We live in an age of amazing versatility when it comes to the digital displays that surround our lives.

Programmable displays are so affordable that most businesses big and small have both the budget and the use for one, masking allows for the easy creation of screens of all shapes and modular LED screens allow for video walls of all sizes too, including a sphere.

There are a lot of innovations that have risen and fallen in display technology over the years, but one of the most intriguing and controversial ones is the curved display.

In many fields such as computer monitors and video walls, the curved display has managed to succeed at fulfilling a niche, providing an improved field of view and less display fatigue for ultrawide displays and specialists, but was a surprising failure for general audiences.

Why was this? And why did manufacturers believe curved screens were revolutionary in the first place?

Cinerama At Home

The concept of a curved display is not new at all; the concept first came into the mainstream consciousness with the Cinerama process, which used three projectors to display ultrawide films in a way that would avoid distortion and allow audiences to see a much greater field of view.

Half a century later, LG and Samsung both announced that they had created the first curved TVs that used OLED technology, promising a Cinerama-like experience at home. Samsung representatives at CES 2013 claimed it provided an “IMAX feel”.

Early tests were exceptionally positive, with people who managed to see early versions of the technology waxing lyrical at the improved contrast, depth and immersion, which would not only benefit people in its own right but also improve 3DTV experiences that were also being heavily marketed.

Despite these borderline-revolutionary claims, curved television screens did not become ubiquitous in the home, and its failure risked stopping the display from being produced at all.

The reason for this was that many of the tests claiming massive improvements over standard flat panel hardware of the time were viewing it in absolutely ideal conditions.

They were the right distance from the screen, were positioned right in the centre and were watching test shows designed specifically to show off the capabilities.

In the home, office or recreational area, the problems of curved screens became far more apparent and fundamental, which undermined the reason why people owned large televisions in the first place.

Whilst a monitor is meant to be used by a single person at a time, and a big video wall display has a large enough curve to be visible to most of a viewing audience, a television is typically watched by a small group, some of which will be subject to unbearable levels of distortion and reflection.

They were also harder to mount onto a wall compared to flatscreen TVs and it was difficult to notice a difference outside of shows designed with a curved screen in mind.

Ultimately, the technology found its niche but did not end up revolutionising the living room.