Samsung inaugurated India’s largest Onyx Cinema LED screen at Swagath Theatre, Bengaluru in the presence of musician and composer AR Rahman

With a 14 metre screen, the largest Onyx Cinema LED screen format in the world, Swagath Onyx Theatre on Bengaluru’s MG Road will offer powerful, captivating and larger-than-life visuals, transforming the cinema viewing experience for cine lovers. Globally, there are only two other 14 metre Onyx Cinema LED screens installed by Samsung to date, in Malaysia and China.

At 618 seats, Swagath Onyx Theatre is also the world’s largest theatre that is equipped with an Onyx Cinema LED screen. Acoustics in the theatre have been dramatically upgraded with JBL Professional cinema loudspeakers from HARMAN.

The Onyx screen is 3D applicable with active 3D technology for all 618 seats in the theatre.

With the introduction of this new technology, Samsung will transform cinema viewing experience with HDR support offering unparalleled picture quality. With Onyx Cinema LED, movie lovers will get unparalleled picture quality, true colours and greater vibrancy and accuracy, exactly how the director intended it to be seen.

The 14 metre Onyx Cinema LED Screen in Bengaluru was unveiled in the presence of Moon Goo Chin, Corporate Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India; Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India; Prashant Govindan, Head – Professional Solutions, HARMAN India and SAARC; Kishore P, Director, Swagath Group of Cinemas and AR Rahman.

“Samsung is the only brand offering an end-to-end movie experience, from stunning visuals through Onyx Cinema LED Screens to phenomenal sound from JBL Professional by HARMAN. Onyx Cinema LED at Swagath Onyx Theatre in Bengaluru will revolutionize cinema viewing experience for film lovers in the city and across India. This is a remarkable milestone for Indian cinema and a testament to our consumer-centric approach,” said Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India.

“The current wave of cinema is replete with great visuals, rich soundtracks and background score. The new Onyx Cinema LED powered by JBL’s iconic sound will transform cinematic experience for movie goers. This mighty combination of a revolutionary screen and legendary sound will truly elevate the content and we are excited for Indian cinephiles to experience this epic offering,” said Prashant Govindan, Head – Professional Solutions, HARMAN India & SAARC.

At the inauguration, HARMAN global ambassador and award winning musician & composer AR Rahman said, “With Samsung’s ground-breaking Onyx Cinema LED Screen technology and HARMAN’s iconic JBL audio, movie goers in Bengaluru will immensely enjoy their experience at the theatre. I have worked with HARMAN and used JBL Professional systems for many years, and I can confidently say that they truly do justice to the music I create. There is no sound like JBL sound, so it makes sense that the brand is powering this amazing new way to enjoy movies and music.”

“At Swagath Cinemas we take pride in our heritage yet strive to provide a futuristic cinema viewing experience to our customers. Our association with Samsung to launch the World’s Largest Onyx Cinema LED Screen in Bengaluru is testimony to our commitment to movie lovers across India,” said Kishore P, Director, Swagath Group of Cinemas.

The large 14 metre screen offers powerful, captivating and larger-than-life visuals with greater attention to detail. The screen is capable of delivering true colors with HDR support with greater vibrancy and accuracy along with sharp contrast, higher levels of brightness and great viewing angles that are unaffected by ambient light; eliminating optical distortion and interference. The disruptive technology is a breakthrough in the cinema industry, which has been relying on projector-based system for decades.

The latest Onyx Cinema LED screen comes equipped with an array of solutions including Onyx VIEW, Onyx 3D and Onyx SOUND, providing a uniquely immersive experience.

The sound system at Swagath Onyx Theatre is comprised of Onyx Sound, an innovative audio solution that incorporates industry leading products from the HARMAN family of brands including Crown amplifiers, BSS signal processing, and JBL Professional’s loudspeakers and exclusive Sculpted Surround technology. The Onyx Sound reproduces today’s dynamic soundtracks with stunning clarity and detail.

The system includes six JBL AM 7315 screen array loudspeakers, four JBL 9300 cinema surround loudspeakers, eighteen JBL 9350 + four JBL SCS 12 high impact cinema surround loudspeakers, six JBL AC28/26 used as underfills for the balcony area and nine JBL 5628 dual 18″ cinema subwoofers. Processing is provided by a BSS networked audio system, and the entire system is powered by 31 Crown DSi amplifiers.

Apart from the new Onyx Cinema LED Screen, Swagath Onyx Theatre in Bengaluru has also upgraded its overall look and feel inside the theatre with refurbished interiors and comfortable seats, even as it retains its heritage look on the outside.

About Onyx Cinema LED

The Onyx display easily accommodates any venue configuration while delivering unmatched visual quality, technical performance and reliability over traditional projectors. The screen maintains its advanced presentation capabilities in ambient lighting conditions, regardless of the featured on-screen content. It also allows theatre owners to utilize their theatres for corporate events, concerts and sports event viewing and gaming competitions.

Onyx SOUND: The screen offers state-of-the-art Onyx surround sound experience, the result of research and co-development by HARMAN and Samsung’s Audio Lab, bringing scenes to life through clear and precise audio. This innovative audio solution solves the challenges posed for center channel audio when incorporated with a solid cinema LED screen, which does not allow for the placement of loudspeakers behind the screen, which is the common placement in traditional cinemas.  When combined together with JBL’s Sculpted Surround technology, Onyx Sound creates a seamless, immersive audio experience for viewers, regardless of their seat location, that further enhances the already stunning visuals offered by Onyx.

Onyx VIEW: Combined with an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone greyscale settings, Onyx VIEW delivers brighter and more detail-rich content. The screen delivers High Dynamic Range (HDR) to cinema, showcasing on-screen contents at peak brightness level – nearly 10 times greater than that offered by standard cinema projectors (146fL versus 14fL). The display delivers improved uniformity, free of optical distortion and interference. It is industry’s first DCI-certified cinema display available in 5, 10 and 14 metres width.

3D Onyx Cinema LED: This screen makes 3D movie content more realistic through enhanced brightness and consistent colour amplification. Glass-wearing viewers can now have the benefit of watching subtitle texts, images and even minor visual details with unprecedented clarity.

(L to R) Mr. Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India, Mr. Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, INOX Leisure Ltd. and Mr. SH Jang, Director, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India unveiling Samsung Onyx Cinema LED Screen at INOX, Malad, Mumbai

This cinema redefining technology – Onyx – is a game changer in the film exhibition industry and is only DCI compliant LED display. INOX at Malad, Inorbit Mall will play host to Mumbai’s first Cinema LED Theatre.

Through this technology, an audience experience is uplifted to a level wherein characters and places come alive and fuel imagination whilst watching a cinema. Through HDR refinement, guests get to enjoy next level experience with more detailed, textured and visually rich content because it is 10 times brighter than conventional projector and also has infinite contrast ratio. Samsung ONYX is unaffected by ambient light, it upholds consistent and distortion-free picture quality that keeps audiences engaged and keeps it close to realism. Not just visually advanced pictures, ONYX Cinema LED technology amplifies next-level cinema content with JBL’s sculpted surround sound audio.

“Onyx, another transformational innovation by Samsung, will change the way we watch movies and will mark a new chapter in the history of cinema. The hundred year old projection technology will be a thing of the past. With INOX Onyx, welcome true colours, bring alive the LED Screen with real life like picture quality and exhilarating sound. We are elated to partner with INOX in our endeavour to revolutionize the movie viewing experience in the city of dreams – Mumbai,” said Mr. Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India.

“One of the advantages of Onyx Cinema LED is that it can uphold exceptional picture quality even at ambient lighting conditions. Making use of that, at INOX ONYX Diner, viewers will also enjoy more elaborated menu while enjoying their favourite movies,” he added.

“At INOX, we believe in the philosophy of ‘LIVE the Movie’ and commit the best cinematic experience to our customers. Our association with Samsung to launch World’s first cinema LED technology in Mumbai is a testimony of this commitment to them. Technology and innovation are at the core of INOX and we continue to redefine the cinema viewing experience by combining luxury with technology to present the best experience to our audience” said Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, INOX Leisure Limited.

With increasing interest in the technology among movie experts and enthusiasts, Samsung launched the innovative Onyx Cinema LED, a move away from the projection systems that were existing hitherto. The Onyx Cinema LED has the potential to deliver unparalleled picture quality, bringing content to life with greater vibrancy and accuracy.

About Onyx Cinema LED

The Onyx display easily accommodates any venue configuration while delivering unmatched visual quality, technical performance and reliability over traditional projectors. The screen maintains its advanced presentation capabilities in ambient lighting conditions, regardless of the featured on-screen content.

The screen also offers state-of-the-art Onyx surround sound experience from JBL by Harman International and Samsung’s Audio Lab, bringing scenes to life through’ clear and precise audio. This integration eliminates rearward bias by expanding the audio “sweet spot”, while ensuring that all attendees can enjoy the same experience regardless of seat location, within the theatre.

Onyx VIEW, combined with an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone greyscale settings delivers brighter and more detail-rich content. The screen delivers High Dynamic Range (HDR) to the cinema, showcasing on-screen contents at peak brightness level – nearly 10 times greater than that offered by standard cinema projectors (146fL versus 14fL). The display delivers improved uniformity, free of optical distortion and interference. It is industry’s first DCI-certified cinema display available in variations extending between 5, 10 and 14 metres in width.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia (Third from Left), Actors Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor (Centre) and Mr. Sanjeev Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd. (Second from Right) along with other dignitaries at the launch of Samsung Onyx Cinema LED Screen in New Delhi

Film projectors have been the medium of cinema display for over 120 years now. This next-generation innovation is all set to end this old method and will change the way we watch movies at a Cinema Hall and will mark a new chapter in the history of cinema viewing technology. The screen will now be playing shows at PVR Icon, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

The unveiling of PVR Onyx Cinema LED screen was conducted in the presence of Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia and Mr. Sanjeev Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd.

“India is a film loving country. Our movies are full of vibrant colours and rich music. Onyx Cinema LED will be the true solution for such content and we believe this technology will be a ‘Blockbuster’ in the film industry. It is going to revolutionize the movie viewing experience of the movie lovers,” said Mr. Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India.

“This screen is one of first few screens launched worldwide by Samsung and we are thrilled to partner with one of India’s biggest film entertainment company, PVR Cinemas to bring in this game changing technology for the movie lovers,” he added.

“Samsung has always been at the forefront of meaningful innovations and we are delighted to launch Onyx LED Cinema screens in India. The screen is now up and running at PVR Icon, Vasant Kunj. We are the first Cinema exhibition chain in the country, to introduce this disruptive theatre technology for Indian movie-goers,” said Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Limited.

“We are committed to deliver world class standards of cinematic experience to our patrons and this association is another step in this direction,” he added.

Over the past few years, movie theatres have been seeing a huge spurt in numbers. Advanced theatre technology is on a growth gradient. With increasing interest in the technology among movie experts and enthusiasts, Samsung launched the innovative Onyx Cinema LED, a move away from the projection systems that were existing hitherto. The Onyx Cinema LED has the potential to deliver unparalleled picture quality, bringing content to life with greater vibrancy and accuracy.

It comes with an array of solutions including the Onyx VIEW, Onyx 3D and Onyx SOUND, providing a uniquely immersive experience. This comprehensive screen and sound solution for movie theatres is poised to revolutionise cinematic experience for every movie enthusiast, whether you are a movie buff, a sports fan, or a fence sitter.

About Onyx Cinema LED

The Onyx display easily accommodates any venue configuration while delivering unmatched visual quality, technical performance and reliability over traditional projectors. The screen maintains its advanced presentation capabilities in ambient lighting conditions, regardless of the featured on-screen content. It also accommodates users who wish to utilize their theatres for corporate events, concert and sports event viewing, and gaming competitions.

The screen also offers state-of-the-art Onyx surround sound experience from JBL by Harman International and Samsung’s Audio Lab, bringing scenes to life through’ clear and precise audio. This integration eliminates rearward bias by expanding the audio “sweet spot”, while ensuring that all attendees can enjoy the same experience regardless of seat location, within the theatre.

Onyx VIEW, combined with an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone greyscale settings delivers brighter and more detail-rich content. The screen delivers High Dynamic Range (HDR) to the cinema, showcasing on-screen contents at peak brightness level – nearly 10 times greater than that offered by standard cinema projectors (146fL versus 14fL). The display delivers improved uniformity, free of optical distortion and interference. It is industry’s first DCI-certified cinema display available in variations extending between 5, 10 and 14 metres in width.

The 3D Onyx Cinema LED screen makes 3D movie content more realistic through enhanced brightness and consistent colour amplification. Glass-wearing viewers can now have the benefit of watching subtitle texts, images and even minor visual details with unprecedented clarity, sans the dark, blurry shadowing and potential dizziness that can occur in traditional 3D movie theatres.

Samsung and PVR will extend this partnership and come up with more theatres equipped with Onyx Cinema LED screens in the recent future.