The latest generation of sound and vision
Philip Wakefield looks at TVs that blend in with the decor, and sound systems that pack a punch.
IF YOU want your TV to disappear into the decor, Samsung may have the solution with Ambient Mode.
This ingenious innovation is at the cutting edge of a growing trend by TV brands to harmonise hi-tech and the home.
Available on the new QLED range, Ambient Mode mimics the wall behind the TV, so the 4K screen blends chameleon-like into the surface – wallpaper, paint, brick, polished concrete – while displaying real-time information (the weather, news headlines).
Ambient Mode builds on last year’s The Frame, which combined digital art with a clip-on frame to make the TV resemble a work of art.
The downside of The Frame is it’s only on a couple of mid-range models whereas Ambient Mode is exclusive to the top-end Q series, which offers four models ranging in size from 55 inches to 75.
Samsung leads other brands in trying to make its TVs feel part of the furniture, so they integrate rather than intrude into the living space.
This year it’s also refined its One Clear Connection cable. It now combines audiovideo leads plus power into a 15 metrelong, Teflon-coated cable so there’s only one thin cable that extends from the TV into a box with its own power supply and terminals for plugging in HDMI and USB devices, like Blu-ray players and games consoles.
This cuts cable clutter and maximises where you can place the TV as it no longer has to be within a metre or two of electrical sockets.
The One Clear Connection cable and box are limited to the Q series but all of Samsung’s 2018 TVs can be wall mounted with an optional accessory that virtually eliminates the space in-between the TV and wall.
There’s also a tiltable option for optimising the viewing angle no matter where the TV hangs in the home.
While Samsung is arguably the most style-conscious of TV brands, others are quickly catching up, such as LG with its wallpaper OLED TV, and Sony and Panasonic with their more modest innovations.
Sony’s new AF8 OLED TV fine-tunes last year’s A1, replacing the easel-style stand with a minimalist pedestal that requires less surface space and doesn’t tilt the screen as much.
Because the screen sits so low, you can’t place a soundbar in front of it. But Sony reckons you won’t need one because of the TV’s Acoustic Surface technology.
The audio comes from the screen rather than speakers below it and has built-in woofers to help provide wide stereo sound with heft.
Sony’s cable clutter solution isn’t as sophisticated as Samsung’s but still keeps wires largely out of sight, either by being trailed behind the A8F’s pedestal or, in the case of the new X9000F LCD TV, thread through the feet (which are splayed wide enough to accommodate Sony’s matching HT-X9000F soundbar).
Some of Panasonic’s new TVs come with adjustable feet that can adapt to the width of a TV cabinet while its premium FZ1000 OLED, which goes on sale next month, has a built-in Technics-engineered soundbar for its pedestal.
It has eight multiple-speaker units – four larger woofers, four squawkers and two tweeters, plus a quad passive radiator to boost bass – and is up to 40 per cent louder than last year’s on the EZ1000.
The design aesthetics also have been improved to allow the soundbar, or ‘‘Dynamic Blade Speaker’’, to be wall-mounted flush with the TV.
As convenient as integrated soundbars are on TVs like the EZ1000 and LG’s E8 OLED, standalone soundbars with separate subwoofers invariably perform better. Not only have soundbars replaced home theatre-in-a-box systems but also they are starting to usurp separate components because of their clutter-free convenience and increasingly sophisticated specifications.
And this year, for the first time, Kiwis will be able to choose from a wide range of Dolby Atmoscapable soundbars. Previously, only Yamaha and Onkyo marketed them here but over the next few months there will be more competitively priced models from Samsung, LG and Sony.
The first to go on sale are LG’s SK10Y and SK9Y. Both are 5.1.2 configurations with High-Res Audio upscaling (24 bit/ 192kHz compatible); the former is 550 watts-rated, and has a Meridian mode for better fidelity, the latter is 500W.
Samsung NZ will release its first Dolby Atmos soundbar, the HW-N950, in August.
Previous 950 generations have been for sale in other markets since 2016 but were 5.1.2 or 3.1.2 speaker arrangements.
As well as front-firing and up-firing speakers, the HW-N950 will have sidefiring speakers and wireless rear speakers to deliver 7.1.4 surround sound.
Already out is Samsung’s HW-N650 ($899), which uses Acoustic Beam Technology to create a panoramic soundstage to immerse movie buffs and games in the heart of the action without the need for rear speakers
‘‘We want to grow our AV offering in NZ this year, which is why we are bringing in even more options in the high-end soundbar category,’’ Jens Anders, Consumer Electronics Director for Samsung NZ, says.
Due July 1 from Sony is the world’s first virtual Dolby Atmos-supported soundbar, the HT-Z9FR ($1749), which will come with a pair of rear speakers to provide three-dimensional surround sound without using ceiling reflection or up-firing speakers.
But if Dolby Atmos capability isn’t a concern, JBL may offer the most flexible 5.1 soundbar yet, the Bar 5.1 ($1199).
It has detachable, battery-powered rear speakers that can be separated from the soundbar to radiate surround sound for up to 10 hours from anywhere in the room which should be long enough to watch four or five movies without a recharge.
And when you want to listen to just music, plug the wireless rears back into the main bar for a neat and tidy hi-fi system.
The 510W unit also has three 4K HDMI inputs, optical and AUX wired connections, a 10-inch wireless subwoofer, and Dolby Digital and DTS decoding.
JBL offers 3.1 and 2.1 Bar options as well and in spring it will be launching a world-first collaboration with Google: the Link Bar, which will turn any TV into an Android TV.