Samsung Unveils First Curved Ultra High Definition (UHD) TVs, Expands TV Leadership with New Curved and UHD TV Roster

Samsung delivers a more immersive entertainment experience for consumers with new curved designs, UHD and enhanced Samsung Smart TV features

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 9, 2014 /CNW/ - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in TV technology for 8 years, has unveiled its first commercial Curved Ultra High Definition (UHD) TVs and announced its robust 2014 curved and UHD TV lineup. The new product portfolio reinforces Samsung's leadership and sets the pace for innovation, design and content across the industry.

In 2013, a banner year for Samsung, the company introduced three UHD TVs that ignited consumer demand for the new technology, and also launched its first-ever TV featuring a curved design. For 2014, Samsung is demonstrating its commitment to driving new technologies and accelerating their adoption by introducing a wide variety Samsung UHD TVs including the world's largest at 110", and a total of six curved sets, as well as the world's first and largest Curved UHD TV at 105".

"Following last year's strong introduction of Samsung UHD TV, Samsung will continue to drive industry growth through tremendous innovation in UHD picture quality, breakthrough design and consumer choice," said Craig McLennan, VP Consumer Electronics, Samsung Canada. "The combination of our curved design and UHD picture quality creates the ultimate immersive entertainment experience for Canadians, allowing them to Play More, Do More, Share More."

Ahead of the Curve in Creating the Ultimate Immersive Experience

Ushering in a bold new era of riveting realism and mesmerizing immersion, Samsung is blending its innovative Curved TV design with its UHD TV technology. These TVs deliver a bold theatrical experience and fundamentally change the way the world views TVs. The curved screen gives videos a presence not felt on flat screens, plus, a wider field of view creates a panoramic effect that makes the display seem even bigger than it is and draws viewers in like no TV has ever done before. The curved design creates a balanced and uniformed viewing distance for a more true-to-life viewing experience with improved viewing angles and higher contrast from different viewing positions, so everyone watching has the best seat in the house.

To maximize the advantages of Curved TV, Samsung developed the optimal curvature of 4200R, which provides an excellent picture quality from a normal watching distance of 3-4 meters. The combination of the curve and UHD technology creates the ultimate immersive viewing experience bringing images to life and enveloping viewers in spectacular color, clarity and detail. This is augmented by Samsung's proprietary Auto Depth Enhancer, an algorithm that analyzes regions of images and automatically adjusts contrast for a greater sense of depth on the company's new Curved TVs and it gives a 3D effect without glasses.. Color is further enhanced on these sets with Samsung's PurColor™ technology in Series 9 Curved UHD TV, which reproduces color as film-makers envisioned, expressing more detailed shades. The number of color adjustment points has been increased by a factor of seven for even more detail and color expression. In addition to the 105" Curved UHD TV, Samsung introduced the U9000 Series Curved UHD TVs, including the world's first Curved UHD TV, and expanded the curved form factor to its flagship Full HD H8000 LED TV series.

Introducing A Better and Broader Samsung UHD TV Lineup

With four times the resolution and pixels of Full HD, these UHD TVs provide unsurpassed picture quality. UHD sources look spectacular in crisp 4K resolution on Samsung UHD TVs. Thanks to UHD Upscaling, featured on all Samsung UHD TVs, viewers are treated to an excellent picture quality, regardless of source material. The proprietary technology converts Full HD, HD and lower resolution sources to nearly-UHD clarity through a unique four-step process that includes signal analysis, noise reduction, detail analysis and finally, upscaling, so everything looks better on Samsung UHD TVs. UHD Dimming technology also helps to further optimize picture quality by processing each block of a picture and delivering deeper blacks and improved contrast.

Samsung's UHD TVs not only support today's standards -- including HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and HDCP 2.2; they are the only TVs on the market that are future-ready, thanks to the Samsung UHD Evolution Kit[1]. The One Connect Box essentially houses the brains of the TV externally, enabling customers to switch out the box with the latest Samsung UHD Evolution Kit to stay up to date on the latest UHD standards, as well as to get access to the newest technology Samsung has to offer, all helping customers protect their investment for many years to come.

Through its three UHD TV series – S9, U9000 and U8550 – in 2014 Samsung will offer a full lineup of UHD Smart TV models in sizes from 50" up to a tremendous 110", and both curved and flat form factors so consumers can choose the UHD TV that best fits their lifestyle.

Smart Experience: Now Smarter, Easier and Faster

Samsung's Smart TV is even easier, faster and more fun to use. The new Multi-Link feature brings contextual multitasking to the big screen, enabling users to go deeper into their entertainment by splitting the screen to bring up related content to enhance the viewing experience. While enjoying Live TV, consumers can populate a right-hand screen with contextual search results on the Web browser, relevant YouTube video content and more for side-by-side enjoyment of related entertainment and information streams. On Samsung's new U9000 Series, viewers have the option of splitting the large-screen real estate into a total of four screens.

The 2014 Samsung Smart Hub is more intuitive and even more enjoyable. With the new design, content is organized to be more easily accessible, giving people more control of their entertainment experience. The new Games Panel allows customers to experience big-screen exhilaration without entertainment system clutter. There will be a variety of popular family, sports, action and racing games from leading partners. A new Multimedia panel combines the previous Photo/Video/Music and Social panels into space to enjoy personal content and connections.

The new Smart TV experience is also lightning fast thanks to the upgraded Quad Core processor and delivers quicker loading and navigation with an overall improved Smart TV performance. Turning on the TV has never been faster with Instant On. The TV will turn on soon after pressing the power button so that users can get to their entertainment faster.

Samsung's 2014 UHD TV Line-up includes:

• Samsung 105-inch Curved UHD TV – The World's First and Largest Curved UHD TV – The 105-inch Curved UHD TV features an expansive display, curved design and is the largest Curved UHD TV with a movie-theater aspect ratio of 21 x 9. The result: a truly cinematic viewing experience in the living room. From 4K content, to Full HD and HD sources, everything will look better on this TV which boasts 11 million pixels for unmatched resolution. The combination of the screen size and Samsung's Auto Depth Enhancer technology brings amazing depth to the picture and produces a life-like viewing experience.

• Samsung U9000 Series Curved UHD TVs – The World's First Curved UHD TV – The U9000 Series UHD TV line provides the ultimate immersive viewing experience thanks to its astonishing UHD picture quality, curved form factor and unique design – the bezel and support seem to disappear. All that remains is the brilliant 4K picture and wider field of view that draws viewers in like never before. It also delivers incredible color without losing any detail. Viewers get a balanced and uniform viewing distance across all areas of the screen. Curved TV has up to two times the enhanced contrast ratio in a normal viewing environment compared to flat TV. This second generation of Samsung curved screens can also be wall mounted with the specially designed kit, compatible with VESA Standards. The U9000 Series will be available in 78", 65" and 55" screen sizes.

• Samsung S9 Series UHD TVs – World's Largest UHD Display – Samsung's much-acclaimed S9 line is growing to include the larger-than-life size of 110 inches -- the world's largest display to offer UHD resolution.

• The sheer size of the panel along with Samsung's exceptional UHD picture quality and color accuracy, transforms the viewing experience. This premium series changes the paradigm of TV design with Frame TV. The TV screen is a breakthrough concept compared to the stereotypical quadrilateral design of large screen TVs in the past. Using Samsung's compression frame technology, the frame is strong and stable in structure, yet slim and sleek. Frame TV eschews the squared black bezel and conventional neck stand to indicate to the viewer that the S9 is something quite special and never seen before this. The S9 Series will come in 110" as well as the previously available 85" screen sizes.

• Samsung U8550 Series UHD TVs – Advanced UHD Picture Quality – The U8550 Series offers UHD resolution and detail, unmatched clarity and immersive, rich picture quality. The TV not only analyzes the signal source and reduces artifacts but it also now interpolates details based on information from a picture quality database that is embedded in the TV's system-on-chip (SoC). As a result, it can more precisely render superb details like the wisps of a feather or texture of leather to process a finely tuned UHD picture. The Samsung U8550 UHD TV's thinness of 1.2 inches and the extremely narrow 7mm (0.28-inch) bezel combine to create a panel-only illusion. The Series will be available in five screen sizes: 75", 65", 60'', 55" and 50".

Consumers are invited to follow @SamsungCanada on Twitter for the latest CES adventures via video, photos and social updates. EP Daily Host Marissa Roberto (@MarissaRoberto) will host a video series full of exclusive, behind-the-scenes content from the show floor during CES 2014.

About Samsung Electronics Canada

Samsung Electronics Canada offers a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics including televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. The Canadian arm, selected in 2013 as one of Strategy Magazine's Brands of the Year, upholds Samsung's global mission to open new possibilities for young minded consumers everywhere, providing users premium experiences that are unparalleled due to Samsung's innovative technology and stylish design. As a result, Samsung has become a true leader in the consumer electronics industry both in terms of business leadership and brand strength. In 2013, Samsung was ranked #8 in the Interbrand 100 Best Global Brands and was named as one of Marketing Magazine's 2012 Top 10 Marketers of the Year in Canada. 

To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

Follow Samsung Canada at facebook.com/SamsungCanada or on Twitter @SamsungCanada

[1] Evolution Kit sold separately. Evolution Kit improvement levels are limited to year of launch and application availability. Actual performance may vary and is subject to model specifications and hardware limitations. Evolution Kit may not support certain applications and functions previously installed or available on your TV. Please check www.samsung.com for more details before installing Evolution Kit.

SOURCE: Samsung Electronics Canada

Caitilin Doherty, North Strategic for Samsung Canada, [email protected], 416-371-3762