Vizio Promotes 2015 Flat 4K TV with Anti-Curved Glasses Ad

Curved TV might have been all the rage in 2014, but not everyone’s buying into it. While some like to argue the concept helps to add clarity and reduce blurring at the edges, most of us are smart enough to realise curved TVs are just the result of the industry’s desperation to come up with yet another new selling point, now that 3D is no longer one.

Vizio 4K TV

Now Vizio has joined forces with the curved telly bashers, with the release of a hilarious spoof ad mocking the concept that’s so adored by the likes of LG, Sony and in particular Samsung.

In the video clip, Vizio claims to have developed a “revolutionary, remarkable, radical piece of technology” that promises to blow away viewer’s minds – anti-curved screen glasses that transform your curved TV into a regular flatscreen.

More stylish than Google Glass even, the anti-curved glasses do so much more than just dispel awkward viewing angles – they also come with a detachable drinks holder to ensure your hands-free viewing experience is completely undisturbed.

Perhaps even more useful, those who buy now will receive a free curved TV seating guide for those moments when the glasses are lost down the back of the sofa. Also thrown in is a free roll of caution tape to plaster around the curved corners of your television.

Vizio is just poking fun at its competitors of course, but the real pitch is delivered at the end with the following warning: “Don’t fall for the curve,” the company says, confirming what the vast majority of us already knew – curved screens are just yet another gimmick.

The advertisement is a bold move from Vizio, which was also the first TV manufacturer to say no to 3D, but it wraps things up with the promise of what we all really want: A “beautifully flat Ultra HD TV”, it’s new tagline for 2015. And for those who’re curious enough to call the number displayed in the ad, they’ll be directed to a new “Fix Curve” page on Vizio’s website that offers a $100 discount and free shipping on any of its Ultra HD P-Series TVs – but it’s only valid until the 4th of January, so you’ll need to move fast.

Of course, we won’t mention the fact that 4K UHD (ultra high-definition) TVs are also a bit of a gimmick right now, given that you’ll have a tough job finding high-quality 4K content to watch on them, at least until 4K Blu-ray arrives towards the end of 2015.

5 comments

  1. lol. That’s great marketing.

  2. Shame that they can’t deliver to the UK though!

  3. At last some sanity seems to be returning to proceedings. Curved TV is just as pointless a gimmick as 3D was, and we’ve seen that nonsense off.

    While I can certainly see utility in a flexible panel for commercial display use, a fixed curved TV for the home is totally daft. You are mugging yourself off if you buy one.

    What I also dislike is the fundamentally dishonest way in which 4k is being marketed – the use of 1080 and 4k as being equivalents, when they should really be calling it 2160p, the vertical res. number. I overheard a salesman in JL telling a punter there are “four times the lines as normal HD from top to bottom”, which is simply untrue.

  4. I like 3D. High-quality 3D is a great thing. But I do not understand why anyone needs 4K. HD content is upscaled on 4K screens and looks worse than on full HD screens. 4K needs some time to become a wise investment (as 4K content needs some time to become widely available). Moreover, many people play games. Neither PlayStation 4, nor XONE runs games at 4K. They run games at 1080p at best. And we’re not gonna have our PS5s or XTWOs until like 2020. So if you want to enjoy crisp images while playing games you really shouldn’t buy a 4KTV. I hope you guys still remember how poorly old PS2-GC-XBOX-era games began to look when HDTVs had come out. The same thing will inevitably happen to PS4-XONE-era games (maybe to a lesser degree, though). But who wants to pay a premium for a TV which makes his/her content look substantially less crisp? Until PS5 and XTWO arrive I prefer full HD.

  5. Spot on Paul, the so called next gen consoles are already ddated for 4K, they wonw be able to push to those resolutions, it will be down to 4k blu ray content and possibly streaming over a decent fibre broadband.