TV buyers in 2015 don’t just have to contend with Ultra HD TVs, with an extra “S” being added to Samsung’s range promising stronger colours through nano-crystal technology.
Ultra HD could just get a whole lot more complicated if you’re in the market for one this year, with Samsung announcing pricing and availability for its UHD TVs.
This year, there will be quite a few options popping up, with both regular UHD LCD TVs, as well as SUHD TVs joining them, a subset of Samsung’s TV line-up that isn’t just including the “S” for show (even though it could well stand for that).
Rather, the inclusion of the “S” denotes Samsung’s use of quantum dot, a technology takes advantage of small crystals to boost colour, brightness, and contrast, while producing stronger and darker blacks and what is considered a more accurate colour, representing the content you load your TV in better than a convention LCD screen.
From what we understand, the technology might be similar to what we’ve seen in Sony’s panels for some time, called “Triluminos” in that camp, with LG also bringing quantum dot tech in its 2015 range, also.
“The Samsung SUHD experience will change the way Australians think about Samsung’s home entertainment and visual display technology – it’s on a completely new level to anything we have ever produced,” said Philip Newton, Samsung Australia’s Corporate Vice President.
“By pushing Samsung’s boundaries in colour and picture quality, the SUHD TV range showcases our continuous commitment to innovation in the TV category, offering Australians an outstanding viewing experience.”
Beyond the brightness and colour improvements, SUHD TVs will also deliver TV designs inspired by contemporary art and architecture, and a new operating system, with the Tizen operating system seen on some smartphones appearing on the TVs as a form of smart TV interface.
“Australians will absolutely love watching the latest and most popular shows and movies on this TV that can streamed straight to the living room from the likes of Netflix, Presto and Stan,” said Newton, adding that “we will be offering some of the first purchasers of 2015 Samsung TVs bonus access to Netflix for six months, allowing them to watch UHD content like House of Cards and Marco Polo on our stunning Samsung SUHD displays.”
We need to note that to access the Netflix content in the native 4K Ultra HD resolution, you’ll want (and need) a 25Mbps persistent connection, with Netflix requiring those high speeds for a 4K delivery in Australia.
Without it, you’ll see the 4K feed go back to high definition, though Samsung’s upscaling technology should be able to handle that with no problems, delivering Ultra HD upscaling for high definition content.
Helping this out will be an eight-core processor, which in turn will work with the smart TV Tizen interface, providing information on what you’re watching, recommendations, and even the ability to recognise Samsung smartphones so you can watch TV through the devices.
Further, we’re told that the new Samsung smart TV interface will show important items from your regular life appearing on compatible Samsung phones, meaning items like the time, the weather, and your regular daily calendar will appear on the TV, making it not just a place you turn to when you want to watch some telly, but also a key part of your life.
Pricing for these TVs starts at $4999 for the 55 inch flat JS8000 (and $6999 for the 65 inch variant), $5999 for the 55 inch curved JS9000 ($7999 for the 65 inch variant), and from $9999 for the 65 inch curved JS9500, with options reaching into 88 inches for $24,999 for this one.
Meanwhile, regular Ultra HD TVs will also get a show, with the 55 inch starting from $3199 in the JU7000 series, with these also popping up in 60 inch, 65 inch, 75 inch,and 85 inch models, as well as a JU7500 curved variant starting at $3499 for 55 inch, with 65 inch and 78 inch models also being made available.
With the exception of the 88 inch JS9500 — Samsung’s $24,999 TV for 2015 — and the 85 inch JU7000 — Samsung’s standard UHD JU7000 TV set at 85 inches — all of these TVs will hit stores this month, and should be there shortly. Those two, the big whoppers, they’ll arrive in June, so if you have the money to spare and want a bit TV, the middle of the year is when you should expect these (you know, right around tax refund time).
I’m still not convinced there’s any real benefit in having a cuved screen.