With these MicroLED TVs, Samsung is taking a more familiar approach. The thin panels are pre-mounted, so you just need to lift the screen out of the box (using the supplied installation handles) and mount it on your wall. In the interview above, Mike Kadish and Dan Shinasi from Samsung tell you that you will definitely need some extra hands to handle such large screens. These TVs are meant to be wall mounted, but you can also buy a standard separately if you prefer to use a table. Although pre-set, there is the potential for the MicroLED panels to be aligned over time, the drivers tell us. However, you could fix it with a screwdriver if needed.
On what these sets look like, Samsung claims they will have an even finer pitch than early versions of The Wall. They are all 4K screens, as you would expect, and they support HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Because the panel itself is thin and fine, the MicroLED TVs rely on an external breakthrough box for connectivity, just like Samsung’s recent premium sets. The company has not yet confirmed if they will support HDMI 2.1 or a 120Hz refresh rate, but I definitely hope so, as you probably do not want to upgrade these animals anytime soon. Similarly, there is still no word on response times or support for variable refresh rates.
In truth Back to the future 2 mode, you will be able to watch up to four inputs simultaneously on these MicroLED sets using Samsung’s Multi-View mode. A 110-inch screen can be effectively turned into four 55-inch panels. This is a cool salon trick, though I wonder how useful it will be in practice. The function is also limited only to the display of individual inputs; you can not throw the TV’s built-in Netflix or Hulu programs in different windows. (Although this is something that Samsung drivers may add over time.)
If you’re wondering, no, we do not yet know what these MicroLED TVs will cost. This is not uncommon – most TV companies show their new range at CES and follow the pricing and availability details in the foreground. But in this case, I would be interested to see how it compares to large QLED and OLED TVs. LG’s 88-inch Signature ZX 8K OLED TV costs $ 30,000 conspicuously, and I would not be surprised if Samsung’s prices start there, even though they are 4K sets. MicroLED is, after all, still a budding display technology, so it’s probably tougher and more expensive to produce than OLED, which LG has been working out consistently for years.
The real question is whether consumers who fall deep into the pocket will jump on Samsung’s big MicroLED sets when big OLEDs have already proven their worth. It’s one thing to be an early adopter of something like folding phones or dual-screen computers, and that’s spending tens of thousands on first-generation display technology. Just as impressive as these MicroLED TVs sound, I would note that the audience that wants to spend a ton on a large screen might be better off with OLED, or alternative options like ultra-short-range laser projectors.