CES 2014

With 2013 being the year of the OLED—sorry, Ultra HDTV—it comes as a surprise to find that Samsung’s 2014 TV lineup lacks a new OLED model (though the 55-inch KN55S9C Sound & Vision recently reviewed carries over into 2014). What did Samsung have to announce at CES? Plenty of Ultra HDTVs in all manner of screen sizes with both curved and non-curved (flat, that is) screens.

But first, some press conference details. Samsung took advantage of its press event to talk up a new Smart Home app that can control all manner of Samsung connected devices, not just TVs. Directly afterward, action movie director Michael Bay was strutted out (plenty of fanboy ooh-ing and ah-ing) but then abruptly fled the stage following a teleprompter-related flub. I guess it’s true that Hollywood directors depend on scripts!

Next came the real star of the event: Samsung’s new 105-inch curved UHDTV, an LCD model with a 21:9 aspect ratio. Not many details were provided on the set, which is sure to be very expensive if it does make it to market in 2014.

Speaking of pricey TVs, Samsung’s flagship 85-inch S9 Series UHDTV will be joined in 2014 by a 110-inch model, the UN110S9. Price: $150,000. (You read that right.) Like its baby 85-inch brother, the new S9 will have a full-array LED backlight with local dimming and the same Frame-design stand.

Samsung’s U9000 Series of curved-screen UHDTVs will arrive in April in 55-, 65-, and 78-inch screen sizes. These sets have a wall-mount option and a Multi-Link mode capable of displaying four separate images onscreen at once. They also have Samsung’s Micro Dimming Ultimate (hardware-based) local dimming and come with its upgradeable One Connect box.

The U8550 Series of flat-screen UHDTVs are also due out in April. This line comes in 50-, 55-, 60-, 65-, 70- and 75-inch screen sizes. Features include Samsung’s Micro Dimming Pro (software-based) local dimming, a quad core processor, Instant On, and Multi-Link for split-screen viewing of TV and Web content. A One Connect box is also included.

Not content to offer only UHDTVs with a curved form factor, Samsung is also producing regular HDTVs with curved screens. The H8000 Series will arrive in March in 48-, 55-, and 65-inch screen sizes. As with the U9000 Series UHDTVs, H8000 Series sets can be wall-mounted. Features include Auto Depth Enhancer, which dynamically adjusts contrast for a “3D-like” sense of depth without glasses, and Micro Dimming Ultimate local dimming. These sets also have a 240 Hz refresh rate and a built-in Evolution Kit.

Finally, Samsung showed off something called Bendable TV, a concept set that can manually warp from flat to curved at the press of a remote control button. Apparently, even flat TVs sometimes want to get curved.