Just like on the smartphone side, a lot of pressure is on television manufacturers to come up with exciting new innovations and models each year. Samsung’s latest is its SUHD TV range, which was launched at an event held at the Ferrari showroom in Bryanston last night.

These ultra-high definition (UHD, 4K) televisions are, just like the Galaxy S smartphone range, receiving the S identification to note its flagship status, and does not refer to an increase in the resolution of the screen (3840 x 2160). First seen at CES 2015 earlier this year, Samsung notes that the era of SUHD stands for “Sensational Picture, Seamless Interaction and Stylish Design”.

The SUHD displays are manufactured based on Samsung’s proprietary nano-crystal technology, which the company believes results in a picture that is 2½ times brighter than the conventional TV, with deeper blacks and better contrast. Colour reproduction and saturation also seem to be top notch, as we watched high quality 4K content simply dripping off the screens.

Much like finding Gauteng road users actually paying e-Toll, 4K content is out there, but it’s difficult to come by. With that in mind, Samsung includes UHD upscaling technology for better quality from lower resolution.

While curved televisions might have been seen as something new last year, it seems like this has become the standard, with most models in the SUHD TV range incorporating this rounded feature. Of course they are also smart, with Samsung adopting the Tizen open source platform to drive their television range forward. Smart TV interfaces can be clunky and slow to respond at times, so we hope Tizen has speed as part of its bag of tricks. Samsung does believe its new user interface for Samsung’s Smart Hub is more “responsive and playful,” while one can also share video content to the TV from Samsung smartphones, or watch TV on the phone.

The new televisions will feature the video streaming service VIDI, while the Aflix offering aimed at African countries is also present. Samsung has also partnered with eNCA for news, SuperSport for sport, and the ONTV lifestyle application to further enhance its offering. 

Seeing that these new models sit on top of Samsung’s range, you need to have deep pockets for the privilege of owning one. There will be three new models, the JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500, in seven screen sizes varying from 55” to 88” available. The recommended retail price varies from R35 000 to R300 000 (model dependent), keeping in mind that the exchange rate isn’t doing us any favours.

Consumers who pre-order the 65” and 55” Curved SUHD TV from 22 April 2015 to 17 May 2015 will receive free delivery and installation of the product. You might also want to hold out on renewing your smartphone contract, since you will also receive the Galaxy S6 edge (review) for free with the 65”, and the regular S6 (review) with the 55”.