MANILA, Philippines - Based on a survey released seven years ago, in the US and UK, the average person watches 28 hours a week. That’s four hours a day. In Italy — where I imagine most people frolic around sun-dappled fountains while drinking a bottle of wine during their free time — are marginally less TV-obsessed. They only spend 27 hours in front of the tube.
According to a CNN story quoting a Nielsen report released early this year, “the average American television viewer is watching more than 151 hours of television per month — an ‘all-time’ high — up from more than 145 hours during the same period the previous year.”
The record isn’t surprising, what with all the great new shows making a debut. Community, Modern Family and Glee have gotten phenomenal buzz, while old stalwarts like Lost, Mad Men and The Office are still scoring well on ratings. Good news on the Mad Men front: the season finale garnered more viewers than its current season-opening, record-breaking debut. (Amazing news for fans and critics who hailed the basic cable show’s third season closer as one of the finest and most satisfying finales in the history of television.)
With all the hours we devote to quality shows (that new Jay Leno talk show is, perhaps, the only blight on this bright new horizon of TV), it makes sense to invest in a TV that delivers the kind of image and sound worthy of the show — and is designed to fit your lifestyle and home. It doesn’t make sense to immerse yourself in Matt Weiner’s retro world of early ‘60s advertising in Mad Men or the colorful performances on Glee via a clunky television or small computer screen.
Way To Go, Sleek
Forget boxy, heavy screens of yore, those ginormous screens that took over half your living room and more than a quarter of your dining space. Back then purchasing a large TV meant purchasing a larger home — they required more space, energy and money than a child. You needed a wheelbarrow to haul it into your living room and a technician to install the web of wires jutting out from behind its hulking, almost prehistoric frame.
These days, everything’s gotten thinner: models, my bank account and, yes, TV sets.
Samsung’s new approach to creating televisions is akin to aircraft production. “Make it light, make it slim, make it beautiful” seems to be the company’s new mantra.
Its new set of LED TVs has changed the landscape of viewing.
In designing these sleek new sets, Samsung discarded the unwieldy elements that made previous TVs hefty and cumbersome. The Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL), for example, went the way of the dodo — all part of the company’s attempt at streamlining design.
Bulky components and heavy cords are a thing of the past (the tuner and power supply is built-in), so what’s left is a screen so slim and light it can be hung on the wall like a piece of art.
Wall Flower
Unlike its predecessors, these screens won’t leave you hanging. Thanks to a new ultra-slim wall mounting system that guarantees your TV can seamlessly be integrated into the backdrop, you can choose to place your it somewhere discreet (like in between book cases in the den) allowing it to recede into the décor — until you switch it on at least — or make it the showcase of your home (and situate it above the mantel, right over framed photographs of your pet and cherubic children).
Though the design team’s placed a premium on modernizing the new series, the LED TV screens won’t have a problem melding with any design scheme. Its clean, minimal lines make it a versatile appliance, able to fit seamlessly into any home. It looks perfectly at ease when juxtaposed against rustic elements. Brick, stucco or adobe walls provide a perfect, textured backdrop for the elegant screen. Quirky, colorful, eclectic rooms provide a vivid frame for its neat, dark façade. Modern, minimal furniture brings out its angled lines and sharp shape. Spare, zen spaces with only a fern and low-slung pristine white sofa to distinguish itself can use the TV to anchor the area and give it life.
Surprisingly adaptable, the new Samsung TVs are an effortless way to add a little style into your home.
Nature’s Call
While Samsung’s latest screens appear to be odes to modern design, the company sought to bring in the pristine qualities of nature into play when creating its LED series. A water droplet provoked the design team to create Series 6, which mimics the smooth underside of water along the screen’s curved base. Series 7’s sharp edges and minimal lines and Series 8’s modern, metallic exterior harks to precious metals.
Boasting its signature crystal design, Samsung’s new TVs have “crystal-like bevels,” a high-shine frame that allows the juxtaposing images to stand out. Made with dual injection molding, the frame’s hues transition from a rich, dark black to a soft, almost opaque transparency. Achieving this kind of luminosity, one of the elements that makes this series a standout, is part of the company’s innovative design mission. With the use of Crystal Design, the bezel is illuminated with varying warm hues that alter, depending on the current lighting conditions.
Imagine watching crystal clear images on a TV that glows. The future of television is looking pretty good right about now.