Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest television maker, introduced the world’s first curved ultrahigh-definition TV in Seoul on Thursday.

The new TV, which is curved at a radius of 4.2 meters, features clearer resolution and higher color saturation, and a panoramic view that offers consumers the feel of an “IMAX” experience.

It hopes not only to maintain its global TV leadership with its UHD TVs, but also seeks to widen the technology and market gap with fast follower China, and shorten it with Japan, which has aggressively moved ahead with UHD.

“We will make efforts to market our UHD TVs globally, especially by focusing first on advanced markets such as North America and Europe where we have a market share of over 50 percent,” Kim Hyun-seok, head of the company’s visual display division, said at the TV’s unveiling event in Seoul.

“We will be able to expand our market share in the regions (with the new TVs).”

With its key technology of curved display panels, the tech giant seeks to release its line of UHD TVs in the global markets beginning next month after it further retools the design and sets the prices.

The company said it would target consumers with HD TVs by prioritizing its marketing of 55- and 65-inch curved UHD TVs and 50-inch flat UHD TVs, in that order, to consumers with small living rooms such as those in Korea. It will market 65- and 78-inch curved UHD TVs toward overseas customers with more room in their houses.

The 105-inch curved UHD TVs will be marketed toward rich consumers in the Middle East and China, it noted.

The company displayed its new product showing director Michael Bay’s “Transformers” movie clips including the new “Transformers: Age of Extinction” trailer for the first time in Korea.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)