CES: Samsung goes large on curved TV

Samsung yesterday unveiled its first commercial Curved Ultra High Definition (UHD) TVs at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. At the same time, it outlined a ‚”robust‚” 2014 curved and UHD TV lineup.

‚”The combination of our curved design and UHD picture quality creates the ultimate immersive entertainment experience for people passionate about entertainment,‚” said HS Kim, executive vice president of the visual display business at Samsung Electronics.

In 2013 the company introduced three UHD TVs and launched its first-ever TV featuring a curved design. For 2014, it is introducing a wide variety of Samsung UHD TVs, including the world’s largest at 110‚”.

It will roll out a total of six curved sets, as well as the world’s first and largest Curved UHD TV at 105‚”.

Samsung says that, by blending its innovative Curved TV design with its UHD TV technology, the TVs deliver a ‚”bold theatrical experience and fundamentally change the way the world views TVs‚”.

‚”The curved screen gives videos a presence not felt on flat screens, plus, a wider field of view creates a panoramic effect that makes the display seem even bigger than it is and draws viewers in like no TV has ever done before,‚” the company said.

‚”The curved design creates a balanced and uniformed viewing distance for a more true-to-life viewing experience with improved viewing angles and higher contrast from different viewing positions, so everyone watching has the best seat in the house.‚”

To maximize the advantages of Curved TV, Samsung developed the optimal curvature of 4200R, which provides the best picture quality from a normal watching distance of 3-4 meters. This is augmented by Samsung’s proprietary Auto Depth Enhancer, an algorithm that analyzes regions of images and automatically adjusts contrast for a greater sense of depth on the company’s new Curved TVs and it gives a 3D effect without glasses.

Colour is further enhanced on these sets with Samsung’s PurColor technology in Series 9 Curved UHD TV, which reproduces color as film-makers envisioned, expressing more detailed shades. The number of colour adjustment points has been increased by a factor of seven for more detail and color expression.

In addition to the 105‚” Curved UHD TV, Samsung introduced the U9000 Series Curved UHD TVs, including the world’s first Curved UHD TV, and expanded the curved form factor to its flagship Full HD H8000 LED TV series.

Proprietary technology called UHD Upscaling converts Full HD, HD and lower resolution sources to nearly-UHD clarity through a four-step process that includes signal analysis, noise reduction, detail analysis and finally, upscaling. UHD Dimming technology also helps to further optimise picture quality by processing each block of a picture and delivering deeper blacks and improved contrast.

Samsung’s UHD TVs support today’s standards — including HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and HDCP 2.2: and are also upgradable, using the Samsung UHD Evolution Kit. The One Connect Box essentially houses the brains of the TV externally, enabling customers to switch out the box with the latest Samsung UHD Evolution Kit to stay up to date on the latest UHD standards, as well as to get access to the newest technology Samsung has to offer

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Through its three UHD TV series S9, U9000 and U8550 in 2014 Samsung will offer a full lineup of UHD Smart TV models in sizes from 50‚” up to a 110‚”, and both curved and flat form factors

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New features

Samsung’s Smart TV’s new Multi-Link feature brings contextual multitasking to the big screen, enabling users to split the screen to bring up related content. While enjoying Live TV, consumers can use a right-hand screen for contextual search results on the Web browser, relevant YouTube video content and more for side-by-side enjoyment of related entertainment and information streams.

On Samsung’s new U9000 Series, viewers have the option of splitting the large-screen real estate into a total of four screens.

Samsung’s 2014 UHD TV Line-up includes:

Samsung 105-inch Curved UHD TV The World’s First and Largest Curved UHD TV The 105-inch Curved UHD TV features an expansive display, curved design and is the largest TV ever with a movie-theater aspect ratio of 21 x 9. The result: a truly cinematic viewing experience in the living room. From 4K content, to Full HD and HD sources, everything will look better on this TV which boasts 11 million pixels for unmatched resolution. The combination of the screen size and Samsung’s Auto Depth Enhancer technology brings amazing depth to the picture and produces a life-like viewing experience.

Samsung U9000 SeriesCurved UHD TVs The World’s First Curved UHD TV The U9000 Series UHD TV line provides the ultimate immersive viewing experience thanks to its astonishing UHD picture quality, curved form factor and unique design the bezel and support seem to disappear. All that remains is the brilliant 4K picture and wider field of view that draws viewers in like never before. It also delivers incredible color without losing any detail. Viewers get a balanced and uniform viewing distance across all areas of the screen. Curved TV has up to two times the enhanced contrast ratio in a normal viewing environment compared to flat TV. This second generation of Samsung curved screens can also be wall mounted with the specially designed kit, compatible with VESA Standards. The U9000 Series will be available in 78‚”, 65‚” and 55‚” screen sizes.

Samsung S9 Series UHD TVs World’s Largest UHD Display Samsung’s much-acclaimed S9 line is growing to include the larger-than-life size of 110 inches — the world’s largest display to offer UHD resolution. The sheer size of the panel along with Samsung’s exceptional UHD picture quality and color accuracy, transforms the viewing experience. This premium series changes the paradigm of TV design with Frame TV. The TV screen is a breakthrough concept compared to the stereotypical quadrilateral design of large screen TVs in the past. Using Samsung’s compression frame technology, the frame is strong and stable in structure, yet slim and sleek. Frame TV eschews the squared black bezel and conventional neck stand to indicate to the viewer that the S9 is something quite special and never seen before this. The S9 Series will come in 110‚” as well as the previously available 85‚” screen sizes.

Samsung U8550 Series UHD TVs Advanced UHD Picture Quality The U8550 Series offers UHD resolution and detail, unmatched clarity and immersive, rich picture quality. The TV not only analyzes the signal source and reduces artifacts but it also now interpolates details based on information from a picture quality database that is embedded in the TV’s system-on-chip (SoC). As a result, it can more precisely render superb details like the wisps of a feather or texture of leather to process a finely tuned UHD picture. The Samsung U8550 UHD TV’s thinness of 1.2 inches and the extremely narrow 7mm (0.28-inch) bezel combine to create a panel-only illusion. The Series will be available in five screen sizes: 75‚”, 65‚”, 60”, 55‚” and 50‚”.

– Gadget.co.za

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