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LAS VEGAS – Michael Bay made a brief appearance at Samsung’s CES press conference before abruptly leaving the stage in a strange moment that left many puzzled.
Bay was introduced by Samsung’s Joe Stinziano, apparently to talk about Ultra HD TV.
STORY: Michael Bay Promises a Less Goofy ‘Transformers’ With Fourth Movie
Bay started to talk about how “Hollywood is a place that creates a viewing escape,” then indicated a problem with his teleprompter and said he would “wing it.”
Baxter tried to allow Bay to start again by asking him a question, but Bay paused, excused himself and left the stage.
According to a Samsung press release, Bay was scheduled to preview an exclusive first look at Transformers 4 on a new Samsung Ultra HD TV.
During the press conference, Samsung also wheeled out entrepreneur Mark Cuban to declare UHD “incredible.”
“People love a better viewing experience but what is interesting from a geek point of view is that the extra pixels are for gaming, entertainment and an untold number of things that developers might come up with. UHD will help turn TV into a unique platform,” Cuban said.
During the press conference Samsung touted its Ultra HDTV lineup of 4K TVs with screen sizes ranging from 50 to 110 inches, including a 105-inch curved OLED UHDTV. It also introduced a cleverly built panel that can change from curved to flat at the touch of a button.
Samsung also made several announcements aimed at addressing the need for 4K content.
Where LG had earlier rolled out Netflix supremo Reed Hastings to tout a deal in which LG 4K customers will be able to stream 4K Netflix shows, Samsung has enlisted the services of M-GO, the pay-as-you-go joint venture between DreamWorks Animation, Technicolor and Amazon.
The M-GO service, slated to launch this spring, will offer around 100 streaming movies and TV shows from the major Hollywood studios and TV networks. Programs that didn’t originate in 4K will be upscaled using a Technicolor process.
Amazon’s Instant Video service will provide 4K content from its partner studios including Warner Bros., Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox and Discovery. The service was not given a launch date or pricing but it can be expected to premiere when Samsung’s 2014 range of UHDTVs become available.
In addition, a UHD video pack preloaded with movies like Star Trek Into Darkness will be available from Paramount.
Comcast and DirecTV additionally plan to work with Samsung to offer a UHD streaming service.
Bay’s brief portion of the video begins at the 56-minute mark.
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