Curved Screen TVs Are A Gimmick

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These guys are just now figuring this out?

Curved screen televisions are nothing more than a gimmick, and one that will quickly die off once users realize anyone watching from the periphery has a sub-par view, industry analysts said this week. "You see a whole load of pseudo-scientific claims that get made for why curved TVs are a good thing. I think they're designed to bamboozle," said Paul Gray, director of European TV Research for DisplaySearch.
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curved would be nice in an OmniMax, but not from a 50-inch display. For the past couple weeks, YouTube videos have had advertisements for Samsung 4k curved screens and even from looking at the advertisement, I can see the curvature of the screen being an annoyance than beneficial.

1080p I get. 4k I get too. DTS Master and Dolby HD I get too. Blu-ray is a no-brainer. But curved? Seems like they're doing it just for the sake of doing it.
 
Not only that, but the cameras assume the display it is viewed on is flat.
So even from the 'optimal' viewing position, some kind of image warping will be necessary to get it to look as intended.
Uniform size pixels over the whole screen wont work unless pixel resizing algorithms are used to shift the position of the image edges.
But we know how well non 1:1 mapping works for similar resolutions.

Now if they had 8x the pixels of the image format being viewed, maybe it would start to be ok.
But still only from one position.
 
When the screen gets large enough, measured in dozens of feet instead of inches, then curved makes sense. Basically, only if you are using a front projector will it ever make sense.
 
Nenu said:
Not only that, but the cameras assume the display it is viewed on is flat.
So even from the 'optimal' viewing position, some kind of image warping will be necessary to get it to look as intended.
Uniform size pixels over the whole screen wont work unless pixel resizing algorithms are used to shift the position of the image edges.
But we know how well non 1:1 mapping works for similar resolutions.

Now if they had 8x the pixels of the image format being viewed, maybe it would start to be ok.
But still only from one position.
Click to expand...

Shit, hope that won't mean we will be seeing 5 different versions of every movie.

DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Curved, Blu-ray 3D Curved
 
would be great if you was the only one watching the thing. and that means everyone would need their own.
 
Nothing really new - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama

With a huge screen, I could see it. I haven't viewed it (other than IMAX) personally, so I can't really make a real opinion. But, I'd say I prefer my flat screen for now... I'm upgrading to 135", and it'll be flat as well. Curved... Not yet.
 
Wonder why they haven't tried using curved panels for PC displays yet?

This would be perfect for something like the new LG 34" ultra-wide.
 
AFD said:
Wonder why they haven't tried using curved panels for PC displays yet?

This would be perfect for something like the new LG 34" ultra-wide.
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I think Eyefinity would still be better than curved screen gaming. You can see much more on the side with EyeFinity than with a smaller curved screen
 
Yes and no..

For a TV..yes I would agree. Gimmick. Now for a PC monitor or especially a multi-monitor gaming setup, then I feel it is a little less gimmicky and more valuable. But that of course is more of a single person experience obviously. So I can see them holding some value in the 20"-34" range for PC gaming and as mentioned 90"+ screens possibly if content is designed for it. Beyond that..meh.
 
They're good for 2.35:1 screens that are 120" or larger using an anamorphic lens. They help with pincushion from the lens, but that's becoming less of an issue with newer lenses. Some nearly completely eliminate the pincushion effect. I think a constant image height setup with auto matte, lens and curved screen is ideal.
 
Azhar said:
Shit, hope that won't mean we will be seeing 5 different versions of every movie.

DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Curved, Blu-ray 3D Curved
Click to expand...

Yep, it would be pretty untenable to have releases in these formats.
Once the recorded res gets way beyond 8K, perhaps it wont be a problem as it can be resampled without noticeable distraction.
Or they could use cloud computing to do a good enough on the fly re-sample, but that means streaming only.
 
They're good for 2.35:1 screens that are 120" or larger using an anamorphic lens. They help with pincushion from the lens, but that's becoming less of an issue with newer lenses. Some nearly completely eliminate the pincushion effect. I think a constant image height setup with auto matte, lens and curved screen is ideal.
 
Curved screens where great when it was projector, since the light was refocused back to you. It upped the light output over 20%. However what is the point of a curved screen without a central light source? Unless that lcd screen has a unidirectional output pixel that can be focused in one direction, its pointless.
 
For high field of view content it makes absolutely no sense to stick with a flat screen. All of those ultrawide FOV setups (like eyefinity or ultra wide screens) are begging for curved screens to surround the viewer.
 
Azhar said:
I think Eyefinity would still be better than curved screen gaming. You can see much more on the side with EyeFinity than with a smaller curved screen
Click to expand...
How so, take the same amount that eyefinity would have shown you and encompass it in a single curved screen.
 
You have any idea how stupid these will look mounted to a wall? It'll look like it got too hot or some shit.

STUPID IDEA IS STUPID! ELF SHOT THE FOOD!

:D
 
Seems like these screens would be best for a single viewer playing a first person shooter
Very interested in what a nvidia G-Sync + 50" Curve HD or 4K experience would be like
 
serpretetsky said:
How so, take the same amount that eyefinity would have shown you and encompass it in a single curved screen.
Click to expand...

Curved screen doesn't curve as sharply as a triple EyeFinity screen does. With Eyefinity you have two screens in your peripheral vision and the main screen as your forward vision. With a Curved monitor, everything's pretty much in front of you since the curve is very mild.
 
Obviously, curved screens are just another example ("3D" TV is another) that the industry doesn't have an idea in hell why everyone upgraded to an HDTV and is trying everything they can to get us all to buy that many TVs in that short a time again. They just don't understand the level of leap necessary to make us actually do that is probably 3D holographic TVs.
 
Azhar said:
Curved screen doesn't curve as sharply as a triple EyeFinity screen does. With Eyefinity you have two screens in your peripheral vision and the main screen as your forward vision. With a Curved monitor, everything's pretty much in front of you since the curve is very mild.
Click to expand...

So I guess I'm the only one who can see the potential benefit of Eyefinity + Curved monitors..you know..making the whole thing more wrap around and less angular...
 
Quix said:
Obviously, curved screens are just another example ("3D" TV is another) that the industry doesn't have an idea in hell why everyone upgraded to an HDTV and is trying everything they can to get us all to buy that many TVs in that short a time again. They just don't understand the level of leap necessary to make us actually do that is probably 3D holographic TVs.
Click to expand...

No, they know why everyone upgraded. They just need people to upgrade again due to the race to the bottom for pricing. The problem is, HDTV was such a giant leap that they don't have any clue how to make people buy TVs like that again, which is the problem.

Why buy a new TV, when your current one is still awesome? HDTV was an obvious upgrade, everything else is not.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
So I guess I'm the only one who can see the potential benefit of Eyefinity + Curved monitors..you know..making the whole thing more wrap around and less angular...
Click to expand...
Anyone with basic knowledge of math (or common sense) sees the potential benefits.
But no, "curve will always be a gimmick, no matter what! Kill it now! I don't like it!"

Such dumbness, I just lack words.
 
Azhar said:
Curved screen doesn't curve as sharply as a triple EyeFinity screen does. With Eyefinity you have two screens in your peripheral vision and the main screen as your forward vision. With a Curved monitor, everything's pretty much in front of you since the curve is very mild.
Click to expand...
I don't understand. Curve it more.
 
In regards to surround monitors, the future will be single monitor + large resolution.

I built a decent surround set up but I'm currently waiting for the LG UM95 to release and am going to use two of those. Now if they were slightly curved it would actually be really great, if it was one monitor it would be supremo!
 
curved TV screens are a gimmick!...and the world is round...

I thought curved OLED screens were just a 1 year gimmick to bring OLED to market...but they are continuing to bring new curved screens to the market for some odd reason...I guess it must be significantly cheaper to produce...when OLED prices fall we will see traditional flat screens back
 
Aapv0ek.png
 
Yeah I never had any plans to get a curved TV. It works well in a cinema where the screen is huge and there's enough space to get a decent number of people in the sweet spot.

Honestly I'm not even a fan of surround sound for the same reason, there's such a narrow region where it sounds good to me, sit a foot or two off the optimal position and one or more speakers will dominate and annoy the hell out of me. A good stereo system fills a room better IMO (unless it's a huge room).
 
Curved screens would make sense if you could adjust the curvature to conform to your viewing distance. Otherwise, ya obvious gimmick.
 
For TV use curved screens are indeed a gimmick. Its a stupid idea unless you watch TV alone and directly from front OR you have a screen that fills the entire wall in your house.

However for PC and gaming purposes though, especially with some wide aspect ratio screen, it could be awesome for surround gaming and without annoying bezels. It may take a touch less space as too.
 
I never placed any importance toward curved screens because there's so many other problems with displays today. But I finally saw the curved LG OLED when I was in HK and it seems to be the perfect set.
 
There is a large one in the Uijeongbu, South Korea mall. I'd be skeptical if I had not seen one in person but it's damn nice. Sitting at extreme angles was troublesome but otherwise it was fine from what I saw.

They also have large OLED screens there and to be frank I'd get a OLED panel way before a curved screen. You simply can't beat the image quality.
 
I'd love to have a curved computer screen. Curved big screens in the home though won't make sense for obvious reasons... people on the ends of the couch will have a very subpar experience, and it'll look gay on the wall.
 
"If you are a lone viewer wanting to sit close to your curved 60-inch TV, then it is going to be an absorbing video experience," O'Donovan added. "But in the average home, the benefits of the curved screen are questionable and the drawbacks tangible."

The only place curved screens seem to make sense is on a computer desk. Minimal viewing distance and a central position to the screen. However, the image stretching that occurs at the edge of the side monitors in triple monitor setups would have to be fixed.
 
Curved LCD/LED screens are a gimmick and I imagine only make off center viewing even worse than it already is on an edge lit screen.
HOWEVER, the curved LG OLED I saw is amazing and I would love one.
 
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