Samsung Builds A Potentially Affordable Curved Monitor

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Samsung's latest monitor may only be a Full HD unit, but it is curved.

Full HD monitors are boring. There, I said it. However, a display that could make 1920 x 1080 pixels exciting again is the curved Samsung S27D590CS.

Samsung built the monitor with a VA panel that provides vertical and horizontal viewing angles of 178 degrees, and it has a blinding 350 cd/m2 brightness along with a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1. The monitor has a gray-to-gray response time of 4 ms and should cover most of the sRGB color space. It also comes with a "Game Mode" feature, which adjusts the gamma and saturation settings so that it is easier to make out detail in darker scenes.

The curved design, according to Samsung, will create a sort of 3D effect. The company says that due to the curvature, images may appear to have a sense of depth. While we question how true that is until we can see it for ourselves, we can believe that it will at least offer a more immersive experience.

Samsung has fitted the monitor with DisplayPort, VGA and HDMI input connectors, and it also has a 3.5 mm audio input jack for the 5 W stereo speakers. Topping it off, the curved display also comes with a VESA mount and controls that are accessible from the rear of the unit for a clean front aesthetic.

The company didn't indicate what the monitor would cost, and surely it won't come cheap; but because it's merely Full HD, the S27D590CS will likely be a relatively inexpensive monitor compared to other curved displays on the market.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

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10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TechyInAZ
    Interesting, I don't know how it can make stuff immersive but Ill see what the reviews say.

    It would also made a very excellent triple monitor gaming setup.
    Reply
  • mavikt
    I guess that curved (computer) monitor makes more sense than the "banana" television.
    It's amazing LG created a full page PDF outlining benefits of the curved design of televisions. I can see very few and would otherwise opt for a flat (OLED) one!
    Reply
  • SkyBill40
    Interesting. I'm not a super fan of the curved thing going on right now, but it's hard to determine whether it'll be a fad or a long lasting idea.

    Any word on the expected price at this point? Are we to assume the refresh rate is 60hz? IPS or TN?
    Reply
  • hetneo
    IPS or TN?
    Neither, it's VA panel.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    actually i have my sights set on a curved 21:9 monitor. gotta wait for one with displayport 1.3 to get freesync goodness and 120hz at 1440p goodness

    curved monitors make more sense because its usually one user per monitor. tvs, not so much.
    Reply
  • Tanquen
    It’s a fad, as in its kind of cool to make a curved display but it actually makes the viewing experience worse. Just go check one out. More glare, harder for folks on the side to see a good picture, more expensive to manufacture and the picture is squished in the middle. If you have a very large display that can wrap around you and the camera is shooting a 180° field of view, then maybe. But no video you watch will be shot that way and these curved screens are not big enough or curved enough for that type of setup to work anyway. These curved screens are just distorting the original isometric image.
    Reply
  • knowom
    It's not a bad idea, but I'm sorry the resolution sucks. I can't speak for others, but I'm not buying another 1080p display curved or otherwise. If Samsung made a display like this at 1920x2160 or 1920x3240 resolution I think they'd have no trouble finding interested people to sell monitors of that type both curved or flat for that matter. It's important that the price is still pretty affordable and no more twice or triple the price of 1080p.
    Reply
  • rwinches
    ~$450 USD

    http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/samsung-unveils-s27d590c-curved-27-inch-monitor.html
    Reply
  • alidan
    dynamic of 1:3000... god that monitor must look like hell if that number is so low.
    Reply
  • dovah-chan
    there are a great deal of monitors that have a lower contrast ratio than 1:3000. The huge number you usually see represents a labratory setting with the optimal lighting. This is the average real world contrast ratio that the user is likely to experience.
    Reply