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General discussion

Touch of Color expansion

Jun 23, 2008 6:10AM PDT

So, Mr. Samsung, since you have no interest in my other post, maybe you'll have info for me on just one of its aspects:

When can we look for other colors in the "Touch of Color" lineup in the stores? I read a blurb somewhere on CNET about other colors coming, but when? Red and green are my least favorite colors, so I'm not big on buying a red accented set right now but I would like to buy a blue "touched" LCD set. Any info???

Discussion is locked

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FOUND IT
Jun 23, 2008 6:16AM PDT

In this article:
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9841603-67.html?tag=blog.1

"Red (pictured) will be the first color available, although a company rep said purple and blue, among other colors, will follow."

"As with other Samsung HDTVs announced at the show, the company will release these models in March and didn't mention pricing by press time."

So the reds are out and it's well past March. Any scoop on future colors???

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Uhm... If you read the review on the LN52A650...
Jun 24, 2008 7:42AM PDT

You can plainly see under David Katzmaier's review under the design chapter that red was the only confirmed color that Samsung was going to use for this year, and that may go for the A750, too, from what I see. I wish that I'd have the choice myself, I'd choose silver as a frame color. Almost would make me think I own an XBR4 with a glossy screen with Samsung's name on it, instead of that *cough* other brand *cough*... Also, I believe that the PQ and features would obviously be far better on top of that. Grin

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Sorry Ninja... Missed your last post..
Jun 24, 2008 12:45PM PDT

Ninja -

Sorry I missed your last post. I'm going to look for it after I reply to this one.

We will not be coming out with any other color this year. We might do other colors with our 2009 TV line-up but those haven't been finalized yet.

Did you see those LCD TVs from a year or two ago with the blue bottom bezel? They were called the 51 series. They sold well for us. I was a little surprised by the red choice myself but they did a lot of research and focus groups prior to picking this ToC design. A majority of consumers preferred the red tint. Next time we have to get you into one of these focus groups... haha...

Best,

Mr. Samsung

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Yeah, red's not too keen with the guys out there.
Jun 24, 2008 1:56PM PDT

My guess is that a red bezel would appeal to the woman of the house, but for guys who want a big, crisp display for their football games, I'd have to venture that an emerald green tint would make the color of the football field. After all, Samsung is the official brand of the NFL, so it's only fitting. Grin

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Blue
Jun 24, 2008 2:50PM PDT

I can see Red and Blue being popular, but the rest of the roygbv colors don't seem like big sellers. I can understand Samsung's decision not to make a whole rainbow of "touches" available and then end up not being able to sell certain colors, but red, blue, white, and maybe chrome or silver would be good. Honestly, I can't imagine selling too many green or yellow or purple or orange accented TV's. Look at the popularity of those colors in other products like cars especially compared to red, white, blue, and silver. I suppose if you really wanted another color, you could get out your old model car/airplane painting skills, but thats a huge stretch. I may have to just go for the red and try to ignore it. To be perfectly honest, I'd want blue cuz I'm a Playstation guy and green would be too XBOX for me, and red - well, I just don't have enough red in my entertainment electronics to match anything. I'm trying to figure out why red was the choice for the focus groups or however Samsung decided. The only time I have red in my entertainment center is when its an LED giving me bad news. Well, if I don't buy this year, I'll have to see if blue ToC comes out next year, but I don't think I can wait.

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ToC
Jun 24, 2008 3:28PM PDT

In my experiance with customers the ToC has little to nothing to do with their buying decision. What sells them is either the 120hz/auto motion plus or the gloss ultra bright screen. The ToC is either a "Ok its kinda cool i can live with that" option. Or an "Ugh that's ugly but i'll deal with it" option. Last year with the 71 series a lot of people liked the cool blue touch sensitive power button because it was form AND function i think. The ToC is strictly form which is why people don't care.

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900 Series w/ToC?
Jun 24, 2008 9:37PM PDT

Does anyone know if the soon-to-be-released 900 Series will include the Touch of Color red bezel?

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900?
Jun 25, 2008 3:41AM PDT

I dont even see an 800 series on samsung website... LN52A750 seems to be top of the line and latest for LCD panels. They call it series 7, and I dont see series 8 or 9 at all... Am I mistaken?

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900 is coming!
Jun 25, 2008 11:47AM PDT

It may not be on Samsung's website, but trust me it's coming!! Google it, and you'll see lots of specs and speculations.

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Keen on Red
Jul 2, 2008 5:42AM PDT

I'd have to disagree...I'm sure there are other guys like myself who think the red works just fine. It's great in a house with hardwood floors, mahagony, maple. Blue may be my favorite color, but the red works with my decor. It's all about the individual's home interior taste. I do agree it would be nice to at least offer a selection though.

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Please get rid of toc
Jun 27, 2008 7:02AM PDT

How would you like it if widescreen movies had TOC RED bars on the top and bottom, it just makes no sense.

I think samsung is really underestimating the selling power the bezel has, which is really ironic. I feel like theres this attitude at samsung like: " oh yah our red bezel is ugly but people aren't making their decisions based on the bezel ". Samsung really needs to admit defeat on this bezel issue and go back to black. I see a lot of people pass up on the "cheaper" red samsungs, they would look at the bezel and walk away, seen it a million times.

I'm also not sure how samsung's focus group was conducted, but was the tv actually on when they asked these people? was the tv showing a red program or something? Watching a soccer field on a red framed tv is horrifying to say the least. The tv has millions of colors burning at your eyeballs which is why the frame needs to be a neutral color since the frame is a "STATIC" part of the moving picture on the tv.

There needs to be a black alternative to every color television if you want to sell these sets. Black is the most agreed upon choice for a tv frame, play by the numbers.

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I pretty much agree
Jun 27, 2008 7:54AM PDT

I have to agree that the focus group idea was not a good one if that's indeed how the decision for red was made. Good points made in that last post. I agree almost 100%. I would say that chrome or silver are about the only safe additions to black, maybe even white, but once you get into actual colors its hard to do things tastefully. I'm buying the LN52A750 tomorrow, so I'm going to put up with red, but I have to say, my wife now thinks we need to make design changes in our living room based on the fact that the set has that red accent. Ugh... I hate red.... Oh well, the TV is awesome though, so I'll put up with the red. I'm going to get a first-person POV on that red today. That will be my final decision maker!

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My point exactly, black/silver was always the right combo.
Jun 27, 2008 11:58PM PDT

Let's just take a trip back on memory lane. You have your other brands that have designed their TVs with just the right color schemes and designs in the past, like I believe you had matte black with silver trim around the bezel for the past two, maybe three years. However, with ToC and Scarlet (that other brand's gimmick), and all that jazz, it makes me wonder if it's really a Korean thing that the red color is being used too much out of context. Imo, I'd go more neutral and go with silver trim around a glossy black, but using Samsung's creativity to make that combo better than others.

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Oops, one more point from other brands.
Jun 28, 2008 12:02AM PDT

However, in addition to the last post, I'd have to say that I would pretty much prefer the TOC as opposed to a "glass frame" with a silver frame around it, with wide speaker grilles (you know which TV I'm talking about), and it's the same brand that insists on having a glass window hole underneath the rectangle. Now THAT'S uglier than having red trim around a glossy black, imo.

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Bought the LN52A750
Jun 30, 2008 2:07AM PDT

So I made the big purchase on saturday morning. It may seem obvious that I'd fall in love with the tv once I got it home, but this is an awesome tv! Now that I have it home and have spent lots of time in front of it, I have a better idea of the ToC and its visibility. I'm glad I didn't let it scare me off. You can hardly even tell its there! I had to have someone bring out a flashlight just to be able to see it in the store. Once I got it home and out of the box, I still could barely see it. The impression I got from all the pictures online was that it was a bright red, opaque plastic, but it's actually a translucent red film applied to the clear border around the black frame. I suppose if it really did bother me, I could even just peel the red film off. I think I'll leave it alone. My brother in law and his fiance came over and watched a movie with us on it and they didn't even notice it, and she's the type who would notice something relating to our "decor." When I first got it home I put it in a corner of the room on an angle, only when the sun came in through the window next to it did I even see the red tint. My wife decided we needed to rearrange the room based on the size increase from our last tv (JVC AV34WP84 "1500i" 34" CRT). Once it was up against a white wall, the red was only barely visible, but you still have to be looking for it. Overall this is definitely the nicest tv I've ever seen. No regrets!

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color choices
Aug 29, 2008 10:05AM PDT

It sure would be nice if the industry could effectively and affordably offer television case covers.....similar to dressing up a cell phone....the consumer could just "click" the new border color of their choice into place.

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Good suggestion
Aug 30, 2008 5:20PM PDT

vikefanman,

We have discussed this idea. In the future we might do something like this. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I pass this feedback up the chain when I see it.

Regards,

Mr. Samsung

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Touch of Unnecessary Color
Dec 4, 2008 11:30PM PST

I have a black and silver computer. I have a black and silver keyboard. I have a black and silver set of speakers. I have a black external hard drive. I have a black and silver Samsung SyncMaster 226BW widescreen monitor and I LOVE it. Most tasteful monitor design I've ever seen. It is black and silver, with a blue glowing power button which matches the blue power light on my external HD and the blue power light on my computer.

Now I would like to get a larger HDMI screen. The Samsung T240HD is PERFECT for me...except for one thing...it has an ugly red stripe across the bottom! I have visited Best Buy a couple of times where they have one on display and the ToC stripe is very visible to me, enough so that I simply cannot bring myself to buy it. This is what I don't understand about the ToC campaign: all it does is limit the options of the consumer. Sure, red would blend into a mahogany home theater, but give me a break: how many people actually have that? What I am generally hearing is that people buy Samsungs despite the ToC, not because of it, since the Samsung quality is otherwise so high. I would love to buy one of the new Samsung BW LCDs, which look exactly like the T240HD except in black and silver and without ToC, however none of them are HDMI. Therefore I am effectively shut out from buying a Samsung LCD of this generation.

I am willing to compromise and wait for a blue ToC T240HD to be released because at least that will blend with my color scheme. But honestly Samsung I know you are trying to differentiate yourself from the competitors out there. But you can afford take the high road. Your products consistently look the best (take the Samsung Blu-ray player for example, as well as the LCDs). You don't need to cheapen and limit them by applying artificial colors that may or may not be appropriately generated by focus groups. Instead, strive to set yourself apart by your higher-quality, stylish products and the market will reward you.

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TOC Blue
Apr 28, 2009 8:39PM PDT

I was a little disappointed all but the 750s in this years lineup were once again Red TOC. It didn't affect my buying decision much the first time, I have a LN52A650 and love it. But wanted to get something for the room in a different color, like blue. The A860's are too large for that and all the Gray TOC's are 40" or above. How about something in 32" or 37" with a Blue TOC. Blue or Silver hint always reminded me of the movie screen, and would go well with watching a blu-ray or other movie with the lights dimmed (as if I couldnt see it). But its the thought that counts, and those of us who actually care about color and aren't so big on red, feel like we're being overlooked.

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Blue!
Jul 28, 2008 4:30PM PDT

So a number of new TOC models have been announced, including 46" & 52" sets with a blue bezel! Boy am I excited.

Question, though, Mr. Samsung: I'm not looking for such a big set. My ideal size is 40". Will there also be a 40" blue TOC model by Christmas? Preferably under $1500?

Make it a happy Xmas for me, please.

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Green!
Aug 1, 2008 10:26AM PDT

My whole room is green. My sheets and comforter, GREEN, my window and skylight coverings, GREEN, my pillows for watching tv, GREEN, my clothes hamper, GREEN. Even my walls are painted green! I am about to buy a LN40A650 even though it's red because I cannot find any information on when other colors will be available. I've read the thousands of posts over at AVS and seen plenty of pictures so I know the red is barely visible. I'd still prefer the green one though, only problem is that I can't wait that much longer to get a tv.

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More Blue coming?
Apr 30, 2009 2:50AM PDT

Mr. Samsung I'm thinking this is just the first wave of 09 tvs. Can you confirm or deny that? and will there be any more non-red TOC's coming out possibly in the under 40" range?
I'm hoping for a blue 32" or 37"..but if its gonna be another year I probably won't hold out and just get the LN-37B650 or something.

And whats this I hear about changing bezels? maybe just a blue replacement bezel would do. Do they have those in 37" or do you have a link to them?