The global market for large screen televisions is on a surge. According to global market research firm Omdia, global shipments of TVs with displays over 75-inches are expected to increase by 17% compared to 2019 and 8K TVs are set to increase by 110% this year as well.

Given the market demands, Samsung is doubling down on its efforts to give consumers large screen TVs that not only offer the best picture quality but also the best sound experiences.

At the heart of that is Samsung’s AI Quantum Processor.

The AI Quantum Processor is a high-performing chip developed using Samsung’s proprietary technologies that can process complex algorithms quickly using machine learning-based upscaling. That gives consumers the ability to stream 8K content in real-time paired with dynamic, location-based acoustics.

Samsung is peeling back the secrets of the AI Quantum Processor to share on how it brings these experiences together to get better resolution, better sound and better picture integrity.

One of the leading questions consumers continue to ask about large screen TVs is how to watch ultra HD content in 8K resolution given that it isn’t widely available yet. That’s where Samsung’s AI upscaling technology comes in.

Today, the technology transforms not only 4K content into 8K, but it also works for lower-resolution SD, HD and FHD-quality content as well. The AI Quantum Processor 8K combines the advantages of existing machine learning capabilities with new deep learning technologies to analyze and deliver content at some of the most granular levels possible.

This hybrid approach helps to remove unnecessary noise and creates life-like textures and smooth edges on upscaled 8K content that only Samsung can deliver. It also adjusts content brightness and darkness levels according to the light and living room conditions the display is set up in.

AI Quantum Sound for the Most Suitable Audio Experiences

Adding a truly effective audio experience to high-quality picture quality serves to bring about an even deeper sense of immersion to viewers. Samsung’s AI Quantum Sound, bolstered by artificial intelligence, provides a listening experience similar to that of a movie theater right in your living room.

Samsung’s new innovative sound technology Object Tracking Sound+ follows movement on-screen to match the direction of the sound to the action. The technology recognized and analyzes the recorded audio synced to the content in real-time and evenly distributes the audio tracks to the six speakers embedded in the TV.

And due in part to the Active Voice Amplifier (AVA), users will never miss a word of dialogue, regardless of what is happening around the TV. The feature monitors the sound environment so that if there is noise louder than the TV’s audio, it will increase the volume of just the dialogue audio so as not to overwhelm users while ensuring no word goes unheard. Also, sound will be delivered seamlessly thanks to real-time deep learning audio separation technology, high-performance NPU (Neural Processing Unit).

AI Streaming for Minimal Data Loss

Thanks to the widespread use of the Over the Top (OTT) streaming services, more and more users are taking advantage of their large screen TVs and stream 8K content. However, existing network infrastructures cannot always guarantee image quality that meets users’ high-resolution expectations. This is why at the Samsung Developers’ Conference in 2019, Samsung introduced its AI Scalenet technology, designed to overcome these infrastructure limitations and support effective 8K streaming and low-latency livestreaming.

AI Scalenet is a CES 2020 Innovation Award-winning AI codec technology that generates resolutions four times higher than conventional technologies without any change to the network infrastructure. It minimizes the data loss that may occur during the compression and playing of videos through deep learning technologies, meaning users can enjoy 8K-quality content regardless of their network infrastructure. Even during peak usage, AI Scalenet dramatically improves image quality and content speed according to the network status and reduces picture breaking and ambient noise.

These days, more content than ever can be enjoyed on our TVs, meaning that the expectation for immersive viewing experiences in the home has increased, too. Samsung plans to continue to use a range of innovative technologies, starting with artificial intelligence, to bring the best experience 8K content and audio experiences to living rooms across the world.

Members of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Division (from left): Hyun Mook Choi and Jessica BeomEun Kim, from the TV Product Planning Group, Sungchang Jang, from the Software R&D Group, and Youngho Jung, from the Panel R&D Group.

Since introducing Auto Game Mode to its TVs back in 2018, Samsung has made delivering next-level gaming experiences a key priority for TV development. Today, the fruits of the company’s considerable efforts include three consecutive ‘Best of Innovation’ nods in the gaming category of CES’s annual Innovation Awards.

Samsung’s latest QLED TVs build on that award-winning heritage by offering users their most immersive and enjoyable TV gaming experiences yet. To learn more about how QLED TVs are changing the game in this regard, Samsung Newsroom sat down with the product planners and developers who helped bring the displays to life.

More Immersion, Less Distractions

When it comes to fostering immersive gaming, one of the most important factors, the team explained, is what’s known as input lag – or the amount of time between the moment a command is entered on a controller and the moment it’s registered on the screen. The shorter the input lag is, the more immersive the gameplay becomes.

“Input lag is determined by how quickly image signal can be processed and displayed on the screen,” said product planner Jessica BeomEun Kim. Samsung’s team was able to minimize QLED TV’s input lag, Kim continued, “by enhancing the way the TV processes image signal, which consequently reduces video processing time.”

On QLED TVs, racing games – known for being graphics heavy, and for boasting lightning-fast gameplay – run smoothly, without screen freezes or delays. As developer Youngho Jung explained, FreeSync Premium, a technology that eliminates screen tearing and stuttering enabled this ability to seamlessly manage graphics-heavy games. Also, Game Motion Plus, which minimizes motion blur and halo effects helps smoother gameplay. “We prevented the screen from becoming distorted by syncing the performance of the graphics card with the output of the display,” said Jung.

Spotting enemies and objects in the dark is easy with QLED TV’s built-in Dynamic Black Equalizer. This innovative technology utilizes the TV’s AI Quantum Processor to enhance image quality in real time by analyzing a game’s dark scenes and detecting objects within them. It then optimizes black levels to help you see things that weren’t so clear before.

Gaming-Specific Features

QLED TVs also include a number of built-in gaming-specific features that make it easier for gamers to immerse themselves in the action.

Take for instance Multi View, a screen-splitting function that allows users to simultaneously game on one side of their screen and mirror videos from their phone on the other. The ability to game and watch a favorite streamer on a single screen eliminates the inconvenience of having to switch back and forth from focusing on your TV to focusing on your phone. The function can even detect when your phone has switched to landscape mode, and reflects this adjustment in real time.

Auto Game Mode is another clever built-in function that enables QLED TVs to automatically analyze connected devices and optimize settings accordingly. All you have to do is simply connect your console to your TV, and a “game mode is turned on” message will automatically pop up on your screen. The idea behind including this notification, Kim explained, was to emphasize that the TVs “transform into a gaming device the moment they’re connected to a console.”

Sound is another critical element that can make or break your gaming experience. Not only can realistic audio make games more fun, it can also mean the difference between victory and defeat. To allow users to enjoy the most realistic sound experience possible, Samsung packed its newest QLED TVs with a total of six speakers – two more than previous models. Built-in Object Tracking Sound (OTS) technology enhances gamers’ immersion by allowing them to sense where sounds are coming from and how far away they are.

QLED TV + Gaming: A Winning Combination

Once a simple display, the TV has evolved into the center of home entertainment, and a hub for users to engage in a wide range of fun and interactive experiences. As Software engineer Sungchang Jang, explained, the team went to great lengths to ensure that Samsung’s 2020 QLED TVs would offer gamers the most entertaining experiences imaginable.

“It was crucial that our 2020 QLED TVs would be able to work perfectly with any gaming devices that consumers might use,” said Jang. “This required us to develop entirely new technology. We had to test each and every gaming device we could find individually in order to ensure that they worked well with the TV. There was a lot of trial and error, but in the end, thanks to our team’s tremendous efforts, we managed to pull it off.”

To get a better sense of the kinds of features gamers want in a TV, the product planning team used MOSAIC, Samsung’s company-wide intelligence platform, to source suggestions from some 15,000 Samsung employees.

Looking ahead, the team members believe that TVs will continue to serve as the center of home entertainment, and will be recognized as bona fide gaming devices. “Going forward,” added the product planner Hyun Mook Choi, “we’ll continue to enhance our TVs’ gaming features, to offer gamers the most complete and satisfying gaming experience possible.”

^*Images on screens are simulated.