Samsung announced today they would be bringing its 55-inch Curved OLED TV (Model# KN55S9C) to the U.S. market, which was previously only made available in Korean markets, for a MSRP of $8999. As the name suggest, the Curved OLED TV uses the the same floating design that was introduced earlier this year at CES, which gives the viewer the feeling content is “floating.” We were given some time to get some “hands-on” time with the Curved OLED TV, or rather, we stared at the TV for a couple of minutes, so let’s get into why this is a TV you’d consider buying.
The star of Samsung’s Curved OLED TV is the screen itself. Samsung used the phrases “unparalleled picture quality” and “true-to-life color” when they described this TV, and they’re hype is justified as the quality of the image on the screen was extraordinary. Colors are rich and vibrant and the blacks on it are the deepest we’ve seen yet. Samsung used multiple vibrant images to show off the ability of its Curved OLED TV, and everything just seemed to look remarkable on it as a variety of flowers seem to pop off the screen, strawberries look the freshest they’ve ever been and a star-filled sky seemed to look completely without end.
The Curved OLED has a few tricks up its sleeve as not only will you be feasting your eyes on a jaw-dropping display, but you’ll also be able to enjoy 3D content as well as be able to watch two different programs at the same time. The 3D glasses that come with the Curved OLED are able to perform how any other 3D glasses would, which is to say you’ll be able to view 3D-compatible content, but they offer something else. The Curved OLED features multi-view, which means you and someone else can be enjoying completely different content while sitting in the same room. The 3D glasses have an A/B switch, which makes it easy to switch between both images. They also include stereo earbuds, which also helps in immersing the wearers into their program. During our brief time with the glasses, we didn’t notice any ghosting of the secondary image and we found it pretty comfortable to have the headphones in.
Yes – $9000 is a hefty price in the world of HDTVs, but when you consider rumors pegged the Curved OLED TV to be priced at $15,000, this is definitely a more manageable pricing, although we know it’s still at a price that is out of range for most families. Regardless of its current pricing, the Curved OLED TV has certainly impressed us with the quality of its images as well as its overall design. We guess it’s a good thing Samsung is making it available starting as early as tomorrow to a number of retailers, so if you’ve got an extra $9000 lying around and need to upgrade to a new TV, you might want to visit your local consumer electronics retailer to feast your eyes on the Curved OLED TV for yourself. We have a feeling you’re going to like what you see.