Curved TV or flat, which is better: parameter comparison

Today, almost every apartment has a TV, and not all are limited to one copy. When it comes to which screen structure is better - flat or curved, the vast majority prefers the first option. Advertising also obsessively promotes news with a perfectly flat screen. How things really are will be described in the framework of the article.

Comparison of the advantages of appearance

From a design point of view, products with a flat or concave screen have a modern, if not futuristic appearance. Concave shapes are particularly suitable for cutting edge design. If the housing is furnished in hi-tech style, then a TV in the style of the eighties or nineties of the last century will not fit into the interior. But if the house is furnished in retro style, then a TV with a large kinescope will successfully complement the surroundings.

The second important detail - as a rule, a TV with a curved screen takes up more space than a flat one. As a result, difficulties with mounting on the wall. Flat-screen TVs are conveniently attached to the wall, and the vast majority of this option for their use is implied. Models with a curved screen shape are usually placed on a pedestal, on the floor or on a table.

Viewing angle

Depending on the angle of curvature of the screen, the panorama angle of the resulting image changes. With visually the same size in width, the panorama of the image on a concave screen is wider than on a flat one. Due to this, the effect of presence in the cinema is achieved. But there is a flip side to the coin. When a person sits in front of the TV, not directly opposite him, but at an angle of more than 35 degrees, it turns out serious distortion of the image panorama, that is, watching TV at such an angle, to put it mildly, problematic. Not only is the distortion somewhat annoying, the eye simply gets tired of such a picture.

Some modern models with a curved screen shape do not give distortion in terms of contrast and brightness of the picture depending on the viewing angle clearly expressed in liquid crystal displays. This disadvantage is absent in OLED displays.

Reflection

This parameter is determined not by the shape of the display, but by its physical properties. Even in a dimly lit room, a glossy screen gives glare and reflection. Avoid this trouble allows the matte display.

If the screen gives a rich and vivid image, this can reduce its reflective effect, even if it is not matte. With a dim picture, glare will be more noticeable. Equally important is the location of the TV relative to light sources. Putting it directly in front of a bright lamp is not the best solution. The ideal option is to watch TV without the lights on.

Cost / quality

With minor advantages, the price of products with a concave display is unreasonably high. In favor of such a pricing policy, there are absolutely no serious advantages. Therefore, from the point of view of investing, this new product does not give a gain in image quality.

The explanation, but not the excuse for this phenomenon, is that leading manufacturers, such as Samsung, Panasonic and LG are positioning this type of product as a flagship, and for those who want to be “in trend,” this may be criterion. But, in fact, curvature and steepness are not quite the same thing. Regarding the gain in image quality, it is noticeable only with a very large image size, and not as large as we would like based on the price of the product.

The pros and cons of both

The concave display has these advantages:

• greater immersion, that is, a visually perceptible screen space relatively flat;
• when watching a large TV, the image depth is clearly higher than that of a similar one with a flat screen;
• The contrast of the image on OLED displays is commendable, which is also characteristic of flat screens with the same technology;
• interesting ultramodern appearance, which is an important criterion for some.

Disadvantages of technology:

• high reflectivity due to surface curvature;
• less convenient viewing angle than on a flat-screen TV;
• difficulties with mounting on the wall, as well as a rather bulky view of this option of fasteners;
• in order for the technology to give the claimed benefits, you need a really large screen size, for example, 85 inches;
• exorbitantly high cost of products.

Conclusion

Concluding the review, we can give a summary - flat-screen technology by price / quality criteria significantly wins compared to a concave display. The final decision remains with the buyer, but it is probably worth the wait until the pricing policy of manufacturers takes a more reasonable form.