They're here! Giant wider-than-widescreen curved TVs

Samsung 105

It's wider, and it's curvier, and it's certainly not cheaper, but it could be the shape of things to come

It’s safe to say 3D TVs are nearly dead and buried, so now it’s time for the rise of Ultra HD (UHD) TVs, complete with 4K resolutions and prices already dropping. You can get a quality 50-inch 4K TV from TCL for $999. LG, Sony, TCL, Seiki and others already have units on the market, and the sizes are already getting bigger. Now, both LG and Samsung are ready to debut 105-inch, ultrawide 21:9 UHD TVs at CES 2014. It’s a battle of the giant UHD TVs between rivals LG and Samsung!

LG’s Curved 105-inch UHD TV (105UB9)

LG was the first to tease their curved UHD TV, and it’s mega-wide with a screen aspect ratio of 21:9 and resolution of 5120 x 2160, much better than most 4K TVs currently on the market (3840 x 2160), and actually better than standard 4K (4096 x 2160 or 4096 x 2560). It could probably be called “4K-plus” with the extra horizontal pixels. A curved TV (4K or 1080p) is a must-have for cinema lovers, as it mimics many theater screens around the world.

This is an LCD model (LED backlit), which should bring the price down a bit; LG has a curved OLED UHD TV coming in at 77 inches, and that technology is always expensive. Since prices haven’t been revealed yet, or too many other details, we can probably assume the cost will start around $30,000 to $40,000, about what Samsung’s ‘chalkboard’ 4K TV starts at. Other details won’t be released until CES, so stay tuned!

Samsung Strikes Back With Its Own 105-inch UHD TV

Let the very-big television set wars continue! HDTV manufacturers have been attempting to one-up each other with bigger and bigger HDTVs, going back a few years, so it’s only natural that they’ve moved into the giant UHD TV battle. As such, Samsung has its own curved 105-inch UHD TV, with screen features similar to LG’s - 21:9 aspect ratio and 5120 x 2160 resolution.

Samsung didn’t say if it’s LCD (LED backlit) or OLED, but we’d wager it’s LCD like the LG 105UB9 model. Samsung did indicate it’s the most-curved ultrawide UHD TV, plus uses a Quadmatic Picture Engine to deliver quality ultra HD picture from any source. Again, this may be a hit for home cinema lovers looking for the best of the best when it comes to 4K TVs that are ultrawide at 21:9. The curved screen mimics movie theater screens worldwide. Also, no pricing was released, but like with the LG, we can probably safely bet it’ll cost $30,000 to $40,000. If it’s lower than that, we’d be shocked; their 55-inch, curved OLED 1080p HDTV starts at $9,000.

We’ll be covering CES 2014 when it starts January 7th. Stay tuned!