Following on from the recent announcements of 27-inch 3D monitors from Samsung (the SA750 and SA950 series) and Acer (the HN274H) that have had people buzzing with excitement ASUS has announced a 27-inch 3D monitor of their own – the VG278H. Now it isn’t the first time ASUS have made a big announcement like this at CeBit – last year there was the infamous episode of the ASUS PG276 which promised to be the world’s first 27-inch 120Hz 3D monitor but never actually materialised. The VG278H sports a similar design to the impressive VG236H with the addition of an integrated IR transmitter at the top. This is an integrated 3D receiver which offers support for Nvidia 3D Vision natively and the monitor will ship with a pair of Nvidia 3D glasses.
Although integration seems to be the way things are going with these recently announced 3D monitors they do represent an unnecessary expense for those looking to harness the power of 120Hz responsiveness rather than view stereoscopic 3D content. Precious little has been revealed about the monitor but close inspection from some of our colleagues at the CeBit event has revealed HDMI 1.4 support, DVI-D (dual link), a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 2ms grey to grey response time, 300 cd/m2 maximum brightness and a WLED backlight.
We have been informed by ASUS that the VG278H is due to be released in mid November at a recommended retail price of €599, including Nvidia 3D Vision glasses. Obviously it could retail for less than this but retailers will be given this price as a guide. RRP in the United States is still to be confirmed. According to some contacts of ours who attended Gamescon in Cologne the monitor does not use the ‘Color Shine’ screen coating and instead uses the usual matte surface. This will be disappointing to many (and pleasing to others) as this was one of the things distinguishing the VG236HE from the competition.
