Here at Big Picture Big Sound, there's really only one thing that really matters in a TV: picture quality. You can keep your fancy 3D glasses, streaming and smart TV apps. If a TV gets the basics of picture quality right, we'll like it. Plasma TVs produce excellent blacks and rich saturated colors, but they tend to not be very bright and are slightly thicker than LED/LCD sets. LED/LCD TVs are plenty bright and super skinny but tend to have issues in their picture uniformity as well as black level reproduction. LED/LCD sets also can have trouble with reproduction of moving images due to the relatively long amount of time it takes for an LCD pixel to refresh itself.
OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TVs promise black levels and motion reproduction better than plasma, but brightness and screen thickness more akin to LED/LCD sets. The catch? Even after being shown at CES and other electronics shows for several years, they haven't been available to actually buy in stores. That changed in July with the launch of LG's 55-inch OLED TV. Today OLED TV makes another leap forward with Samsung's KN55S9C 55-inch OLED TV.
Expected in specialty A/V stores this week, the new set offers a slightly concave curved screen, which sets it apart from its dimensionally challenged brethren. It also makes it more difficult (read: impossible) to wall-mount, but you could always have your custom installer build a custom recessed housing for it, if you don't want to place it on a shelf or stand.
Samsung unveiled the set at CES this past January, but showed the final production version today at Cipriani's restaurant in Manhattan. The biggest news was the price: a mere $8999.99. Competitor LG's comparably sized OLED TV is currently selling for about $15,000. Early sources said the Samsung price would be comparable, but apparently that's not the case (and there was much rejoicing...). While not inexpensive, the $9,000 price tag of the Samsung puts it in closer reach of die-hard early adopters and videophiles
In addition to outstanding black levels and rich color saturation (which I observed myself today at the event), and an elegant modern design, Samsung's KN55S9C features a "dual view" mode. Instead of fighting with your significant other (or kids) over what to watch, you can each don a pair of Samsung's 3D glasses and simulataneously watch two different things. Integrated earbuds in the glasses make sure that each viewer gets the proper sound associated with their viewing choice. Netflix for the kids and a Blu-ray for mom and dad? No problem. Just don't try to hold an actual conversation with each other while viewing. The set also supports full 1080p 3D viewing using these same glasses, if that's something you enjoy.
The KN55S9C also features Samsung's newly enhanced 2013 Smart TV interface and apps, with advanced control via gesture, voice, or the new touch pad remote control (also available on select 2013 model plasma and LED/LCD TVs). We plan to spend some quality time with the set later this week so stay tuned.
