Samsung Bows 10 Ultra HD TVs for 2014 Ranging from 50 to 110 Inches

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung is making a bold design statement for curved TV at CES, with three of its 10 new Ultra HD TVs for 2014 configured as curved models in 65-, 78- and 105-inch screen sizes, and three more Full HD curved LED models at 48, 55 and 65 inches. Curved TV provides a more immersive experience, said Joe Stinziano, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics of America told a CES news conference Monday. Curved designs make a TV “seem bigger than it is,” Stinziano said, while delivering a contrast ratio double that of flat-screen TV.

The presumptive highlight of the Samsung’s press conference was the demonstration of its bendable TV, a concept technology Stinziano demonstrated that enabled a flat screen to convert to a curved design with the touch of a button on a remote control. The moment was upstaged when Hollywood director Michael Bay -- on stage to extol the virtues of curved TVs -- complained of teleprompter problems, regrouped for a moment and then abruptly walked off the stage. Journalists, accustomed to seeing trick moments in such presentations, were asking one another, “Is this real?” It was then that Stinziano took over and steered the event back to TVs, chalking up the moment as one of those unexpected gaffes that can happen in Las Vegas on live TV.

Stinziano told us after the event that the 85-inch “proof of content” bendable TV is a concept with no firm roadmap but something Samsung is looking at. “Now that curved is interesting and seems to have garnered some consumer interest, how far do you curve the TV,” he asked. “Do some things look better on curved and some look better on flat?” In the future, consumers might have the choice of how much curvature to give a screen, he said. That could help position viewers in more optimal locations if their TV location is centered and they want to curve one side more than another, he said. That would “give you that sweet spot everywhere you sit idea,” he said. The company has the ability to do the bendable screens in volume, but will wait before committing to the idea to “see how the acceptance of curved is again this year,” he said. The company has done much research on consumers’ reaction to curved design and is “very confident that if consumer adoption is there, bendable will follow,” he said.

Samsung said it has secured content partnerships to help stimulate consumer interest in the fledgling Ultra HD TV format. Samsung will offer a USB-based video pack with pre-loaded content to give an out-of-the-box experience, and then consumers will be able to download additional content later, Stinziano told us. A price hasn’t been set for the USB stick that will include movies and documentaries. Stinziano said there will likely be bundling deals with TVs over the course of the year.

Samsung also plans to offer a UHD content streaming service via partner companies’ apps and services, including Amazon, M-GO, Netflix, Fox and Paramount on the content side and with DirecTV and Comcast’s Xfinity catalog on the distribution end, Stinziano said. Samsung plans to expand its offerings to include other partners and is targeting 50 “content items” by year-end, the company said. Consumers will be able to download additional content via Samsung’s Smart Hub on its TVs’ multimedia panel, it said.

In a news release Monday, Comcast said Xfinity TV customers with Samsung UHD TVs can launch an Xfinity TV 4K app directly on their TVs that will allow them to stream, via the Internet, 4K UHD movies and TV shows on demand. Comcast is working with programmers, including NBC Universal, to provide a library of 4K UHD content for the Xfinity TV 4K app, it said. A pricing model wasn’t given.

Samsung’s 2014 Ultra HD TVs range in size from 50 to 110 inches and include HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and HDCP 2.2, the company said. The company calls them the only TVs on the market that are future-ready as a result of Samsung’s outboard Ultra HD Evolution Kit which allows consumers to swap out their One Connect Box to have access to the latest technology.

New TV features this year include Multi Link, a dual- or quad-screen feature enabling consumers to do second-screen viewing without leaving the TV. Dual-screen Multi Link TV users will be able to view live TV content on one side of the screen and YouTube content or Web browsing on the other side. Higher-end models will be able to present four quadrants of different content simultaneously, with only one section for live TV, Samsung said.

While Samsung made a big splash when introducing its 55-inch curved OLED last summer, it has no plans to launch additional models at this time, although the $9,000 OLED model will carry over, it said. Samsung will carry over plasma TVs in its 2014 lineup, but is not making any announcements for plasma TV at CES, the company said.

Other announcements: (1) Samsung signed sports marketing partnerships with the NBA and PGA for second-screen content. (2) Samsung is showcasing at CES the Samsung Smart Home Service, which Samsung Electronics America President Tim Baxter said will allow consumers to manage home devices with a single app on smart TVs and mobile devices. The platform provides device control, home view and smart customer service, he said. Samsung will roll out smart home products this year and open the service protocol to partners, Samsung’s first step into the home of the future, he said.