Bezel-Free Kit makes multi-monitor setups seamless

Multi-monitor surround setups provide unparalleled panoramas that extend well into your periphery. They’re perfect for first-person sims and shooters, but there’s a unsightly catch: bezels block the view where adjacent screens meet, interrupting your sense of immersion. At CES 2018, we’re demonstrating a new concept that hides bezels behind optical camouflage to create a more seamless picture.

Seeing is believing

We developed the Bezel-Free Kit in conjunction with one of our backlight providers, which specialize in optical materials. The concept is simple. Thin lenses are placed along the seams where screens meet; they contain optical micro-structures that refract light, bending it inward to hide the bezels underneath. Click the buttons under the image above to see the effect in action.

The lenses are made from PMMA, a type of transparent thermoplastic that’s much more durable than glass. This material lets 90% of the light from the monitors shine through, making the picture under the lenses slight dimmer than the rest of the screens but less distracting than the opaque seams created when two bezels are pushed up against each other. Reducing the dimming requires glass lenses that are too fragile to be practical for mass production.

Tailoring for individual models makes installation easy. Custom clips hold the monitors together at the top and bottom of each seam, which helps align them at the correct angle. The lens sits between them, reducing the kit to just three parts per seam.

The kit’s optical obfuscation is designed to work at a specific angle. We selected 130° because it offered the best balance of comfort and immersion in internal testing. Proper fit and alignment are extremely important, so the lenses and associated mounting hardware are made for specific monitors. The version being shown at CES fits the ROG Swift PG258Q and Strix XG258Q and will be demoed with the PG258Q. However, the concept can be adapted to work with other displays.

Get a glimpse at CES

CES 2018 allows us to put the bezel-free concept in front of a wide audience to gauge interest. You can see it in action at the ROG showcase suite in Las Vegas, NV, from Jan 9-12. We’re curious to know what you think, so be sure to provide your feedback in the ROG forums.

We announced loads of new ROG gear at CES 2018. To read about all of the newest toys coming to the Republic of Gamers, head on over to this article.