ASUS created a bezel hiding adapter for multi-monitor setups

DanNeely

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https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/08/asus-gaming-monitor-rog-bezel-free-keyboard-strix-flare/

bezel.jpg


The most interesting accessory ASUS brought to CES this year isn't high-tech at all. In fact, it doesn't even require power or software to operate. The ROG Bezel-free Kit is for gaming fans with multi-screen set-ups, and it promises to eliminate the gaps where those monitors meet, essentially creating one seamless viewing area. It does all of this through the centuries-old magic of light refraction.

The kit includes long, rectangular lens strips designed to be mounted at a 130 degree angle where monitors meet, pulling screen images across the dead space to create the illusion of a single screen. ASUS says 130 degrees is "the angle determined through extensive testing to provide the best viewing experience." The Bezel-free Kit will be available in the first half of 2018 for an unannounced price

Assuming the contrast distortions shown in the press picture are just done to make it more visible in the render and not actual artifacts this looks really promising. I really want to see actual product shots, not just a render.
 
now that sli and crossifre are essentially dead how is anyone going to run 3 2560x1440 or 3840x2160 monitors at a decent framerate?

especially at anything over 60hz?
 
I suspect triple wide will remain the province of 1080p at least in the short term.

Longer term 3x2540x1440 is only ~35% more pixels than a single 4k display; so once we're able to do 4k comfortably 1440p triple screen shouldn't be very far behind. At a guess no later than next years cards; although this year's might be able to pull it off with slight sacrifices to image quality.
 
now that sli and crossifre are essentially dead how is anyone going to run 3 2560x1440 or 3840x2160 monitors at a decent framerate?

especially at anything over 60hz?
The perception that SLI is dead is just that a perception. It's hardly dead I've been enjoying it for years and enjoying it with my current cards since they launched last year. Your missing out. Hardly dead.
 
I suspect triple wide will remain the province of 1080p at least in the short term.

Longer term 3x2540x1440 is only ~35% more pixels than a single 4k display; so once we're able to do 4k comfortably 1440p triple screen shouldn't be very far behind. At a guess no later than next years cards; although this year's might be able to pull it off with slight sacrifices to image quality.

Ya if you want 40-50fps. If you want real fps you will still need SLI.
 
Hmm, I have 3 19" CRT monitors that can run basically any resolution I desire under a 500mhz pixel clock. Getting them all tuned to the same color would be a chore, but I bet it would look pretty sweet. I'd probably need to take them out of their housing too, a 1.5" bezel is probably too much
 
Will be interesting to see how this system works IRL. I'm assuming there would be some limits to the angle of each adjacent screen depending on screen depth.
It's a neat idea though..
 
Gimmick

There isn’t real content there. It’s just going to look like a color appropriate smear?!?

As a long time user of three monitors - I’m not interested (unless I’m not understanding it). My eyes can easily tune out a thin black bar that isn’t highlighted in color —- with proper bezel correction applied it’s not obtrusive at all.

How is a blurry pixel patch or even pixel repeat better than just a thin edge and proper bezel correction? I would think your brain wouldn’t let that pass unnoticed. Can bezel correction be applied? That’s key.
4F53239D-C201-46D6-9861-F4618EB89700.jpeg
 
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Gimmick

There isn’t real content there. It’s just going to look like a color appropriate smear?!?

As a long time user of three monitors - I’m not interested (unless I’m not understanding it). My eyes can easily tune out a thin black bar that isn’t highlighted in color —- with proper bezel correction applied it’s not obtrusive at all.

How is a blurry pixel patch or even pixel repeat better than just a thin edge and proper bezel correction? I would think your brain wouldn’t let that pass unnoticed. Can bezel correction be applied? That’s key.

Theoretically the prisms should bend the light path so that the light from the edges of the screens look like they're coming from the surface of the prism instead at an angle halfway between the two surfaces; because the user facing side of the prism's smaller than the two screen facing ones combined it should be possible to get it so the edge of the light from the 2 screens meets in the middle with no gap. Getting that all to work right probably needs to align everything both screens to the prism to within a pixel's size or a bit of overlap and a correction that blacks out part of the edge of one or both screens.

Dunno if this paint sketch will help or not. The red lines are supposed to be the light emitting parts of your screens. They have a gap because bezels. The green/blue ones are the prisms with the light from the screens behind bent to look like it's coming from the prism surface. Aligning it perfectly IRL would be even harder than in my doodle.


Skr3B1Q.png
 
The overlapping area being blurred doesn't rule it out as an option though. We often don't need a perfect visual solution - just enough so that we can fill in the rest.

I don't think it's realistic to expect the panel edges to just disappear, but it might make them seem a little softer and nicer?
- The effect is would be pretty nice if you had a totally static viewing position and a game where you just need a central focus spot (like an FPS).
 
Theoretically the prisms should bend the light path so that the light from the edges of the screens look like they're coming from the surface of the prism instead at an angle halfway between the two surfaces; because the user facing side of the prism's smaller than the two screen facing ones combined it should be possible to get it so the edge of the light from the 2 screens meets in the middle with no gap. Getting that all to work right probably needs to align everything both screens to the prism to within a pixel's size or a bit of overlap and a correction that blacks out part of the edge of one or both screens.

Dunno if this paint sketch will help or not. The red lines are supposed to be the light emitting parts of your screens. They have a gap because bezels. The green/blue ones are the prisms with the light from the screens behind bent to look like it's coming from the prism surface. Aligning it perfectly IRL would be even harder than in my doodle.


Skr3B1Q.png

That would work in your drawing with minimal effect but IRL, with less angle (Or bigger angle, depending where you measure), it will be distorted / stretched...
I want to see a video of this tech before I make any call...
 


Here's a video. Actually looks pretty good to me. The angle issue is dealt with my just only allow a single, fixed angle via the mounting brackets.
 


Here's a video. Actually looks pretty good to me. The angle issue is dealt with my just only allow a single, fixed angle via the mounting brackets.


Well, I prefer without it.. seems like instead of having 0% visibility of 10mm or so you have 100mm of blurry with a middle black line.
Not sure on that one..
 
It would take a super tight close-up to be sure, but it does not look blurry at all to me. The light output is decreased because the prisms aren't 100% transparent, that's all.

Not that I'll be buying this, I don't like multi-monitor gaming.
 
It would take a super tight close-up to be sure, but it does not look blurry at all to me. The light output is decreased because the prisms aren't 100% transparent, that's all.

Not that I'll be buying this, I don't like multi-monitor gaming.

Yeah, the plastic works as a tech demo; but this really would be better done in glass for better transparency.
 
Well.. it looks cool.. but after owning a 34in widescreen for little over a year now, I am hooked.. I wont buy anything else.. I absolutly love this thing..
 
Yeah, the plastic works as a tech demo; but this really would be better done in glass for better transparency.

Would you believe that actually plastic can be more transparent than glass...with a good quality acrylic and preferably with an optical coating you get greater light transmission.

Glass used in the same context would probably need to be thicker and maybe even laminated - so would appear darker.
 
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