Charting the present – and future – of 8K TVs with innovative Samsung technologies – Samsung Global Newsroom

Samsung Electronics has shaped the history of television through the development of its technological innovations, from FHD and 4K to 8K, thanks to its far-sighted strategic vision and an endless passion for bringing new technologies to market.

To learn more about the achievements made so far in TV technology innovation, as well as the future of display technologies in the era of UHD screens, Samsung Newsroom has reached out. interviewed with television experts.

▲ (From left to right) Sangmin Lee, Head of Image Quality Solution Lab, Hyunchul Song of Product Development Group, and Youngseok Han of H/W Platform Lab of Visual Display Business of Samsung

Pioneering the future of television through endless innovation

Today, picture quality has become one of the most important factors consumers consider when choosing a TV. In 1977, Samsung successfully developed and mass-produced a color television, the Color Economy TV, for the first time in Korea, ushering in the era of color television for the country. Samsung won the title of Korea’s top color TV maker thanks to its unwavering dedication to innovation, and the company was never satisfied with the colossal success of its black-and-white TV model, the Econo TV, which took the lion’s share of the monthly. television market at the time.

▲ Samsung’s first LED TV, launched in 2009, won worldwide acclaim as a breakthrough in television technology.

The LCD TV was then developed, and in 2009, Samsung unveiled its breakthrough model – the Samsung LED TV. The LED television was the culmination of all the innovative technologies available at the time, enabling unparalleled picture quality thanks to light-emitting diodes. All components of Samsung’s LED TV have been redesigned, and the number of patents acquired for this model has exceeded 3,000.

▲ Samsung’s QLED TV made its global debut at CES in 2017.

In 2017, Samsung then introduced the world’s first QLED TV based on cadmium-free quantum dot technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The company’s innovative TV was the center of attention that year, delivering superb picture quality and 100% color volume.

A year later, the company released an 8K QLED model that incorporated 8K resolution into Samsung’s proprietary quantum dot technology. It featured Direct Full Array, a backlight technology capable of precisely controlling the lighting balance on each part of the screen image, as well as 8K AI Upscaling, an upscaling technology designed to Intelligently upgrade lower quality videos to vivid 8K resolution, for the first time in the industry. Samsung’s innovative QLED 8K technologies are what started the 8K era.

“In 2020, Samsung unveiled the world’s first bezel-less TV that completely eliminated bezels around the screen,” said Hyunchul Song from the product development group. “A year later, we have reinforced our position as an industry leader by introducing our Neo QLED technology based on Quantum Mini LED displays. From FHD to 8K, we have undertaken relentless efforts to develop innovative products that deliver differentiated experiences based on consumer needs.

Pursuing superior image quality through extensive human behavior research

Samsung continues to strive to deliver the best possible viewing experiences by delivering industry-leading picture quality. However, what does “good image quality” mean to someone working on its development?

“Picture quality is considered good when it gives the viewer a sense of reality that makes them feel like they are directly witnessing the images on the screen,” said Youngseok Han, a developer at H/ WLab. “To ensure good image quality, display performance indicators such as high resolution, high luminance and excellent color expression are essential. What also matters is how well-balanced the display’s other cutting-edge technologies are, including chip design, image quality algorithms, and sound.

Han then explained the importance of balance for the corresponding image quality. “The factors that have the biggest impact on image quality are how you organize the various relevant technologies. These include those designed to reduce distortion and any image transmission noise, those that reproduce colors accurately and richly and create crisp contrast for more vivid and clear images, and motion technologies that ensure that motion objects on the screen appear smooth and fluid.

It would be impossible to develop good image quality with just one single technology, no matter how good. That’s why Samsung is committed to developing innovative technologies through all sorts of different approaches without resting on its laurels as an industry leader. Recently introduced on the 2023 Neo QLED TV, Real Depth Enhancer is one of the new features that has been developed with the aim of further improving the picture quality.

When human eyes are focused on an object, attention is directed to the object by optimizing sharpness, clarity, and texture, while maintaining the background scene. Samsung’s Real Depth Enhancer technology was developed based on an understanding of this human behavior and leverages AI to automatically separate an object from its background to create a greater sense of depth and bring out the pictures.

Additionally, Neo Quantum Matrix Pro technology enhances fine detail playback through precise control of mini quantum LEDs across a total of 13,684 levels. This meticulous adjustment adds even more dimension and a sense of reality to on-screen images.

“Our Real Depth Enhancer technology is the result of optimizing all relevant technologies in a way that takes human psychology into account, instead of just focusing on resolution enhancement,” Han noted.

From 8K games to works of art on Samsung TVs in the age of 8K technology

These days, users are bombarded with new content. Tens of thousands of new media and content are published every day on all kinds of platforms — but is it the same for this content created in 8K?

“Following the recent growth of 8K devices, including smartphones, anyone can create 8K content and view it in ultra-high resolution,” said Sangmin Lee, head of the Picture Quality Solution Lab. “High-performance graphics cards now allow users to play 8K games, which means we are already living in the era of 8K UHD.”

Song further detailed the growth of 8K content in today’s viewing market. “There is an increasing amount of 8K content available on social media, and artists are creating digital artwork in 8K,” he explained. “We have added the ‘YouTube Videos in 8K’ feature to the Neo QLED 2023 TV to allow users to browse 8K content available on YouTube and explore digital artwork, such as an NFT image.¹ shape, at a glance.

Samsung is also taking the lead in expanding the 8K content ecosystem by spearheading the 8K Association, a global non-profit organization established in 2019 with the goal of setting 8K standards and expanding the 8K content. As of February 2023, the association has 33 members, including Samsung, TV panel producers, SoC chip makers, and leading content creators. Last year, Samsung released a teaser for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 8K series developed in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video, another member of the 8K Association.

Develop optimum picture quality that takes viewing experiences to the next level

To learn more about the next steps for industry leader Samsung in terms of picture quality in the era of 8K technology, Samsung Newsroom asked the three TV pros what their goals are.

“As a developer, I feel most accomplished when I hear the feedback that viewers think the onscreen images look real to them,” Han said. “My goal is to further improve our algorithms by optimizing a range of components to deliver ‘more real than real’ picture quality to viewers.”

For Song, creating technologies that bring real value to users is of utmost importance. “As the development department strives to create the best picture quality through technological innovation, I am more involved in product optimization to deliver high quality experiences to as many viewers as possible” , Song said. “I will continue to deliberate on what other types of user value we can bring to our viewers.”

Finally, from Lee’s perspective, the goal is and always has been to provide user experiences that go beyond just viewing content. “The most important value a display can provide is to present images that seem more real than reality itself,” Lee explained. “Thanks to the best picture quality algorithms and state-of-the-art sound performance, the optimal picture quality that is then delivered allows users to enjoy their favorite content without having to worry about adjusting settings. Our ultimate goal is to deliver superb picture quality that allows users to fully enjoy their viewing experiences that go beyond just watching content.

Stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom for the second and final part of this series highlighting the role of 8K TV and the innovative technologies developed by Samsung to deliver the best possible viewing experiences to its users.

¹ SAVAGE is a high-quality NFT marketplace offering 4K/8K video and photography. With over 50 titles at launch in March 2023, SAVAGE will grow throughout the year with over 250 new pieces from top designers and brands.