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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » The Afterlife   » explain curved TV sets to me (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: explain curved TV sets to me
Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 10-11-2015 05:49 PM      Profile for Scott Norwood   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Norwood   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Specifically, what is the point? I understand why curved screens make sense for projection (to maintain even focus and light across the screen), but I don't get the purpose of a curved screen on a television set. Wouldn't the size of the "sweet spot" for viewing be reduced? And wouldn't the picture be objectionably distorted?

Is there any science to explain why a curved television screen is preferable to a flat one, or is this just a marketing gimmick?

I could actually see some benefits to a very large, very wide (wider than 2.35:1) computer monitor as a replacement for multiple 4x3 or 16x9 monitors, but a computer monitor is typically intended to be viewed by one user, whereas a TV set is typically intended to be watched by as many as several people at once.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 10-11-2015 06:31 PM      Profile for Martin McCaffery   Author's Homepage   Email Martin McCaffery   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Flat screens are ubiquitous, and thus passé. Need to come up with something to get the bleeding edge types to upgrade their electronics and stay cooler than the rest.

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Steve Matz
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 672
From: Billings, Montana, USA
Registered: Sep 2003

- posted 10-11-2015 09:37 PM      Profile for Steve Matz   Email Steve Matz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
My Friend who has been a TV Repair Tech for over 40 yrs. said to stay away from Curved Screen TV's. Nothing to do with picture quality; They are so Fragile that even casual movement of the Unit can cause cracking in the Screen. I was at his shop a few weeks back and he had 2 newer Curved Screens that he was junking out for parts as a result of broken screens. One of them was from a women who was carefully moving it to vaccum and cracked the Screen. He said you should stick with Flat Screens for now. Even LG's High End 4K $5000.00 TV Stayed with a Flat Screen ...

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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

- posted 10-12-2015 09:55 AM      Profile for Scott Jentsch   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Jentsch   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I have no idea why someone would want a curved screen in their living room or media room. We were in a Best Buy yesterday, and there was a very large Samsung unit (75" maybe) and it was huge and very odd-looking with the curves. My wife looked at it and shook her head, saying that she would never want something like that in the house.

I agree that these TV's are curved to be different, in the hopes of attracting consumers for the novelty factor. I've thought that it might be nice for a computer monitor, but I wonder if there would be distortion on vertical and horizontal lines...

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Sean Weitzel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 619
From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall)
Registered: Dec 1999

- posted 10-12-2015 11:22 AM      Profile for Sean Weitzel   Email Sean Weitzel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was in my local Costco last week and walked by one on display. What immediately jumped out at me was how bad cross reflection not from the image but ambient light in the room was. Not a fan.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

- posted 10-12-2015 11:48 AM      Profile for Steve Guttag   Email Steve Guttag   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
There are no geometric distortions on the curved TV displays. The LCD panel itself is curved, it isn't a projection onto a screen.

There will be reflections as you walk in front of it and in low-light situations, I've noted that background light level is not uniform when it is trying to have "black."

The short answer is, they aren't perfect. I'd say that aesthetics are the chief virtue in an LCD display. And, as demonstrated here, some dislike the aesthetics to them.

I could definitely see where they would bring something to a computer display...if the background level thing was mitigated.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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From: Forsyth, Montana
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- posted 10-12-2015 12:18 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Martin M. nailed it -- it's just the latest gimmick. The biggest problem for the TV industry is, flat panel screens last too long but cost too little, so the money is bleeding out of that industry.

The other obvious thing they're trying to do is to be "more like" real movie theaters so people can "have that cinema experience" at home. Never mind if it's something you don't need in the home.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

- posted 10-12-2015 04:57 PM      Profile for Louis Bornwasser   Author's Homepage   Email Louis Bornwasser   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The bigger problem is that the over-the-air TV stations are changing digital formats in a couple of years. Yes, you will need a new set.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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From: Forsyth, Montana
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- posted 10-12-2015 05:23 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
?? They're obsoleting current HDTVs??

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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

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From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 10-12-2015 06:17 PM      Profile for Mark Ogden   Email Mark Ogden   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Louis Bornwasser
The bigger problem is that the over-the-air TV stations are changing digital formats in a couple of years. Yes, you will need a new set.
They are? What are they changing to? And does it really matter? Over-the-air reception is down to something like 9% of HUT (homes using television). Among my circle of friends, family and TV industry professionals, I know of exactly ONE person using an antenna for reception.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 10-12-2015 07:41 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Beginning in the next 3 to 5 years the new ATSC standard will be kicking in anyway. Get as much time out of your present sets as you can! I skiped over ATSC 2.0 which will be backward compatible at this point in time.

ATSC 3.0

Another article. This one already over a year old but still interesting and I now the guy that wrote it.

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Daniel Schulz
Master Film Handler

Posts: 387
From: Los Angeles, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2003

- posted 10-12-2015 11:13 PM      Profile for Daniel Schulz   Author's Homepage   Email Daniel Schulz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mark Ogden
They are? What are they changing to? And does it really matter? Over-the-air reception is down to something like 9% of HUT (homes using television). Among my circle of friends, family and TV industry professionals, I know of exactly ONE person using an antenna for reception.
Short answer is UHD/4K, probably with higher dynamic range and a larger color space. Audio wise we'll get something more than 5.1, probably immersive object-based audio (Dolby AC4 and a variant of MPEG-H are the two submissions). It will be groovy!

I suspect we'll see set-top boxes that will output a 1080p signal compatible with our current HDTVs and a transcoded AC3 signal. I'm not worried about us consumers - my bigger question is given the relatively small size of the broadcast viewership market, will the broadcasters be willing and/or able to invest in the infrastructure upgrade to do all this? As an antenna user I hope so...

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 10-13-2015 03:04 AM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Your current sets won't be obsolete. You can get a stand-alone tuner and just plug it in via HDMI. Any word on if they are sticking with the evil MPEG-2? Or are they just increasing the bit rate? SURELY they are doing away with interlacing altogether. Interlacing is dumb and has no place in the world today. It should be illegal.

I'd be doubtful of any real increases in quality because stations will just make 20 "HD" subchannels. Stations LOVE making subchannels. They should be illegal as well. You have one channel. Deal with it. Want another one? Then it needs its own 25mbps stream.

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Ken Lackner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1907
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Sep 2001

- posted 10-13-2015 08:34 AM      Profile for Ken Lackner   Email Ken Lackner   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I would never pay the price they are currently asking for curved TV's, just as I never would have paid the price they were asking when flat screens first came out, but I can see the appeal. I was highly impressed with image quality when I saw them in Best Buy. I don't know if I'd want one in my living room, but if I had a proper theater room (not to mention the money, which I don't!), sure. It's all a matter of preference. Some like 'em, others hate 'em. However, the fragileness that Steve points out is something I wasn't aware of.

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Daniel Schulz
Master Film Handler

Posts: 387
From: Los Angeles, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2003

- posted 10-13-2015 10:07 AM      Profile for Daniel Schulz   Author's Homepage   Email Daniel Schulz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Joe Redifer
Your current sets won't be obsolete. You can get a stand-alone tuner and just plug it in via HDMI. Any word on if they are sticking with the evil MPEG-2? Or are they just increasing the bit rate? SURELY they are doing away with interlacing altogether. Interlacing is dumb and has no place in the world today. It should be illegal.
Definitely moving on from MPEG, they're using HEVC. No interlacing, image will be 2160p.

Back to the OP, I'm in the anti-curve camp, I just don't get it. Added reflections, image distortion, reducing the number of "sweet spots" for viewing...makes no sense to me.

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