The SUHD TV from Samsung has officially launched in South Africa. It promised superior image quality with a beautiful curved display. I finally laid my eyes on it and it went beyond my expectations.
Using eco-friendly nano-crystal technology, viewers get 64 times more color expression than normal TVs. Thanks to a remastering engine, the TV automatically analyzes image brightness to minimize power consumption while producing much darker blacks and elevated brightness. At least, that’s what the press release says and how they justified launching on Earth Day.
Some eye candy for you… (we meant the TV!)In reality, the screen looks incredibly sharp and crisp. From the brightest brights to the darkest darks, I’ve honestly never seen picture quality like this. The colors pop with pixel perfect contrast and clarity. It is honestly a joy to behold. Of course, all the images they were showing were in 4k, so they were bound to be impressive. While your usual HD programming will look better on this TV, I’ll reserve judgement on that statement until I see it with my own eyes. I worry that upscaling might take away from the truly impressive visuals the screen offers.
Of course, beauty comes with a price tag. As outstanding as the screen quality is, so is the cost. The beautiful model that I was ogling all night cost a cool R250k. Apparently they range from R35k-R300k but you’d really want a big enough screen to make it worthwhile, and at that price I’m not sure it is. But here is how Michelle Potgieter explained the price tag and value of the TV:
If I had all the money in the world, sure, I’d buy it. But at the current price, it’s just too steep for me – for that price, I could buy myself a pretty new car instead. At least now the “normal” UHD curved TVs should come down in price.
