Samsung Odyssey Ark assessment: When greater is not at all times higher | Engadget

The concept of sitting in entrance of an enormous 55-inch gaming monitor all day appears like heaven. Being in a position to twist it right into a towering portrait mode? The stuff of my multi-tasking desires. That’s the pitch behind Samsung’s 55-inch 4K Odyssey Ark Monitor. As we noticed throughout our first preview, it is a genuinely distinctive behemoth of a show, one that may simply immerse you in each Microsoft Flight Simulator and towering Excel spreadsheets.

Sure, you would simply plug a 55-inch TV into your PC, however with out the Ark’s excessive curve, it might be too large to comfortably use as a monitor. You additionally will not discover any 4K TVs with the Ark’s blazing quick 165Hz refresh fee and 1ms response time, not to mention its surprisingly strong sound system. The Odyssey Ark stands alone. But is it truly price $3,500? That is dependent upon for those who’re in a position to dwell with its many annoyances (and for those who do not suppose too onerous concerning the worth).

Annoyance primary? This factor is a bear to arrange. Even with the assistance of two supply staff, it took round 20 minutes to get the (very heavy) Ark monitor appropriately hooked up to its (equally heavy) base. The whole unit weighs 91.5 kilos when put collectively, so make sure you have a sturdy desk on the prepared. If that sounds a bit obscene, nicely, you would be appropriate. Samsung’s 55-inch QN90B NEO QLED TV weighs nearly half as a lot (48.3 kilos), whereas LG’s 65-inch C2 OLED TV clocks in at 72 kilos. Extreme heft is the unlucky worth you may must pay for a rotating monitor stand.

As quickly as I sat in entrance of the Odyssey Ark, I understood why Samsung dared to construct it. We’ve already seen its extra-wide 49-inch gaming displays in motion. And, in fact the corporate that pushed the bounds of cellphone screens would do the identical for PCs. Given Samsung’s sturdy TV enterprise, it is smart to discover the numerous different methods it may use 55-inch Mini LED panels. (The TV facet is the place we additionally noticed Samsung debut screens that might rotate into TikTok-friendly portrait mode.) The Ark might not be totally sensible, however for Samsung it serves as a showcase for a lot of of its show improvements.

Design-wise, the Odyssey Ark resembles Samsung’s TVs greater than its gaming displays. It has a sturdy steel base (because it ought to, given its dimension), in addition to a clean steel case surrounding the curvy display. It even comes with Samsung’s One Connect breakout-box, one of many firm’s extra intriguing TV innovations. It connects to the Ark over a single cable, whereas the field itself handles energy and your whole typical connections (4 HDMI 2.1 ports, an optical audio connection, 3.5mm headphone jack and two USB ports). While it was initially meant for screens you would be mounting on partitions, it is a welcome addition to the Odyssey Ark — no one desires to push a close to 100-pound beast round simply to get to HDMI ports.

Samsung consists of two methods to manage the Ark: A easy distant with a directional pad and shortcuts for streaming apps like Netflix, in addition to a dial for shortly managing the Ark’s many alternative viewing modes. Both controllers are photo voltaic powered, so you may simply want to ensure they get a bit of sunshine to maintain operating. I’d think about that may very well be a problem in window-less places of work like mine, but it surely would not be that powerful to position the remotes by a window each few months. On the plus facet, they need to have the ability to run indefinitely for those who’re fortunate sufficient to have some mild. (Solar cells could be charged by synthetic lighting, however not very effectively.)

The Ark’s odd form, in addition to a number of LED lighting strips on the rear, are the main indicators that it isn’t a mere TV set. I’ve been in entrance of loads of curved screens earlier than, however nothing this excessive. The sides of the show nearly look like they’re attempting to embrace you with 4K Mini-LED goodness. It’s an efficient little bit of immersion when you’re viewing the Ark in its normal widescreen mode, harking back to specialised theaters like LA’s Cinerama Dome. And in contrast to most TVs and displays, the Ark’s giant body permits it to deal with a six speaker sound system (4 tweeters and two woofers), which delivers the audio punch of a medium-sized soundbar.

The mixture of expansive sound and a splendidly immersive image make the Odyssey Ark a very distinctive viewing expertise. Movies, TV reveals, and even trailers felt like they had been drawing me into the motion, a lot in order that I barely seen the slight distortion from the curved sides of the display. But whereas the Ark’s candy spot is certainly very candy, exhibiting off the added brightness of Mini-LED and the expansive colour vary from its Quantum Dot show, its viewing angle is extremely restricted. Just a number of steps off the middle and also you instantly lose colour and readability. The curve giveth, the curve taketh away.