We've seen some great TV designs in our time, but this is one of the boldest yet...and even better, it's not just for show. This one goes on sale.
This is the C SEED N1 and, as you can see in the image above, it transforms from a sculpture to a huge, super-advanced 4K TV, and back again, when not in use. It comes in 103-inch, 137-inch and 165-inch sizes, so you can imagine the metal sculpture to be quite large and imposing on its own, then unfold into a screen fit for a home theater experience to rival the better lights. .
The amazing accordion design is based on micro-LED technology, which is expected to be the next big thing in TV after OLED and mini-LED. Like the best OLED TVs, micro-LED pixels generate their own light, so you get perfect contrast and color accuracy. Unlike OLED though, micro-LED can get very, very bright, so you get impressive HDR.
But micro-LED has another trick up its sleeve, which is what makes this foldable design work: The screens can be built from individual panels that snap together with no visible joints. It's the smartest part of C SEED's design here: all parts of the screen fold into a flat screen, then use a proprietary technology called "Adaptive Space Calibration" to make sure there are no seams in the image.
The screen is 4K at all sizes with HDR10+ support, and everything has auto-rotate built into the design - it can rotate 180 degrees horizontally, which is very rare. It also has two built-in 100-watt speakers, so there's not a small amount of audio power.
It's made from aerospace-grade aluminum, which helps give something so big and elaborate the strength to work, and also makes it look so clean and impressive when folded back on its base.
In this regard, C SEED says: “it folds discreetly at its base, a superb work of kinetic art”. While we agree with the second part of that sentence (it may not be particularly artistic in the sense of communicating emotion, but we think it's a good piece of industrial design), we do have issues with the idea that it's understated. It's a bank-sized piece of aluminum! surprising? Of course. Resemble the robots from Interstellar in a way that I find extremely charming? Absolutely. Discreet? Not that much.
Anyway, here's a video of him in action.
Now, as you might have guessed from the size and general vibe of this thing, it's not going to be cheap. C SEED makes luxury products, and the N1 starts from €180. We also don't know which countries it will be offered in, though somehow that doesn't matter. It's not like you're waiting for Amazon in your area to get this - if you have that money and want one, your reseller can probably talk to the right people.
But we like it for two reasons. One is… you know, look at it! It's just amazing.
The second is that it is a great showcase of what micro-LED can do. The technology is fascinating, but there hasn't been much imagination yet about how it's used in designs: Samsung (at the forefront of making it available for home use) has created micro-panels - LEDs that can be attached to screens of any size. you want, and a very recent series of normal-looking televisions.
It's the first micro-LED TV to take what's unique in technology and imagine something totally new with it, and we're absolutely in love with it.