10 years ago i had a 2k LG ultrawide monitor, no need for software, account, internet it was an excellent monitor able to display two video inputs side by side.

Now i own a Samsung Odyssey G9, it was the best value i could find with the panel type (4k+240hz Oled) cheep as i bought returned stock from Ebay, monitor is practically new with film over the screen and not even a finger print, all accessories were included.

turn the monitor on once all is connected find half the settings are greyed out, clicking on them brings up a connection screen, i have no intention to connect this device to the internet, i was wanting to use the monitor as a dumb monitor. anyway i looked for the dual input setting but could not find it, checked manual and i must use multi-view, multi-view demands networking :/ being too stubborn i will forgo the feature.

this is a kind of PSA and general bitching but if your looking for a full featured ultrawide dumb monitor then its not the g9 as for whatever reason key features are locked behind networking, others are inbedded in a mobile companion app which needs an account maybe even a mobile number IIRC- as having this app on a SMART MONITOR would make little sense… one feature that is in the companion app is a statistical screen displaying screen calibration information, something that is necessary for Oled screen and is included and easily accessible in most other brands monitors as it allows the user to have a rough idea of the monitors life span.

another nagging issue with the G9 is the screen off and on, it takes awhile about 5 seconds from powering on pc from sleep, secondary monitor is almost instant so its a G9 issue and once the monitor is on a big bar takes up a large portion of the screen for a further 5 seconds displaying useless information, FPS, FreeSynce, picture mode, hdr, virtual aim point and game settings. it just awkwardly sits there defiantly in its vulgarity, ugly “gamer” design cooked up by some boomer.

i will begrudgingly use the g9 whilst keeping an eye out for an off brand dumb monitor like AlienWear’s offering with the same panel tech.