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Review: Sony 24” PlayStation 3D display
Price has a funny way of influencing us when it comes to what many of us consider a major purchase (anything over $100 for me). At $500, Sony’s new 24-inch monitor — geared toward gamers who want a taste of 3-D gaming, glasses included — seems like a luxury, an extravagance, a destined-to-be-niche product.
At $300, a price that some retailers like Best Buy have sold it for only a month after it was released, it seems like an absolute steal. For a little more than what some 24-to-27-inch computer monitors cost, you get a very attractive screen that can display stereoscopic 3-D from movies or video games capable of that, a pair of active-shutter glasses (additional pairs cost an unseemly $70) and even a 3-D-enabled PlayStation 3 game, “Motorstorm: Apocalypse.”
At that price, it becomes to seem a lot more practical for anyone shopping for a mid-sized desktop monitor and who plans to play video games in cramped quarters.
The monitor itself is lovely, piano black with a low vertical profile and curved edges that give it a sleek appearance. Unfortunately, other aspects of its design are less attractive. The power cable just out from below the monitor while the A/V connectors (two HDMI, one component HD set) are off the right side, making your wires jut out in opposite directions. Even worse, the monitor doesn’t come with a remote and all the buttons (including power) are located in the back of the monitor. You’ll need to reach back there anytime you want to adjust settings, change 3-D modes, raise or lower the volume or even turn it off. It doesn’t always do a good job detecting an incoming signal; I found myself having to turn it on manually more often than not, whether it was with a PlayStation 3, computer or Xbox 360 console.
Once it’s working, though, the monitor is perfectly capable. A 3-D Blu-ray of Disney’s “Tangled” was a treat in three dimensions. “Batman: Arkham City” for Xbox 360 and “Uncharted 3” for PS3 both did an admirable job of providing lots of depth in their gameplay. But as is the problem with lots of 3-D sets, the screen is dimmer and murkier when you’re wearing the glasses (which have to be charged using an included mini-USB connector). In a game like “Batman,” especially, things are already dark and shadowy; wearing the glasses makes the game even dimmer and it soon becomes a chore to wear them, no matter how great some of the stereoscopic 3-D effects may be.
When it came down to playing games on our main 55-inch HDTV in 2-D or playing them on the 24-inch monitor in 3-D, the big screen always won out.
The neatest trick the set does, however, isn’t even in 3-D. With certain PS3 games like “Killzone 3,” “Super Stardust HD” and “MotorStorm,” two players can sit side by side and, if they’re wearing the glasses, will see a different image as they play. That’s great for shooting or co-op games without requiring a split screen. It’s called SimulView and it’s a great feature; but it doesn’t send your eyes (or the glasses) a 3-D image. Instead, it’s back to 2-D with the added annoyance of wearing the glasses.
As we said in our holiday tech gift guide, the monitor seems best suited for dorm-dwelling students who need a monitor that can be used with a computer, game console or regular TV set-top boxes. It’s versatile, attractive and, if you can get it for $300, a relatively inexpensive way to enjoy 3-D entertainment without investing in a big-screen TV.
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