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The great Vegas gadget circus is only days away, and we’ve got a feeling big, beautiful TVs are going to be front and center. 4K! OLED! Wonderful stuff. But Samsung is teasing something that’s either brilliant or insane. We can’t tell.
It’s not uncommon for companies to try to drum up hype with vague teasers. But it’s usually pretty easy to guess generally what they’re talking about. A new, faster phone. A bigger tablet. Just because you see a Photoshop mockup of a gadget covered by a shadow doesn’t mean it’s anything worth caring about.
But is Samsung hinting at a portrait-oriented TV? Are they actually going to show us an HDTV that’s rotated 90 degrees sideways? Am I seeing correctly? The picture above—what looks like a tree inside a picture frame on a beach—doesn’t mean much of anything. But read this:
A true innovation of TV design is coming up with an unprecedented new TV shape and timeless gallery design…
A new TV shape? As opposed to… a wide rectangle? What new shape could a TV possible arrive in that wouldn’t completely alienate anyone who’s ever watched a TV?
There seem to be two options:
Samsung might be selling an extra-widescreen, 21:9 anamorphic TV. Vizio’s already done it. It’s technically a different shape than your standard 16:9 set, and hey, you could watch Star Wars without any letterboxing, which makes me weep. Maybe it’ll be a 4k anamorphic set, which would make monied cinemaphies shriek. This would be a dreamy TV.
But it doesn’t look like that damn picture frame, which is taller than it is wide. Which leads to option two.
Samsung is going to sell a TV that’s taller than it is wide. Which sounds insane, and impossible, and sort of awfully bizarre or bizarrely awful. We can only imagine the extra vertical space would be used for “smart TV” widgets (a nightmarish vision), or, what, watching three video sources at once? One video with the largest letterboxing in history? We’re scratching our heads and rubbing our eyes—but we’ll have the answer within a week.
Oh, and Samsung: if this is just a thinner TV or something, we’re going to strangle you, and then ourselves. [Samsung at CES]
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if the TV is transparent then the letter-boxing issue goes away!
if the TV is transparent then the letter-boxing issue goes away
If they want to sell ‘portrait’ orientated TV’s then they will fail. We started with a square, then we had widescreen and people preferred it. Clearly demonstrating people want width.
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/18009491.jpg
Well played sir!
My guess?
Its a transparent OLED that you have in your window.
Not sure if I want to watch porn on my window. I might get arrested.
Haven’t [Samsung?] already done that?
Unprecedented shape? Perhaps we’ll be seeing their oft-talked about flexible screens actually implemented in a consumer product. I’d actually be quote keen on a 46″ screen that could be rolled up so I’m not left with a huge black rectangle in my drawing room.
Its the new galaxy note, now in 46″.
A window frame TV.. maybe variable transparency?
I would guess a curved transparent 4K OLED screen.
It’ll be too expensive for the average consumer and wont catch on, all that will happen. Until you can make it for £300, most people wont be interested.
I’m guessing that it’s either a transparent screen, or a screen that when the TV is not in use, you can have a picture displayed e-ink style with no back lighting (better than having a black rectangle hanging on your wall, right?). Or maybe both??
I’m sure there will be a patent for that iDea in the near future.
Great idea though, kudos
Thank you good sir!
Maybe they are going to start selling trees to people who live in a desert?
My money’s on an option 3 which is a TV that’s a portrait shape when off, (like a nicer version of the B&O Beovision 9), possibly with something clever like transparency or e-ink of something which hides the landscape shape of the picture and then standard landscape shaped when it’s on, possibly with nifty features in the space above and below, like the philips(?) ambient lighting features…
That’s my guess, What do I get if I’m right?
You’ll get a “Like” from me, that’s about it
In this austere world we live in now, that’ll do for me
im going for a tv with a built in rotatable frame with a sensor re a phone kind of thing for flipping the image..
Whatever it is, its more likely going to be disappointing, I’d like a curved, extendable transparent frameless Glassesless 3D Internet Smart TV. Pull that out yer Arse Samsung and you’ll have my full attention, until then you can do one.
If it’s transparent when off then you’ll be able to see all the leads etc…. personally I hope the image shown is actually a doorway through to a holodeck!
No no, it’s black and white. Colour TVs are sooo 2012. 2013 is all about ‘vintage’, Hipsters rejoice!
Sepia!
C’mon people, can’t you see it! It’s going to be a roll up screen a la Back to the Future 2.
Bored of a shitty view out your window? set it to whatever you like. Need it dark for a bit of theater style viewing, pull down the blind/screen, instant cinema.
ilae4e was close (curved transparent 4K OLED screen), but just didn’t make the connection…
*ahem*
I believe my earlier post was along those lines!
Ooops. I do apologise for that. Credit where credit is due!
Just too keen to get my thoughts out there.
I’m guessing a see-through curved screen.
Its a TV to watch all those crappy portrait videos done by annoying older relatives.
Very well played.
A portrait TV that will play all of those videos you filmed on your S3 full screen rather than the bars being down the sides…