Samsung NeoQLED

This week has been crazy!

I had planned on starting this new blog with a series of informational articles on hi-fi audio, but yesterday I attended a training session at Samsung and what I learned definitely needs to be shared right away!

We all know that the past year was a very challenging one. Despite a lot of negative things happening in the last 12 months, there has also been some positive that is worth noting.

A lot of us spent more time at home, and many of us decided to upgrade our home entertainment systems. This led to a huge bump in the sale of high-end TVs. Samsung, which has been the world’s leading manufacturer of TVs for the past 15 years, sold a record number of high-end TVs. With the money they made in 2020, they were able to massively invest in R&D.

Read on to discover what’s new and exciting in the world of home entertainment!

Here we go!

Reinventing the QLED: Neo QLED with Quantum Matrix Pro technology. Four series are leveraging the power of this cutting-edge technology: 8K with the QN800 and 900 and the new 4K QN85 and 90 series…

3 things you need to know about Neo QLED

• Quantum Mini LED gives you greater control over backlighting

Mini LEDs are 1/40th the size of LEDs used in previous models! That’s right, they are 40 times smaller! Thanks to the new AI processer (artificial neural network), controlling the screen’s matrix will be easier than ever and you can even micromanage light and dark zones and everything in between! Imagine a beautiful landscape lit by Mini LEDs… you’ll be able to detect every single nuance…

• 12 bit detail boosted deep black

 

Control lighting across 4,096 levels for night scenes with astonishing details. As an example: You’ll be able to see the bark of a tree even in a nighttime scene. In the photo above, you can see the sky and buildings in much greater detail.

3) Enhancing adaptive brightness

This new technology uses the energy available in dark zones to “transfer” it to a brighter area. For instance, you’ll be amazed at scenes featuring fireworks. The TV will save the energy it won’t send to the Mini LEDs in darkened areas and send it to the Mini LEDs that display the fireworks. The result is a much more realistic image.

The keyword for 2021: GEN3 AI – Artificial Intelligence

In 2019, Samsung integrated a real-time colour and brightness correction system into its TVs. This technology enables the device to compare the images of your favourites shows to thousands of images saved on a memory card to guide the “onboard computer” in your TV in selecting the right shades, levels of grey, contrasts, and much more! This year’s 8K models will all benefit from this cutting-edge tech.

The number of 8K models more than doubled in 2020, allowing Samsung to add this neural capacity to its 8K processor whereas 4K models were fitted with the AI processors used in the 2019 8K models.

What is Neural AI?

A: A TV set’s neural capacity allows its “brain” to analyze images without needing to be guided by comparing them with copies in its memory. The possibilities are nearly endless, only limited by the execution speed. The future is here!

This year’s 8K Samsung processor is built with 16 (yes sixteen!) neural processors!

The entire lineup of 2021 Neo QLED 4K models will include the AI neural system featured in the 2020 8K models.

Still with me? Good! I’m now going to go over what makes this neural processor so great.

• Brighter colours: Depending on the image shown, the shades are corrected to make the image appear more realistic. For instance, a green bottle will totally stand out from green grass or a green piece of machinery. You’ll feel totally immersed since the processor is able to recognize the difference in these shades for you.
• Greater contrast: This is very important when you’re watching dark scenes. If you’re watching on a regular TV set, you won’t be able to distinguish every detail in the grey image. But Samsung’s HDR10+ allows for greater brightness and nuance between grey zones.
• Adaptive backlighting: The screen of a QLED TV relies on LED lighting which adapts to the brightness requirements. The brighter the image, the more backlighting. But when you’re looking at an image of a nighttime sky, the screen needs to be darker. The AI takes care of it all.

• Depending on the model, 4K or 8K enhancement: the difference that AI makes here is quite significant because not all content displayed is filmed in 4K or 8K. Thanks to powerful processes, new 2021 models with neural capacity will be able to display the image with precision, so you’ll be able to see details that are usually lost in low resolution. (I want to go on a slight tangent here to let you know that YouTube now shows 8K content. In fact, the next Olympic Games will be broadcast in 8K and many gaming consoles are compatible and will soon offer 8K resolution)