Good Gear Guide were guests of Samsung Australia at the Samsung Regional Forum 2015 in Thailand, a tradeshow dedicated to the range of next-generation products coming to Australia and the Asia Pacific.
Across Samsung’s entire television and audio range was one clear trend. Televisions, computer monitors, sound bars and even sound systems from Samsung will all conform to the curve form-factor on the basis of improved performance.
Curved televisions went on sale in Australia last year at the premium end of Samsung’s range. Come April and more Australians will be able to buy a curved television with the form factor rippling down into more models and at more affordable prices.
Curving the screen reduces pesky reflections and provides a viewing experience better suited to human eyes, said Brad Wright, the director of Samsung’s Audio and Visual technologies. It is for these reasons the company is introducing more curved televisions and curved screen monitors.
“We see pickup rates particularly in our premium products, around 65-inch. It is about 60-40 split of curve to flat [televisions] and that’s in the premium end. When people are going to the top end of the market, they are saying ‘I want the curve’,” Wright told Good Gear Guide.
Samsung is launching three series of UHD compatible televisions this year and two of them are curved, with the 88-inch JS9500 leading the range.
People who buy a curved Samsung television will be able to complement them with matching soundbars. Curved soundbars will be offered from 48- to 78-inches in size.
Read more: Samsung NX500 compact system camera: first impressions
The popularity of soundbars continues to cannibalise multi-speaker sound systems, said Wright. Most soundbars virtually create a surround sound experience by firing audio at different directions so that the reverberations converge on viewers from a variety of angles. Curving a soundbar will optimise the positioning of drivers for an improved virtual surround experience.
Topping Samsung’s soundbar range is the 8500 series. The soundbar works with a wireless subwoofer to create a virtual 9.1 surround sound footprint.
A year on and Samsung’s computers monitors have curved displays. Three wide-screen monitors will don the innovative form-factor, with the flagships SE790C destined to replace multi-screen setups. The ultra-wide 34-inch monitor has a 3440x1440 resolution. It will be joined by the SD590C and SD510C, two 27-inch curved monitors that have Full HD displays.
Worthy of a mention is Samsung’s omni-directional speakers. The speakers are styled like an egg, with a tweeter at the top and a bass driver at the bottom. The audacious styling of the wireless speakers serves a purpose. Whereas other speakers fire audio horizontally like a beam of light, the WAM series projects sound spherically, in the same way a light bulb illuminates a room.
The WAM range of speakers stream music over Wi-Fi, work with Samsung’s existing range of modular speakers and can be controlled by smartphones.
Samsung’s range of TVs and AV gear is expected to roll out globally in April. Good Gear Guide will publish more information on pricing and availability as news breaks.
Tony Ibrahim traveled to the Samsung Regional Forum 2015 in Thailand as a guest of Samsung
