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Samsung details its stunning bezel-less 8K TV

Samsung details its stunning bezel-less 8K TV

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99 percent of the front is all display

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The bezel-less TV from Samsung is indeed a real product being announced here at CES 2020. However, it’s only available in an 8K set that’s guaranteed to be very expensive. I would’ve loved to see a step-down 4K model to make this gorgeous design attainable for more people, but it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that getting the “infinity display” means you’ll have to opt for the nicest TV in Samsung’s entire 2020 lineup. Pricing isn’t yet being disclosed, nor is a release date; Samsung’s new TVs usually ship by spring, however.

Samsung Korea spilled the details a little prematurely with a press release; Samsung is holding its TV-focused First Look event on Sunday evening in Las Vegas.

The new QLED 8K uses 99 percent of its front surface for the display. There is a bezel, but it’s hard to perceive at just 2.3 millimeters. The TV itself is incredibly thin at 15 millimeters.

Samsung has on-device, AI-powered upscaling for making content appear closer to native 8K resolution. There was a dearth of 8K content at last year’s CES, and absolutely nothing about that situation has changed for 2020. That’s what makes the idea of buying this TV so hard to recommend. Samsung is also attempting to make video streaming content look as good as it can, with new “AI ScaleNet” technology that prevents data loss in the journey from a streaming company’s server to your TV. The first partner for this will be Amazon Prime Video.

Image: Samsung

Samsung says the TV includes an adaptive picture setting that adjusts brightness and contrast based on the TV’s surroundings. As with the company’s other TVs, the 8K QLED features quantum dot color and full-array local dimming. And Samsung is also attempting to preserve quality of video streaming content

You might expect a TV with no noticeable bezels to be lousy in the audio department, but according to Samsung, this thing packs a punch. A feature called OTS+ (object tracking sound plus) recognizes when moving objects are on the screen and tries to move sound along the TV’s speakers in a realistic fashion, producing an end result that the company says resembles 5.1 surround sound. And there’s also a “Q-Symphony” function that optimizes audio performance by utilizing both the TV’s speakers and a connected soundbar simultaneously.

As for its smarts, the QLED 8K has support for Bixby, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. It can quickly pair with Android smartphones for mirroring when they’re tapped against / near the screen. And Samsung says it’s including what it refers to as a Digital Butler, which can control Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-compatible gadgets, but also those devices that lack an internet connection. There are obviously questions around how all of that works, but we should get a better idea after we see the bezel-less QLED 8K firsthand later tonight — along with the other TVs Samsung has planned for this year.