As I suspect is true of many folks, since the pandemic hit, I’ve been watching more TV than is my norm. So I’m grateful that there are so many options to choose from – you really can’t ever say that “there’s nothing on.” And I’m grateful for the quality of the TV’s themselves.
I don’t remember the days of black & white only, of three channels, of TV’s embedded in mahogany consoles. But my parents would talk about the “good old days” of the aluminum antenna on the roof that was always blowing over. Of tinfoil on rabbit ears to improve the blurry, snowy reception. And I am old enough to remember big boxy TV’s that didn’t always have a clear picture. There’ve been so many improvements over the years: the proliferation of cable services, the introduction of flat screen TVs, entertainment on demand, the advent of high definition…
All of this made the TV watching experience more enjoyable, that’s for sure. When I sit here watching Syracuse basketball or a movie I always wanted to see but never got around to, I’m happy that the resolution is so precise, the colors so true, the detail so amazing.
While I’m grateful for the quality, I’m satisfied with what I can get off the shelf at Best Buy – without having to pay big bucks for the latest technology (organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television). Let alone going for the LG rollable OLED, which was rolled out last year with a hefty $87,000 price tag.
The LG rollable apparently had a major flaw. While it could be rolled up, you had to stow it in a box to keep it out of sight. Which was seemingly too much effort for some consumers. So C SEED, responding to what no doubt was overwhelming demand from the market, has come out with a 165-inch TV – That’s nearly 14 feet! How big is your living room? – that disappears into your floor when not in use.
Rather than OLED screen technology, which is flexible – and thus lets the LG OLED roll up – C SEED’s new M1 TV uses microLEDs.
MicroLEDs, which many consider to be the future of screen technology, combine the best features of the current leading screen technologies with self-illuminated RGB pixels that don’t require a backlight, andwithout the degrading organic compounds that are used to manufacture OLED displays. The new screen tech is also more energy efficient, allows for slimmer screens, and can produce whites and blacks that rival the best TVs currently on the market.
The only downside is that microLED displays can’t fold like OLEDs can—at least yet. So to make a 165-inch TV disappear into the floor, C SEED has instead designed the M1 to first separate into five separate panels that fold into each other like a giant fan. That’s the other advantage of microLED screen technology: It allows much larger TVs to be assembled from smaller panels while perfectly hiding all the seams, so the final result looks like one giant uniform display. (Source: Gizmodo)
Looks like there are a couple of other downsides. One is the construction work you’d need to do to get the TV to disappear into the floor. The other is the price: $400,000. And, yes, you read that right. Talk about sticker shock! Makes the $87K prices tag for the LG rollable almost (but not quite) seem reasonable.
Just in case you’re interested in the tech specs, there they are from the C SEED M1 brochure.
PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS TV
LED TV size (diagonal) inch/mm 165 / 4196
LED TV size (width) inch/mm 144 / 3657
LED TV size (height) inch/mm 81 / 2057
Standard LED screen (depth) inch/mm 3.9 / 100
LED TV area sq.ft./m² 81 / 7.53
Total system weight kg 1,350
TV SYSTEM
Resolution 4K (UHD)
Brightness nits 1000
Pixel pitch mm 0.9
Processing depth bit 16 per color
Color spectrum colors 64 billion
Refresh rate Hz 1,920
Lifespan LED h 100,000
Contrast ratio 30,000:1
Color temperature K 6,500 – 9,000
Viewing angle- horizontal | vertical degrees 160 | 140
Operating temperature range °C 0 – 40
Broadband speaker peak out W 2 x 250
Broadband speaker frequency range Hz 40 – 22,000
Subwoofer peak out W 1 x 700
Subwoofer frequency range Hz 24 – 200
INPUT / OUTPUT
Video input 1 x HDMI, HDCP 2.2 support
Serial in/output 2 x USB, 1 x RS232
Audio output 11.2, independent sub
Network connection 1 x RJ45
OPERATION
Power supply LED screen 3 x 400V+N+PE/32A/50-60Hz AC (3~)
Input power max | typical W/m² 480 | 160
Power consumption max | typical kW 3,6 | 1,2
SPECIFIC FEATURES
Adaptive Gap Calibration (AGC)
Automatic TV Cover with Flush Mount Floor Option
Sound system 2.1
4 individual colors (black, silver, gold, titanium)
C SEED calls the TV watching experience with the M1 “breathtaking.” For $400K it ought to be!