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Samsung's New TVs Are Almost Invisible (qz.com)
Mike Murphy reports via Quartz of Samsung's new top-of-the-line televisions announced at an event in New York today: Samsung's new QLED line of 4K TVs features a technology the company is calling "Ambient Mode." Before you mount the TV, you'll snap a picture of the wall it's going to hang on -- it doesn't matter if it's brick, wood, patterned wallpaper, or just a white wall -- and then after it's up, you can set that picture as the TV's background. The result is something that looks like a floating black rectangle mounted on a wall. Samsung even includes a digital version of the shadow this black rectangle would cast on the wall, as if there really wasn't a large LED panel sitting in the middle of the thin metal strips. There are five QLED models, with minor tweaks between them, ranging in size from 49 inches, up to an absolutely massive 88 inches. The televisions have a built-in timer so that the ambient setting will turn off after a while, in order to spare your electricity bill. Viewing the televisions before Samsung's event, the ambient really did appear to blend them into the walls at first blush. One, against a fake brick wall, was indistinguishable from what was behind it until you really got close up to the screen. The distinction on another, attempting to mimic a painted off-white wall, was a little more obvious. But that's not really the point -- the mode is just intended to give the illusion of invisibility between watching TV, and when you want to show off your new television to a visitor. Pricing isn't available but you can expect them to range from a few thousands dollars all the way up to $20,000 for the largest, sharpest models. Samsung also announced that it's partnering with The Weather Channel, The New York Times, and others to overlay content on the ambient TVs. They will also be able to control any smart device that can control to Samsung's SmartThings system, like Amazon Echoes, Ring doorbells, and Philips Hue Lights. Bixby is baked into the remote to help you search for content and cater to commands.
That's stupid.
You're using energy 24/7 making your TeeVee appear invisible?
Next up will be the Samsung Edge TV. It's just like the current TV, only the screen extends and curves a bit at the edges, so there is no black rectangle frame at the end of the screen. Sure, it's even more pointless than the edge on their phones, but when they're charging a premium for anything that makes them cooler than a TCL or Vizio TV, there's nothing they won't try.
Now if they had a passive color E-Ink display or the like, that would be really cool. Then you don't have to feel guilty about the power when leaving the screen on to have it blend in with the wall (or appear to be a painting, or whatever). Of course, good luck getting such a display to handle motion and extreme contrast that makes for a quality television. And good luck getting such a display at anything resembling HDTV resolutions, let alone 4K.
How do you watch an invisible TV?
The name is meant to imply that it's comparable to OLED technology, but the reality is that it's just regular old LED technology. It IS NOT anywhere nearly as good as real OLED. And only LG makes *real* OLEDs, not Samsung.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"They will also be able to control any smart device that can control to Samsung's SmartThings system, like Amazon Echoes, Ring doorbells, and Philips Hue Lights. Bixby is baked into the remote to help you search for content and cater to commands."
Nope. Not gonna use a TV connected to the Internet. That's dumb.
I don't respond to AC's.
What's not invisible is how Samsung TVs post all your viewing habits to log-ingestion.samsungacr.com.
I've been running MythTV/XBMC/Kodi for 15+ years and I did this on every TV (originally this was a CRT!). Setting the screensaver to display a picture of the wall for a while before going blank. Taking pictures of your "invisible" monitor was all the rage back then.
Just knowing what the wall behind the TV looks like in particular lighting isn't enough to make the TV appear to blend into the wall. You need to know the amount, direction, and color of all visible light sources and how the materials of the wall will respond to that light.
I'm skeptical that this will do what they advertise outside of a very controlled environment.
No one has ever thought to take a picture of the area behind a monitor and set it as the wallpaper before.... https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-transparent-screen-trick-photos/
Will this thing even turn on if there is no internet?
Of course, I did mount it on a black wall...
#DeleteChrome
You could create the effect by using and E-ink type of tech to reduce the power consumption.
I bet Apple is pissed they didnt bring this to market, little whinny bitches..
Wouldn't it be funny if apple tried to Sue samsung for the rights to the tech..
sounds lame.. But understanding people whom walk into glass walls., etc. I would not be shocked
Righton Samsung, cool innovation
Before you mount the TV, you'll snap a picture of the wall it's going to hang on
So, what happens if I mount this TV on one of the inner glass walls in the new Apple Campus...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Heres a picture :P
[($)]
Subject says it all.
Excellent idea!
Wait for it........Serve you stuff that makes the whole thing pointless. So now you can be served those fine advertisements on a beautiful background that looks like your wall. Wowsers, what a brave new world full of wonder and promise.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Sure. Set the background as a photo of the wall behind your TV. Then load a screen saver that shows cockroaches running around the screen.
Adn even there they both run linux under the hood, just without wifi or bluetooth built in to make them remotely hackable.
Another big concern people need to be aware of: HDMI+Ethernet.
HDMI cables with ethernet support means your computer or other internet connected device could be relaying messages from your television out onto the network, even if you believe you have a 'dumb' non-wifi connected device.
The world is becoming a huge security hazard nowdays. How I reminisce for the days when the majority of people were bordering on armed uprising over CPUIDs, Clipper Chips, Palladium, and Glassholes. But now people take all of those features for granted (Save CPUIDs, which iterestingly enough are the ONLY component of your computer without a serial available to the operating system today. You should be very concerned by the information your computer is leaking on a day to day basis. your bios DMI information, your HDD SMART info, including serial #, your GPU guid/serial, your ethernet address, and each and every USB device you plug into your system can be tracked and linked between systems, making it very dangerous for anyone not smart enough to buy the cheap chinese knockoffs with fake/empty serial IDs. Ironically only the hardware equivalent of the warez scene can provide you with anonymity in this day and age.
"How do you like my new invisible TV? All of the shows on it say what a fantastic job I'm doing."
"It's tremendous, Mr President. Really spectacular. Now, can we get back to the national security briefing?"
You are welcome on my lawn.
Samsung also announced that it's partnering with The Weather Channel, The New York Times, and others to overlay content on the ambient TVs. They will also be able to control any smart device that can control to Samsung's SmartThings system, like Amazon Echoes, Ring doorbells, and Philips Hue Lights. "
'Nuff said.
Considering the modern trend of TVs harvesting data like demonic vacuums, a cynic might suggest that the TV being invisible to people is probably some attempt to get higher quality data or things that people would likely not say in range of the TV normally. If people don't know the spying machine is there, well, what better way to get more candid data?
You really need a roku or apple TV to control them, as the built-in operating system and apps are sluggish dogshit at best...bordering on unusable.
Go outside and snap a picture of what you would see if the TV was a window and have that, or a short length animation with the trees gently moving in the breeze. Unless you had a crappy view of an alleyway or something similar on that side.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
I'll just paint my wall black and save $1000s!
Here is something for you hackers out there to try.
The simple version: In a room with no exterior windows, set a large TV/monitor into a wall. Surround it by a window frame. Display the view you'd expect to see from your building, if there actually was a window there.
Elaboration 0: Use a camera to feed a live view of outside to the 'window'.
Elaboration 1: Have weird things happen occasionally in the view: UFO, Godzilla attack, albatross flying into the "window", tsunami, pyroclastic flow, spiderman.
Elaboration 2: Have some cameras inside the room and some AI to identify and track human heads. By whatever method, pick one head as the victim. Feed the location of that head to the display software, so it will display the view with the correct parallax for that viewpoint.
Once you add the parallax, I think this could be very convincing to any unsuspecting viewer.
I disclaim any responsibility for the effects this could have on the viewer, or consequences that the viewer or others might visit upon the trickster. Consult your own ethics and lawyers and (if relevant) your institution's ethics review board.
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
>"Viewing the televisions before Samsung's event, the ambient really did appear to blend them into the walls at first blush."
Except that Samsung and apparently most of the other manufacturers are in love with stupid, GLOSSY screens. So no, it will not be invisible, it will reflect every stray light and everything else, even when it is on. (Can you tell I am a fan of now nearly unobtainable MATT displays?)
I can guess their "sample" setup was engineered VERY carefully to try and hide the actual reality of reflections that would be present in any real-world use.
Seems like a good Roku Channel idea.
Also, wonder if the TV will work the same in all light levels (including lights off). Does it?
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
That's right I said I already got it. My Samsung TV is fully invisible and cost $0. Couldn't be more happy with it to be honest.
I have 100" 8K TV that is completely invisible even when turned on!
No way it's going to blend THAT well with the wall.
Think about it. Have you ever taken a picture, then held up the camera to the thing you just photographed to compare? The colors are always a little bit off. And think about the way the room's colors change from dim to bright and back with time of day and weather conditions. There's no way the TV is going to be able to compensate for changing lighting conditions.
You'd be better off just displaying a random picture, like a big digital picture frame.
You crackers would be eating this up if it was done by Apple.
So you’re saying you prefer distorted colors or, when defining "warmth" like people do with vinyl, lack of precision, aka blurriness?
It will look like a picture of the wall behind it. Which, I would think, looks really stupid.
In a perfectly calibrated lab environment, with perfect lighting, i'm sure it looks seamless. But i don't think it will be seamless in every lighting situation. In some conditions, it's just going to look odd
If you gave me a choice between a printer and a giraffe with explosive diarrhoea, i'll get my ladder and my raincoat
When it catches fire it becomes very visible, just give it a try!
It's been in its box in the cellar for years, since we didn't use it.
Instead of spending energy to turn it invisible, it's invisible unless I spend energy. It's called a projector.
How much did Samsung pay for this ad?
They can be really relied on to come up with harebrained schemes. But, in truth, they also make the most explosive devices in the market. Anyway, I am already burning with anticipation.
Hope you don't have any pet birds or mount the TV outdoors.
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
We have been using Sharp TV's as monitors in our office for years. Quite by accident I learned they have a similar feature called Wallpaper Mode but instead of looking like the wall it has an artistic picture that displays when it is turned off if you enable quick start mode. Looks like a hanging picture and as I learned from the manual is low power so it isn't using nearly as much power as normal. You can also set it to use images loaded to any USB drive connected to the TV. This isn't remotely new Samsung is just marketing it in a new way.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
"Ambient Mode" for the network interface.
Take the wall photo before you install the flush mount hdmi / power outlet.
You don't know it's a TV, so you watch without knowing you are watching.
You think that's a fireplace over there? Do you think that's a painting? Do you think that's air you are breathing? Stop trying to hit me and hit me!
Sorry... bit of a Matrix moment there.
You close your eyes.
I put mine where I used to hang the darts board. After a few weeks cracks appeared.
Read it and NEVER plug your TV in to the interwebs.