As one of the many tidbits dropping ahead of CES 2022, LG Display has revealed a concept for the imaginatively named 'Media Chair' which combines a curved 55-inch OLED TV with a luxe recliner that positions you right in the sweet spot for the screen, all built into one unit.
We've seen plenty of little entertainment centres like this before, but this feels a little tempting than most of what we've seen before, and it has a few unique new ideas… of varying usefulness, admittedly.
That it uses a curved OLED display is obviously a big part of what's so tempting. The best OLED TVs rank among the very best TVs of any kind, thanks to how cinematic they can be – perfect for this little personal movie setup.
And though curved TVs didn't end up really sticking around, that's because they're not ideal for when you're viewing at an angle, which you often will be in a living room or bedroom and so on. But the best curved gaming monitors have taken off for desks, because only one person is using it, and the can sit in the best spot. And that's the case here too – the curved screen will be slightly easier to see at the edges thanks to its curve, which great, since 55 inches is pretty damn big for sitting this close.
Similar systems to this have often opted for speakers built into the chair, but LG Display's concept actually uses the OLED panel itself as a speaker, vibrating the outer layer to create sound. If this sounds familiar, that's because it's exactly what some of the best Sony TVs do – its OLED TVs in particular, including the Sony A90J. It's able to produce a really full and detailed sound, and doesn't interfere with the image at all, so it's a smart thing to use here.
But here's the really odd trick that LG has included: the TV can rotate 90 degrees, so you can view in portrait instead if you want. A couple of TVs have offered this in the past, and it's not something I've ever been convinced by. Do you really even want to watch TikToks on such a big screen, just because you can?
There's no expected price or release date on this chair because it's just a concept created by LG Display (the side company of LG that makes screens for all kinds of other manufacturers to use), but LG Display told The Verge that it's working with a Korean massage chair maker to potentially bring it to life, and I've gotta say that adding massage functions to the chair is probably the cherry on top that makes me really want one.
