Samsung unveils 'curved' OLED TV

Kim Hyun-seok, right, the head of Samsung Electronics’ visual display division, poses next to its 55-inch curved OLED TV during a launch event at the firm’s main office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Electronics on Thursday introduced a curved 55-inch premium TV using an advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology that also supports high-definition (HD) picture quality.

The world’s biggest TV manufacturer said that it will start the sale of the TVs outside Korea from July.

A senior company executive said that the curved OLED TVs will be available in most developed markets including the United States. It also plans to sell the devices in emerging markets, as well.

“Samsung believes that curved OLED TVs are better than traditional ‘flat’ OLED TVs in terms of customer value because the curved ones provide improved picture quality,” said Kim Hyun-seok, head of the company’s visual display division, during a news conference at the firm’s main office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, Thursday.

The executive claimed the latest curved OLED TV is “flawless” or has zero pixel defects. It is priced at 15 million won or some $13,000. The firm claims its “Timeless Arena” design eliminates potential for defective OLED pixels.

“Picture quality is the most crucial point, meaning each pixel should closely coordinate to guarantee the stunning picture quality of OLED TVs. Samsung has no problems in yield levels,” Kim, who manages Samsung’s television business, added.

One of the wow factors of the Samsung curved OLED TVs is the “true multi-view feature,” letting two people watch entirely different programs with vivid audio sound on the same screen because of three-dimensional (3D) glasses and the evolution kit CPU upgrade, Samsung said in a statement.

Samsung has differentiated itself from LG Electronics’ products by claiming that it is a “true” red-, green-, and blue- (RGB) design. LG’s white OLED technology uses color filters to give consumers the RGB spectrum. In comparison, Samsung uses three OLEDs of RGB per pixel.

LG Electronics has been selling two OLED models ― one flat and curved ― to Korea earlier this year. The LG’s flat OLED TVs are also available in the United Kingdom.

The Samsung executive stressed it will pursue a so-called “two-track” approach in televisions ― ultra-high definition (UHD) and OLED TVs ― to offset weak TV demand amid consumers’ shift toward portable connected devices such as smartphones and tablets.

“When you talk about marketability, Samsung believes there is a separate market for UHD TV and OLED TV. UHD TV has its advantages and OLED TV has also its initiative. Samsung is embracing both,” the executive said.

Major TV manufacturers are migrating toward OLED TVs to gain “first-mover” advantage in the lucrative and promising segment.

OLEDs are lighter than conventional LCDs and plasmas because OLEDs don’t need a backlight to power the screen unlike LCD screens.

Samsung hopes that its brilliant success with OLED screens in smartphones such as its Galaxy line of devices will also pay off even in televisions.