I was wandering through Costco the other day and they had a couple Samsung 4K LED TV's on display. They had curved screens. Not a bad price either. If my recollection is correct, the 65" 4K TV was about $2200 (with rebate), and the 55" was about $1800 (with rebate).

I've been wanting to get a larger display in my living room, and the 65" unit might just be the ticket. But, I'm kinda wondering about the curved screen. Seams to me it doesn't serve much of a purpose unless you are sitting pretty close to it.

Costco also has them on their web site. The model number:

Samsung 65" Class (64.5" Diag.) 4K Smart Curved LED Ultra HDTV UN65HU7200FXZA

Before I blow some money on this thing, does anyone have any first had experience or other input they'd like to share?

No first hand experience but many posts elsewhere suggest the curved screen is only good for 1 viewer, being better than a comparable flat screen. The same comments suggest they are no good for more than 1 viewer, I'd assume unless they are right next to you/the sweet spot.

I'll endorse the previous post. From my reading this design is rather limited to a few viewers in the "sweet spot". It's a feature some manufacturers are using to boost sales with limited design change options. So, if you mostly enjoy TV viewing by yourself...it works just fine.

That makes sense. Seeing how we sit about 12' away from the TV, I'm thinking a flat screen would be better than one of these curved screens.

I have not purchased one yet, however, from what I have read about them so far, the curved screen was essentially offered as a design option, for "off axis" viewers to minimize the loss in brightness usually related to LCD/LED monitors. The trade-off is, as a result of the curvature, an increase in distortion of the picture.

Apparently, though, with the new OLED monitors that LG is now selling, the screen is so thin, that you actually have the option of bending the screen yourself, if you wish to do so, to your particular taste and room. It sounds kind of interesting, however, I am waiting for the price to come down on these babies(especially 65" and up)before I consider purchasing one of them. So, far, the reviewers that have seen the 55" OLED are raving about the picture and especially the "blacks" which, apparently, are pretty comparable to the best plasmas.

I want a new plasma.

I've seen the new LG OLED curved screen. I was far more enamoured with the picture than the curve which i found distracting. I also noticed that any glare gets 'pulled' across the screen alot more giving the glare image a carnival mirror look to it.

IMO, marketing gimmick!

I gotta admit that I was very impressed with the image displayed on the Samsung. But I wasn't standing very far away from it. Maybe 8 feet. I wish I would have stood off to the side a bit, to replicate where viewers would be sitting if I had it in my living room.

Frankly, when I saw the first of these current curved screen models, prior to the introduction of single box RPCRTs, back in the day, it somewhat reminded me of those units that had the curved screen and the RGB picture tubes in a separate box sitting a couple of feet or so in front of it projecting the picture on to the screen.

It is said over and over in tests from reviewers and such that the curved screens are great for brightness, image detail, color, contrast, but the stupid curve screws it all up for real world awesomeness.

There was an interview that I read in Sound and Vision (I think) a few months ago where they interviewed a former exec for one of the major TV manufacturers, and he basically said everything short of "the idea of a curved screen is more of a marketing gimick than actual technology. With a curved screen, you know that it is 4K and guest will know too." Sort of like saying, look, I have the latest and greatest technology, just ignore that it is skewed (pun intended) by the curved screen so that you can feel that level of "one-upmanship" over your neighbors. After all, if your new 4K screen was flat, it would look like all of those no good 1080p displays.

nick:

Well said!

Thankfully there is nothing in my being that makes me want to follow the herd - any herd. Perhaps that why I like Axiom stuff so much.

I'm not going curved screen & not going Atmos either...

TAM

It does seam kinda silly to have a curved screen on anything less than about 10' wide. I set 12' away from my 8' wide screen in the HT, and I've not ever felt a need for it to be curved.

My living room TV is a Panasonic Plasma, 1080P. Great image, and dark blacks for a room with a lot of ambient light. I never would have thought an LED TV would look as good as my plasma, but I'm doubting that after looking at a few 4K displays.

Heck, our media room tv is still an old 2002 Toshiba RPTV!!




yep, can't give these things away these days but on that note, the picture has a nice film quality to it and in high definition, the image is still pretty good.
Colours aren't as sharp and don't pop like modern LED but i don't want to change it out until OLED picks up steam a bit more. I just don't like the faults of LCD and LED.

Make no mistake, the minute a full surround screen array is affordable (think "Gamer") I'll have one.
I realize the display setup in "Gamer" is holographic but love the concept.

Too funny... I just gave my kid our old Mitsubishi 48" TV. Looks just like that Toshiba. Bought it in 2001.

I have one of those too. My Toshiba 55". great TV for watching movies.

I bought the LG OLED and set it up in the living room 4 days ago. It does show some reflections when the TV is off and you are walking around the room. However, when seated I do not notice any reflections. I have huge picture windows off to the right and left of the TV which is actually in the corner of the room. The curve, although very slight, seems to turn away from the light coming in from these windows. Even watching golf on a sunny afternoon ~ never noticed any reflections. Mind you if I were to ignore the content on the TV and search for reflections I don't doubt they'd be there ~ really you just don't notice them.

I really like the TV and it is much better than my Sony Bravia LED that was only 6 years old. The Sony started getting black and purple bands which is why I was in the market for a new TV. I thought I was going back to Sony, been a fan for 40 + years, but after seeing the LG OLED I thought I'd give it a try. Sure glad I did, it is an awesome TV.
This TV is not 4K, and the curve is less than on most other brands.

Cheers Orca

Congratulations on your purchase !

I used to be a Plasma TV fan but the LG OLED changed my faith. It offers the ultimate viewing experience !

Enjoy !

Orca,

How far do you sit from the TV, and what size did you buy?

I have a 65" version of this Toshiba(circa 2001)in another room with a video processor and Darbee "darblet" connected to it and you would be amazed at how good the picture still is and, other than plasma and perhaps the newer OLED monitors, no technology today can match the blacks of a "good old CRT". The warranty was THREE YEARS! These monitors were also particularly well served with proper and accurate calibration. Certainly, the picture isn't as sharp and bright as current technologies, but one thing for sure, I don't expect any of the sets today will ever come close to matching the life span of these babies.

I bought the 55 inch model. We sit anywhere from 8 feet and back. However, once in a while I go within a couple of feet to read "fine" print ~ something I could never do with any other TV. I did notice that HD broadcasts are the only way to go. When watching something recorded on our PVR from a station that isn't HD there is a huge downgrade in quality ~ the TV smooths things out too much and you get a "cartoon" look. But with HD everything is great. I've been reading on line about the ideal settings and have yet to play with this. I'm waiting for my new Axiom speakers to set up everything with my new Denon AVR.

Thanks for the info Orca.

I grabbed the tape to take some measurements, figuring out how much room I have to mount the TV. (it's above my fireplace) I have roughly 38" of vertical space. I'll need a few inches to get the TV onto the motorized mount. So, I'm figuring I can go with a TV that is 34" in height. Width, I'm restricted to 65".

I also measured viewing distance, and we are 15' from the TV, not the 12' I noted before.

Up till about a year ago, I could see the TV just fine. Then my eyes started to go to hell. Had to get my first pair of glasses at 48, and I'm struggling with that. Even had to get reading glasses. Now I have to wear these stupid glasses when watching the 55" TV.

So now I'm wondering if I should just get a good 1080 TV. With a 15' viewing distance, I'm doubting that 4K would be noticeably better than 1080.

michael:

If you waited until 48 to get reading glasses, you are lucky & have exceptional eyes. Most people require them at 44 - 45 & is completely normal.

You might want to have them check for cataracts forming. After enduring degraded vision for several years, I had mine removed last summer & my badly degraded vision instantly reverted back to perfect (20/15 where it had been all my life).

My 55" Sony TV at 11' never looked better but I doubt if 4K is going to make a lot of difference at that distance from what I've seen the stores...

TAM

Check your glucose levels, too. Rapidly changing vision could be an indicator.