The South Korean company claims that a 110-inch TV is also headed for production, as is an OLED version.
Okay, this is just getting silly now and is one of the reasons why many tech commentators have started describing Samsung’s approach to technology as “gadget spam,” so numerous and similar are its devices.
Not content with offering 55-inch, 65-inch and 85-inch televisions, Samsung has decided to test the limits of domestic architectural capacity with two new TVs, the biggest of which comes in at 110 inches from corner to corner, giving it a diagonal span of 2.8m. Good luck squeezing that into a Hong Kong, London, Paris, Tokyo or New York apartment. After all, it's not just a question of how much wall space they occupy, but how far away from the display the viewer would have to sit in order to see the whole picture within their field of vision.
Undeterred by this potential problem, Samsung went to great lengths to highlight the performance of its growing range of ultra high definitions TVs and to underline the fact that thanks to some new technological additions, the sets can upscale pretty much any content to fill the massive screen and not look like a really poor quality web video.
Although it wasn’t on show during the press conference, the most exciting announcement is that Samsung claims to overcome some of the production issues that were plaguing the development of its first OLED ultra high definition television.
OLED technology is exciting simply because it offers the brightest, sharpest and most responsive moving images possible because it doesn’t require a separate light source. The majority of TVs current on the market -- both high-end and low-end – use LCD screens with a row or rows of LED lights either inserted in the frame or set directly behind the screen. These LEDs emit light that illuminates the screen so that the viewer can see it.
However, they’re not fast or accurate enough to illuminate a single pixel of detail; instead they bring light to areas on the screen, which is why it’s almost impossible to obtain a true black or huge contrasts. This shortcoming is not always noticeable but, if companies like Samsung insist on making bigger and bigger TVs, this sometimes poor contrast will start to become easier to see.
The OLED set wasn't on show during the press briefing and is expected to make a brief appearance on Samsung’s stand at IFA, which gets underway on Friday (suggesting that it is still in the developmental phase) but is also expected to be one of the biggest attractions of the upcoming International CES consumer electronics conference, which takes place in Las Vegas next January.
As for the 98-inch TV, Samsung did not reveal prices or availability but expect it to retail for around $50,000.
