of that room is for test takers the least they could have done was provided clear legible text.
Overblown issue. If you look for it you might find it. Else it's a non issue
As an owner of the Alienware, I can agree that it’s not an issue at all. I was hyper aware of the issue before buying it and was scared that I’d constantly be noticing it. After owning it for a little over 3 months now I can confidently say it’s a non issue (at least for me”). Of course you can see it when you look close, but you have to get really close to see it on text. It’s a bit more noticeable on long straight lines between light and dark areas. Edit: also it’s more visible on large text like very large titles
4:25 how much you wanna bet that Plouffe wrote that line himself or at least influenced the writing of that line 😂
Isn't there a "smooth soft edges" option in the advanced settings of windows? I don't have any oled pcs but I always turn it off on laptops and older desktops because it's under the performance saving tab
Linus and team can you do a video on the differences between all the panel types and their pros and cons?
Absolutely love oled and a 1440 uw are finally being released. Can not wait until competition starts bringing prices down.
They've been out for a year. The AW uses the exact same panel
You could wait a bit longer. I got my first OLED TV 3 years ago, and you still can't find a cheaper one. Maybe they have now better features, but they won't go down in price. I guess estimate, that you won't see a OLED Monitor below 800,00 € in the next 4 years.
@@OscyJack- yeah I know about the aw but wasn't that the only 1440p in the market until recently. Honest question you don't think there's room for prices to go down once LG Asus gigabyte start releasing their OLED monitors?
Missed LTTStore opportunity, green tops and pink bottoms now on LTTStore
So do i get it right with the color fringing? It's a fixable softwareproblem and only a problem with text? I'm wondering as a photographer if i could use this or another oled monitor to edit photos, or if i'm getting any kind of fringing on my images? 🤔
i have the Neo G7 and its the best gaming monitor i've ever owned , it legitimately gives my OLED TV a run for its money in just how good it does colours and blacks (after manual adjustment, out of box...not so much.) . This one looks great, but it's an eye-watering $2200 CAD. These high end samsungs are always expensive, but wow. I also REALLY wish these were not all ultrawide. I would have gone with the QD OLED alienware if it wasnt ultrawide. I also do have some concerned over longevity still after seeing people with the LG C2's ect get burn in after 1+ years of use.
That monitor is so sick! I wish I had money to match my love of electronics but it is nice to dream through Linus reviews.
Same. I'm stuck with an old 2007 plasma TV as my monitor :)
Even if you had the money, obtaining one is nye impossible.
@@longnightofsol How's that? There are plenty in stores even here in Europe.
@@Njazmo doesn't appear to be available in the US yet for some reason. Kind of odd given that we probably have the most money to go and buy these top tier displays with.
"This monitor is great for students, or if you need a TV in your dorm room" - "it can also power your study laptop at the same time!" $1300+ monitor with an additional laptop. Those are some rich students lol. This monitor will pair nicely with their instant noodles.
Any news about a release date or something for more worldwide shipping, currently only seeing Q4 2022 for AU but nearly at the end of the year and still nothing about release or pre-order even
Linus is the best thing that ever happened for techtube and every time he appears in a video after that infamous retirement video 2 years ago brings me joy.
I've been on the hunt for a solid 21:9 high refresh rate monitor for a long time, and I might be sold on this one
The Alienware is already available and will likely be cheaper with 165hz I think this might be the same panel
The Alienware is the same panel. Personally, I would go with the Alienware just for the better IO layout. It is all up to personal preference. Some people may want the remote and the TV features built in.
@Jonathan Ruiz it's on my radar, but my biggest qualm with the Alienware panel is its lack of a Vesa mount. I don't have a particularly deep desk that i can waste half of for a monitor stand, so ideally I want something I can either mount to an arm or bolt to a wall with little hassle.
@@dallin9731 Do you know the model number or name?
@@m_ism just checked and the Alienware supports VESA mounting
so how much to replace the oled panel or do you have to replace the whole thing.
I really want to see one of these in a Neo G7 form factor, 1440p at 240hz
This year I bought a QN90A (was the top tv on Brazil that time, for QLED), to be honest, I still get impressed with the quality, color and contrast. I choose QLED over OLED cause here there was a massive difference on price, and I admit, had fear of burn-in (my mainly use of the tv is as a PC monitor). Now I'm really thinking about buying a OLED, but its lame that we currently don't have those QD-OLED options to sell here...
The Oled market is very expensive in 2022. Maybe 2023 the price will be normal.
Now we do, 8000 reais tho
Mine got delivered yesterday! UK. Its epic. Freesync premium pro, and g-sync compatible (at least over DP @175hz. Screen is beautiful. The down side, no quick way to change input mode. And, the home screen and apps are slow and laggy compared to their TVs. But, I only use it as a gaming monitor and its one of the best. The text issue is something i began to forget about to be honest.
Did you find any solution to the 1 minute stand by timeout? I would prefer to go to stand by immediately..
@@LallerHU never noticed that as an issue. I just turn it off when im done.
Glad you like yours. I got mine last week and I think it’s awful lol. So much so I’ve ordered an LG c2 42” to replace it 😅. The G8 has the worst HDR picture I’ve seen and I’ve tried every picture setting to try and rectify it. It’s a beautiful looking monitor but imo it’s a big let down in comparison to my LGC1
@Lee Butler Do you have it running over DP with G-Sync on with the full 175hz? Thanks for you answer in advance. Would really like to know if this works.
Getting this in the mail tomorrow. Really excited going from one of the first Asus ultrawide 100hz.
Display so good, recording it looks like you've just put a video on it with editing
Patiently waiting for them to come out with a 2k 360Hz 16:9. Maybe someday.
That 240hz 2K LG WOLED looks attractive, and they’ve finally removed that nasty red from their stand
@@alexp3577 Nah. QD-OLED or bust. It's hard to argue with the improvements of QD-OLED over WOLED. Plus I'm already on 1080p 280Hz. Looking for both a res and refresh bump.
@@onemorepsi 1080 is 2K You probably mean QHD
@@danielpope6498 No need to be a smart ass. While there are technically some differences between 2k and QHD, they are commonly referred to as the same thing. If you look at the vast majority of articles or marketing, 2k and 2560x1440 are used interchangeably. The technical vertical pixel count of 2k might be 1080, but it's an incredibly uncommon form factor and 1920x1080 (which is what I was obviously referring to) is a lower resolution.
@oneMorePSI well yes 1920x1080 isn't actually 2K 2048x1080 in the same way UHD 3840x2160 isn't 4K... but its extremely close, its the consumer 16:9 equivalent. Calling UHD 4K is technically not correct but its close, calling 2560x1440/QHD, 2K is just completely wrong, if the marketing commonly conflates the two, the marketing is commonly wrong. If we call UHD 2160P 4K, then 1080P FHD is 2K, not QHD 1440P
I wanna get this one day 😂 I love curved monitors and my 1080p one has served me well One thing I don’t care for is the smart tv stuff. Useless to me and wish I didn’t need to deal with it Im’a have to wait though cause I’m waiting for Samsung to eventually drop a 4K 120 display (consoles)
You can just get one of the Alienware models. I have an AW3423DW and I'm in love with it. I only use it for gaming though.
At 9:42, you mentioned your corporate antivirus. I would love a video explaining what that software is and how it works!
All the benefits of CRTs, LCDs and OLED but none of the downsides, except for that fringing which itself is similar to CRTs and is kinda nostalgic. As a CRT loving nerd I see this as an absolute win.
I'm just waiting until more companies do this with 4k monitors. That'll be the thing that pushes them over the edge for me. I understand that they go for the 2k market first, though. That's the sweet spot for most gamers atm
Even with a 4090, I would never go up to 4k, for one you lose way too many frames for a minimal upgrade over 1440p/ultrawide1440p, and I can't imagine going back to 16:9
Going from 1440p to 4k is not an minimal upgrade, its the difference from u can game on it without the need for AA and you still have horrible Aliased Edges and need some Form of AA. And secondly you cant really watch Movies on it.
@@Bloodreav3r You still need AA even at 4k dunno wtf you are on. And yes, having owned multiple 4k displays, and 1440p displays the difference is minimal at best, which is why outside of larger tvs, I think 4k is pointless.
its not 2K, its 3K
@@williamschlass6371 1440p is considered 2k, literally everywhere.
Text fringing is a dealbreaker. Having experienced it, it can cause severe headaches. Have had to return monitors because of it
Does LTT test the HDR performance on monitors with or without using the Windows HDR Calibration app from the microsoft store?
Sounds like the OEM job to support or push the subpixel layout to major OS or text renderer.
I get the sales pitch behind the included remote and build in OS. I also get that this is a sponsored video. But, I don't really want to pay extra for "premium" features that in a few years will be outdated and probably never updated. Also, with the review of the recent Corsair Xeneon the refresh rate of 240hz was said to be "not best in class". I then mentioned I find that the attention given to that is a bit ridiculous as anything above 240hz approaches gimmick territory. However, I doubt that my feedback was incorporated that fast, so the fact that the refresh rate here is barely mentioned (175hz I think is quickly mentioned?) is a bit odd. Again, I get that this is a sponsored video. It is just that the contrast with the Corsair video is fairly big given how close to each other these videos are released. And what the heck is up with the IO situation? Yes... again... sponsored video. But, mini display port and micro hdmi? There is no reason, at all, for those ports to be there in the mini and micro format. To be clear, that means that replacing cables in the future is going to be a pain in the ass and likely also cost you extra as there simply isn't that much choice available.
I have to agree with you, just because of the ports I would gravitate towards the Alienware one And the os stuff is junk that no one buying the monitor would ever use.
Generally the inclusion of "smart" functionality doesn't mean you pay extra. Samsung (and others) use it to collect telemetry which offsets their cost of adding it. This is part of why Smart TVs are generally *cheaper* than equivalent "dumb" displays like computer monitors.
That's what I'm thinking. Oh great a built in OS on a display, just like all those TV OSes that run soooo well. When do we start getting ads in this display?
@@Vithigar If you're thinking about That correctly... that IS the extra cost.
@@laurencefraser Yes, exactly so. Agreed.
This Odyssey series is kinda expensive, sadly.
Extremely. In Australia the neo g7 is over $1500 whilst the Alienware qd oled screen sometimes comes down (with discounts) so only like $100-200 more. I wish tech was more reasonable on pricing.
Can you guys please consider including Power Saving features, metrics and behavior across different ports? Especially the idle/running power consumption is very important one to just brush off.
So where does one find this in Canada? I can't find any information about it anywhere.
Careful with the burn in claims. There's a QD Oled in demo in my local store and it developed severe burn-in in barely a month of use. Granted, that's one month of 10-hour days with high brightnes demo material, but still... They've never seen such burn in on any OLED panel made in recent years (LG C7 and up). Even the most severe RTINGS burn-in tests didn't result in severe burn in under 2k hours
Please push Microsoft to get the fringing fixed. Thanks for the detailed explanation on that, as it’s a dealbreaker for me as I work from home on my ultra wide. Great video!
Same, changing registry files on my work laptop is a huge no no 😅
Finally product review where the product name is in the title/description!
Hey is there any chance you might be able to tell us what kind of micro hdmi cable to use for console ?