Curved TVs at CES 2013

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Two curved TV's were announced at CES 2013. Both were to possibly be available in late 2013. Here are snippets from the articles at Tech Radar;

LG unveils ground-breaking 55-inch curved OLED TV
The 55EM9700 model uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology ... curved screen ergonomic design with full Cinema 3D support.
http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a44 ... ed-tv.html

Samsung's curved OLED TV provides an 'IMAX-like' experience
OLED TVs provide better colors and contrast, among other benefits, and the new Samsung TV's curved form factor adds yet more improvements...
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/televi ... ce-1123683

In general, curved screens do help with immersive 3D games. I could only find a dimension for the curve of the LG, which is a very gentle 5 degree arc. When I work out the geometry, for a person sitting 5ft from the screen, it really would only add to the apparent width of the screen by 0.86". I.e. a 55.86" diagonal screen would have a similar width from the point of view of someone sitting 5ft from the screen.

The gentle curve on these TVs will allow them to serve as regular TV's and not just for gaming like a highly curved screen. That dual-purpose would help justify their cost (which is currently unknown for either). But, I doubt that such a gentle curve will have much benefit for games.

Joe Dunfee