The Odyssey Ark is Samsung’s newest ultra-widescreen gaming display and a whopper. The 55-inch 4K curved display is impressive in horizontal and vertical orientations. Since our preview in August, when we got a taste of it, we’ve been excited to spend more time with it. After extensive testing, we can confirm that the Odyssey Ark offers superior gaming performance compared to a standard Samsung TV. However, at $3,500, the Odyssey Ark is clearly out of reach for anyone but the wealthiest enthusiasts, even if multitaskers, flight-sim fans, and other big-screen enthusiasts would find utility in one enormous screen rather than several displays.
Samsung Odyssey Ark Display Specs
| Panel Size (Corner-to-Corner) | 55 inches |
| Native Resolution | 3840 by 2160 |
| Rated Screen Luminance | 1000 cd/m^2 |
| Screen Technology | IPS |
| Height-Adjustable Stand | YES |
| Video Inputs | HDMI |
| Adaptive Sync | AMD FreeSync Premium Pro |
| Swivelling Stand | YES |
| Rated Contrast Ratio | 100,000,000:1 |
| Warranty (Parts/Labor) | 1 Year |
PROS:
- Radial immersion panel
- Extensive use of colour
- Superb audio quality
- Multiple ports to choose from
- Rich in online gaming features
CONS:
- Pricey beyond the reach of most players.
- Adjustments must be made to colour accuracy.
- Clumsy remote control for the Ark Dial
- Quite a load
Design
The Samsung Odyssey Ark, first and foremost, is the only 55-inch 4K curved gaming display currently available. Gigabyte offers a 55-inch display, Dell a 55-inch monitor for work, and LG a 49-inch ultrawide curved display for gaming. But there’s only one way to understand what the Odyssey Ark sells. I will credit Samsung for being the pioneer in this area of the gaming industry.
The Odyssey Ark’s design has much going for it when considered independently. It has a black chassis with almost no bezels, a firm stand, and a box with all the necessary ports. You can avoid awkward positions behind the TV whenever a new component needs to be connected. While a caution label advises you to get a friend to help, turning the screen vertically is simple enough for a lone user to accomplish. However, things become somewhat disorganized behind the TV. You’ll have difficulty getting it back on once you remove the panel that covers the wires connecting the TV to the ports box. No matter how tightly we thought we’d fastened it back into place, it kept coming loose during our testing.
Performance
With G-sync turned on and an Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics processing unit, we got up to 80 frames per second in Destiny 2 in 4K HDR. The device’s approval as FreeSync Premium Pro is great news for anyone with an AMD graphics setup who wants to play HDR games at framerates of more than 100 fps. Far Cry 5: New Dawn was the only game we tried that worked with this high-end HDR gaming technology. With the same settings, we could only get 60 frames per second in 4K with FreeSync 2 (HDR) colour and 120 frames per second in 2.7K. To play games with the best settings, you’ll have to go through a lot of hoops.
When you start a game in full screen, the average brightness of 600nit and other technical features will blow your mind. We were sceptical at first about our PC’s 68cm-high screen, especially since people didn’t like curved TVs when they came out a few years ago. But this format makes watching movies and playing games very immersive, maybe even more so than the Odyssey Neo G9, which was thought to be hard to beat. Price
The 55-inch Odyssey Ark Curved UHD Gaming Monitor can now be bought in the US and UK for $3,499 (£2,599). At the time this article was written, you could save $200 and get several deals on peripherals and parts that would work well with the machine you want to use within the United States. Samsung seems to have priced the screen in the UK so that it is competitive without giving any discounts.
For AUD$4,499, you can place a pre-order for the 55-inch Odyssey Ark through Samsung or at some Harvey Norman stores in Australia. When shipping starts on October 31, you should be able to find it in shops. If you pre-order from Samsung, you’ll get a 1TB 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD; if you pre-order from Harvey Norman, you’ll get an AU$1,000 gift card.
TV Smarts
In other words, the innovative TV features function great out of the box, while the multitasking abilities may use some work. We haven’t seen these capabilities on a large-format gaming display before, but they’re ideal for a screen that can double as a television and a computer display. Built-in Tizen TV OS and a TV-style remote make switching from a standing to a sitting viewing experience simple. All the leading streaming apps are included, just like on any of Samsung’s current intelligent TVs.
Interface
The Samsung Odyssey Ark is difficult to use. Hundreds of settings, including frame rate, color temperature, picture-by-picture displays, and more, are accessible via numerous menus. The problem is that it’s a huge hassle to dig through all these settings, and Samsung must provide helpful tools.
To begin, it appears the Odyssey Ark is powered by a Tizen operating system, the same one seen in many of the brand’s intelligent televisions. You can access streaming content, download apps, and browse the web. It’s not flashy, but it does what I need it to do, and I had no issue locating the programs I often use, from YouTube to Xbox Game Pass. Connecting your gadgets, however, causes problems.