Curved Screen

Curved screens are marketed as providing an "immersive" experience, and allowing a wider field of view.

Similar to a movie theater having good and bad seats, there is an optimal position when it comes to watching TV at home. This optimal position is directly along the central axis of the TV with the central point of the screen at eye level. Viewers seated in any other position come to experience degradations in picture quality ranging anywhere from minor to severe, the most notable being trapezoidal distortion.

Manufacturers suggest that curved screens allow greater range in satisfactory viewing angles and offer minimal trapezoidal distortion compared to flat-screens. The claim that curved screens provide a wider field view is disputed, by another claim that a substantial offset from the center provides greater viewing distortion than that of a flat screen. However, the equidistant claim by manufacturers of the various parts of the screen from a centered view is supported. A  65" curved screen TV versus a 65" flat television viewed from 4.2 metres from the centre of the TV offers 0.19 degree (~1%) greater viewing angle (based on Samsungs 4200R curved TV).

Curved TVs supposedly offer minimized glare from ambient light.

Wide displays

21:9 (2.33:1) aspect ratio TVs are able to accommodate the original aspect ratio of movies filmed in CinemaScope, without letterboxing compensation, compared to the common 16:9 aspect screen.
The exceptional width of 21:9 flat screens results in distortions on the left and right edges of the screen, while curved screens were meant to minimize these distortions.

Projection screens

When projecting images onto a completely flat screen, the distance light has to travel from its point of origin, i.e., the projector, increases the farther away the destination point is from the screen’s center. This variance in the distance traveled results in a distortion phenomenon known as the pincushion effect, where the image at the left and right edges of the screen becomes bowed inwards and stretched vertically, making the entire image appear blurry.
Curved screens are also widely used in IMAX and standard movie theaters for their ability to produce natural expressions and draw the audience deeper into the scene. A standard IMAX screen is 22m wide and 16m tall, but there are screens with even larger dimensions. IMAX is the most successful large-format, specialized cinematic-film system.