Why Did TV Manufacturers Stop Using Curved Screens?

Once upon a time, you would walk into an electronics store and see curved TVs being marketed as the most premium displays money could buy. It was an innovative technology that involved heating a rigid panel integrated with LED chips to achieve the manufacturer's target curvature. The curve provides a deeper level of viewing immersion, so why did TV manufacturers stop using curved screens in recent years?

Curved TVs have a blatant problem: viewing angles. If you view the screen head-on, the display curves into or around your field of vision. This can be a wonderfully immersive experience, but you don't get that effect from any other angle. If you're looking at the screen from the far end of the couch, or if you're doing some chores with the TV on, you're going to get an awkward and unpleasing view.

Ultimately, curved screens aren't conducive to multiple people watching TV together. The main appeal of buying a huge TV is to make the ultimate home theater that you can enjoy with friends or family. If there's only a single spot in the whole room where you can enjoy the view, it doesn't make for a very premium experience. Curved TVs were simply a fad that died out once the novelty wore off, but flat panels still reign supreme.

TV manufacturers may have stopped using curved screens, but the technology didn't go completely out of style. Curved screens are still common for desktop monitors and PC gaming. Ultrawide monitors with curved screens are desirable for immersion, a greater field of view, and more screen real estate.

Unlike big-screen TVs, which are ideally enjoyable from anywhere in a large room, desktop monitors are expected to be used from close up in a static position. The curve is actually an ergonomic factor; when working or playing at your desk, you can look between multiple applications or on-screen elements without extra neck movement. This is because the curve wraps naturally around your field of vision and keeps every inch of the screen nearly equidistant from your eyes.

Curved screens were once seen as a luxury, but now you can buy cheap ultrawide monitors with curved screens and great gaming performance. Though it's true that curved screens did disappear almost entirely from the TV market, there are compelling reasons why they still deserve to exist for other uses.