Earlier this month we read reports that LG was preparing a roll-up TV for 2019. Bloomberg sources indicated that the innovative minimal TV designs were on their way and they were backed up by prototype images, and a video, already shared by LG Display. The images showed a central rectangular base from which a TV screen would unroll vertically to provide a 65-inch diagonal OLED display. We hope to see it at the CES 2019 in Las Vegas next week.
LG and Samsung have often been seen to be neck-and-neck in the screen technology race and again that is the case here, it seems. LetsGoDigital has unearthed a recently published Samsung US patent (PDF file, published on Xmas Day), which describes a rollable display TV and shares images of this concept / prototype device.
In Samsung's design you can see that the display rolls out left and right, from being stored in a central column. It should end up being equally minimal to LG's long rectangle with a horizontal orientation once it is all retracted. The chunky looking side sections could provide room for sizable speakers but the overall look once deployed isn't as minimal or futuristic as LG's design. I also envisage some wobble if the base isn't wide/weighted sufficiently.
One obvious advantage of the Samsung design is that it should have greater vertical rigidity thanks to the trio of columns that run in this orientation. That would help prevent any slight display curves that could lead to image distortion. Avoiding image distortion due to its support structure is one of the central background propositions in Samsung's explanation of its patent (page 43 of PDF).
If you want to read more about how Samsung's roll-up screen technology works there are extensive diagrams within the previously linked PDF. With the patent only just published it looks like there is only an outside chance that Samsung will have related products available at the upcoming CES 2019.
