Gadgets that redefine your TV viewing experience

High on the learning curve

And you thought you had seen everything in TV you could possibly see in your lifetime. Why even 4K is now becoming yesterday's technology, with LG launching the world's first curved TV.

The Korean company's EA9800 is a 55-incher with a curved OLED display. OLED, or Organic LED, uses organic compounds and does not require backlighting, and, therefore, is capable of much higher contrasts and deeper blacks.

The curved display reduces screen-edge distortions while keeping the TV screen at the same radius from the eye at every point, as in an IMAX theatre.

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The use of OLED also aided LG in keeping the TV size slice-thin at 4.3 mm. The 3D TV is priced at $13,500 (Rs 750,000).

However, it wasn't LG that was first mover on the curved OLED technology in television. Samsung had showcased its product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

It had wowed visitors with its immersive quality, where it seems to pull you into the screen. Samsung too plans to launch its non-3D OLED later this year.

Experts who saw this TV say that the curve allowed images almost to jump out at you, rather like 3D, even if the TV itself wasn't equipped for three-dimensional broadcast.

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Give the TV a lift

Small spaces tend to get cramped with way too many appliances and artefacts shouting for your attention. Now here's a gadget to take care of your audio-visual storage problems and make your room look orderly and open.

Hafele's Plasma Maxi Lift system allows you to fit a Plasma or LCD flat screen television within a cabinet and lower or raise it when required using state-of-the art lift mechanism.

The design and simple usage make this gadget popular with home-theatre owners. Each lift comes with a radiowave remote control which can be used from any corner of the room, which is unlike the infrared ones that require to be pointed to a visible receiver.

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Armed with a Bosch motor for whisper-quiet operation and ball bearing guide system for increased stability, this hydraulically operated lift makes the whole process smooth and noiseless. The system is also available in 750 mm size to accommodate large screens.

Price: Rs 58,000

Area of application: Suitable screen size with maximum width of 1,600 mm; maximum height without foot - 820 mm; maximum weight - 65 kg

Height of mechanism: 715 mm (closed) to 1465 mm

Speed of lift operation: 28mm/second