TV & SOUND PROJECTION
Clean minimalism from Panasonic
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evelopments in flat screen TV technology have not only made sets thinner, brighter, sharper and lighter, but they have also transformed screen design. Older flat TVs had large bezels surrounding the display screen, but now, many sets have almost eliminated the bezel. Today, the bezel is typically around 5mm in size, or roughly ten times smaller than those found on sets barely a decade old. The bezel used to house electronics, wires and speakers, but most of these components have been integrated elsewhere. The result is a bigger screen and a more immersive viewing experience for the consumer.
SHOWING TO ADVANTAGE
Ultra-thin bezel sets are especially appealing to home cinema fans, who can get a bigger screen on a set that has the same footprint as older models with much bigger bezels. Neil King, head of home entertainment at Sony UK and Ireland, says: “It’s important retailers are able to effectively display products in store, so that consumers can see how products would fit into their living room. Not all retailers have separate demonstration rooms in store, so making the best use of available space is important.” He adds that ultra-thin bezel TVs should, where possible, be wall mounted, as this is a design feature as well as a space saver. The new Sony X90C is being marketed as the world’s slimmest LCD 4K model, at just 4.9mm thin, with a new ‘Floating Style’ design,.
SOUNDS AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS THE CONTINUING REVOLUTION IN TV TECHNOLOGY AND SCREEN DESIGN HAS BROUGHT ENORMOUS BENEFITS TO DOMESTIC VIEWERS IN TERMS OF PICTURE QUALITY AND AESTHETICS, ALONG WITH THE OCCASIONAL DOWNSIDE – SUCH AS THE DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING HIGH QUALITY SOUND FROM SPEAKERS BUILT INTO ULTRA-THIN BEZEL SCREENS. GEORGE COLE TALKS TO SOME INDUSTRY EXPERTS ABOUT HOW RETAILERS CAN MAXIMISE THE ELEGANCE OF MODERN DESIGN WITHOUT COMPROMISING QUALITY. DEMONSTRATION IS VITAL
Philips agrees that demonstration is everything with ultra- thin or zero-bezel TVs. “A side-by-side comparison with a regular thin-bezel set is the perfect way to show the benefits of this,” says the company. “The same content should be used on both TVs in the demonstration, and as the impact of zero-bezel is greater on larger screen sizes, sets of 50-inches and above should be used. For Philips TVs, this is also a good way to demonstrate Ambilight. In addition to reducing eye strain, Ambilight has been designed to take the impact of the screen beyond the edges of the set. Zero-bezel means that Ambilight can now connect directly to the onscreen content for a more connected and immersive experience.” Neil King says that “it’s also important that features such as picture quality and sound are demonstrated to their full advantage. Shop floors can be crowded and noisy so it’s important that consumers
really understand the benefits, and see them for themselves. Having engaging content is key for this.”
THINNER SCREEN, NOT THINNER SOUND
But as TV sets get slimmer and bezels become narrower, finding the physical space for fitting speakers large enough to provide good quality TV sound is getting harder. This is particularly so for bass sound, which requires large woofers or a sub-woofer to provide a good low frequency response. Some manufacturers have tried getting around this problem by installing rear-mounted speakers that fire sound out from the back of the set. The audio is then reflected off the walls and ceiling towards the viewer. Other manufacturers have used speakers that fire down at the floor, with the sound bouncing up towards the viewer’s ears. But it is fair to say that the results of these speaker configurations can be mixed. APRIL 2015 GET CONNECTED
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