Samsung has bent for curved TV

IS there a scientific basis to the proclaimed benefits of curved televisions? Or are we bent on bending TVs without reason?

The Samsung Series 8 Curved HD LED TV. Samsung’s rationale is that if our eyes are naturally curved, our TVs should be curved too.

IS there a scientific basis to the proclaimed benefits of curved televisions? Or are we bent on bending TVs without reason?

It’s a question being asked as the world’s major TV manufacturers announce curved TV ­ranges in Australia. Last night Samsung launched five curved screens among its top models at a cocktail party at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. The presentation included gadget holograms of the tech on offer.

Some TVs have ultra-high-definition displays with four times the resolution of high-definition displays. All have LED screens.

Missing from the range are any new OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays showcased by other manufacturers at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Samsung Australia corporate vice-president Philip Newton said its curved TVs extended from affordable LED models through to ultra-high-definition ones, with 55-inch to 78-inch displays. These models had an auto-depth enhancer with “almost 3-D imagery” to offer a sense of depth, he said. Premium models cost from $3799 to $16,999.

The slight curvature purports to deliver a more cinema-like and immersive experience, and better viewing angles, but with the TV’s ends slightly jutting out, some say viewing angles are in fact less. You have to sit close to the set to get a curved cinema effect, ­especially with smaller models.

There is some benefit in curved displays not reflecting light behind the viewer at the screen’s edges. The major obvious downside to a curved TV is that you can’t hang it flat against a wall, although Samsung said it would sell a special mounting bracket to enable this.

So what is Samsung’s rationale for curved TV? Its answer is that if our eyes are naturally curved, our TVs should be curved too. “In order to maximise the viewer’s immersion on the screen, we thought of human eyes,” said Sungjin Ann, principal designer, visual display, at Samsung Electronics.

“Since its screen has the same curvature with the eye’s surface, a curved TV has the same viewing angle throughout the whole screen, which greatly increases the immersion of viewers.”

Taeheon Kim, designer, visual display, at Samsung, said the curved-design concept had been applied not only to the screen but also to other major parts, including the stand, sound bezel and back.

Whether it is optics or an ­optical illusion, Samsung has thrown a curved ball into the TV market, with fellow Korean manufacturer LG due to announce its 2014 range next week. It already has some curved TV models on sale locally.

The curved UHD models have a faster, quad core processor and go on sale in Australia today.

Customers who bought Samsung smart TVs over the past two years can buy an evolution kit for $299 that upgrades the smart TV component to this year’s device. A “one connect box” with an array of USB, HDMI and other connectors makes just one connection to the smart TV itself. This too can be upgraded annually.

Samsung also has rejigged its smart hub panel interface, adding a separate games tile with content from partners such as Electronic Arts. Sports apps for rugby and soccer are capable of recognising and recording highlights so that users can replay them.

The screen also can be split into four areas, and a user can both watch a program and view program information from associated metadata at the same time.

Mr Newton said little progress had been made by the industry in settling on a unified standard for high capacity multi-layer Blu-ray disks that will distribute UHD content to customers. From July, buyers of series 9 TVs however will receive a content kit with about 40 pieces of UHD content including some movies and documentaries.

Samsung’s top-of-range Series 9 ultra-high definition LED curved TVs will cost $16,999, $6,999 and $4,999 for 78-inch, 65-inch and 55-inch displays respectively.

Series 8 LED UHD models without curves will cost much less: $5,699, $3,999 and $2,999 for 65-inch, 55-inch, and 48-inch displays. Curved 1080p resolution models cost $5,699 and $3,799 for 65-inch and 55-inch displays.

The Korean firm also announced “Samsung Sound”, a peer-to-peer mesh music network that connects to a new range of wireless speakers throughout a home. The distribution of music can be controlled through apps available for iOS and Android phones and tablets.

Connections to speakers are via a separate wireless network hub and the system can handle high definition audio as well as regular CD and MP3 quality tracks. Music content can be streamed from a smartphone, or come from online sources such as internet radio.