Raising the bar for cinema innovation, Samsung unveiled its latest model of Onyx (ICD) in March. The next generation of cinematic experiences will be defined by immersive visuals, improved comfort, and a reliable viewing experience.

In this article, Samsung Newsroom takes a closer look at the company’s vision for the future of cinema in terms of Visuals, Space and Consistency.

▲ Samsung Onyx was the center of attention at the company’s booth at CinemaCon 2025, the industry’s largest exhibition

Visuals – An Out-of-This-World Screen Experience

Immersion is at the heart of the cinematic experience — a setting designed to transport audiences into the world of the film. Only in an environment free from the everyday distractions such as constant calls, notifications and household chores can viewers fully engage with the story unfolding on the screen.

A true cinematic experience faithfully delivers the filmmaker’s vision, presenting every detail, color and shadow exactly as intended. Onyx brings that vision to reality.

▲ Pixar’s Inside Out 2 shown on Samsung Onyx, demonstrating the display’s peak brightness and vibrant color accuracy

Onyx, Samsung’s first cinema LED display certified[1] by Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), delivers superior picture quality in 4K HDR resolution with vivid colors, deep blacks and infinite contrast. The clarity, precision and rich detail in each frame help give life to the narrative. Gone are the days of poor edge resolution and inconsistent brightness.

▲ Samsung Onyx enhances Pixar’s Lightyear (top) and Soul (bottom) with outstanding contrast, making dark scenes more vivid and immersive

The Onyx screen can lend its brightness and clarity to applications other than movie screenings – live sports, concerts, gaming events and corporate presentations, for example. The ability to host alternative content empowers theaters to diversify their offerings and create new revenue streams without compromising the premium viewing experience.

▲ A live concert seen on Onyx, demonstrating the display’s color accuracy and sharp details

Space – More Room for Comfort and Flexibility

Comfort and spatial design are also key factors that set premium cinemas apart. Much like the distinction between economy and business class on an airplane, the seating experience can make or break a theater’s appeal. As theaters evolve into premium auditoriums, spacious, comfortable seating becomes essential.

Onyx helps enable this transformation. Unlike traditional projectors which require separate projection rooms and large setups, Onyx’s cinema LED technology maximizes the available space in a theater. This allows cinemas to optimize their auditorium spaces and provides more flexibility to install specialized seating like larger recliners or dining tables.

Furthermore, new Onyx (ICD) offers flexible scaling options, allowing screens to be customized to fit the dimension of each auditorium, maximizing space efficiency without compromising picture quality and comfort.

▲ Pixar’s Elio screened on Samsung Onyx featuring luxury seating for a premium cinema experience

With Onyx, every seat in the theater offers a reliable high-quality visual experience – no edge distortion or resolution loss – ensuring that the entire audience is fully immersed in the story. The combination of optimized space, enhanced comfort, and stunning visuals elevates the overall cinema experience.

▲ Samsung Onyx empowers theaters to deliver a premium cinema experience and luxury dining for customers

Consistency – Reliable Viewing Quality with Smarter Management Tools

We go to the theater to be transported—to lose ourselves in the world of a story. But experiences in traditional projection-based theaters can deteriorate with picture quality that varies depending on the age and condition of the equipment.

Samsung’s Cinema LED screen, on the other hand, features an ‘Auto Calibration Solution’ that automatically adjusts color consistency across each module, maintaining optimal picture quality—not just at installation, but every step of the way through ongoing maintenance.

Onyx introduction of Samsung’s first 10-year warranty for cinema LED[2], raising the bar for long-term reliability in cinema technology.

▲ Samsung Onyx, an out-of-this-world cinema LED display

Since debuting Samsung’s first Cinema LED screen in 2017, Onyx has built strong partnerships with major global film studios, earning trust and recognition across the industry. As the leader in Cinema LED technology, Samsung is committed to pushing boundaries—so the magic of the movies is always seen exactly as it was meant to be.

With Samsung Onyx, the future of premium cinema is brighter, clearer, and more immersive than ever before.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/my/business/

[1] Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) is a consortium of major film studios established to define specifications for an open architecture in digital cinema systems.

[2] Based on internal research and publicly available information. Onyx includes a standard three-year warranty, with options to extend coverage up to 10 years.

Just one year after offering CinemaCon attendees a first look at its initial Cinema LED screen, Samsung Electronics will officially launch its new Onyx brand at this year’s event. All venues featuring Samsung’s enhanced screen will operate under the “Samsung Onyx Theater” name moving forward.

Inspired by the gemstone of the same name, the Samsung Onyx brand alludes to the display’s ability to showcase cinema content with true, deep and realistic black colors. Combining an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone grayscale settings, this pinpoint representation produces brighter and more detail-rich content.

“By aligning brilliant, uniform color presentation with LED picture quality and crystal-clear audio, the Samsung Onyx screen invites movie enthusiasts into the most immersive and memorable viewing arena available and repositions the theater as an entertainment haven,” said Seog-gi Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are thrilled to deliver a new and exciting theater experience to operators, managers and consumers around the world, and we look forward to working further with leading decision-makers in the movie industry to usher in the next generation of cinema.”

The Next Generation of Cinema

Available in variations extending between 5 and 10.3 meters (16.4-33.8 ft.) in width, the Samsung Onyx display accommodates any venue configuration while delivering visual quality, technical performance and reliability beyond that of traditional projector-based operations. With the 4K model earning validation as the world’s first Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)-certified theater display, the Samsung Onyx translates the combination of advanced LED and High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture quality to lifelike big screen content.

CinemaCon 2018 attendees also will be among the first to experience the Samsung Onyx’s powerful multi-sensory viewing environment. Each Samsung Onyx screen features state-of-the-art surround sound from HARMAN International, bringing scenes to life through clear and consistent audio. This integration eliminates rearward bias by expanding the audio “sweet spot” within Onyx theaters, and ensures that all attendees can enjoy the same presentation regardless of seat location.

Samsung will also preview the Onyx’s ready-made sequel at CinemaCon 2018. The 3D Onyx Cinema LED screen makes 3D movie content more realistic through enhanced brightness and consistent color amplification. Glass-wearing viewers can now enjoy subtitle text, images and even minor visual details with unprecedented clarity, and without the dark, blurry shadowing and potential dizziness that can occur in traditional 3D movie theaters.

Expanding Presence through Worldwide Partnerships

The Onyx’s debut at CinemaCon 2018 comes as Samsung continues to expand its presence among global cinema operators and audiences. Last week, Samsung and partner Moving Image Tech (MIT) opened the first U.S. Onyx theater at Hollywood’s Pacific Theatres Winnetka w/XD. Samsung also recently announced partnerships with Golden Screen Cinemas – the largest cinema company in Malaysia, with 35 venues and 328 screens throughout the nation – and Cineplexx Cinemas – the largest cinema company in Austria, with 171 screens nationwide – to bring the Onyx screen to movie-goers in each country. The first locally revamped Samsung Onyx theaters are expected to open in Kuala Lumpur and Vienna, respectively, later this year.

“As the heart of the American film industry, Hollywood is an appropriate and symbolic location to introduce a game-changing technology in the Samsung Onyx for movie producers and consumers,” said Ron Gazzola, SVP, Sales and Marketing, IT B2B Division at Samsung Electronics America. “We are excited to revolutionize the cinema experience, and look forward to sharing the Samsung Onyx with even wider audiences both in the U.S. and throughout the world.”

As more theaters upgrade to the Onyx screen, Samsung is working with cinema content developers to ensure that the display can optimize upcoming films. Samsung will collaborate with leading cinema technology services provider Ymagis Group and its Eclair content development business unit to deliver EclairColor^® HDR-compliant pictures that shine on the Onyx screen. CinemaCon 2018 attendees will get a sneak peek at the benefits of this alliance, as Samsung will unveil EclairColor-enhanced visuals on its next-generation display. Samsung additionally has forged a partnership with Hollywood-based post-production company Roundabout to develop specialized Onyx-ready HDR content.

“Today’s movies feature the most sophisticated production and advanced graphics ever, and producers and directors need powerful theater technology to showcase their works as intended and at optimal quality,” said Jean Mizrahi, president and co-founder of Ymagis Group. “We anticipate dynamic and powerful cinema displays like the Onyx becoming the accepted industry standard in the coming years, and we are honored to partner with Samsung to drive change throughout the industry and ultimately improve the content experience for cinema-goers everywhere.”

At CinemaCon, Samsung will additionally highlight its partnerships with production equipment businesses, such as the new research and development initiative performed in conjunction with Arnold & Richter Cine Technik (ARRI), a Munich-based designer and manufacturer of specialized motion picture camera and lighting systems, to create Onyx-optimized content. Samsung is also collaborating with GDC Technology, a leading global provider of end-to-end digital cinema solutions, to develop Onyx-compatible cinema servers.

Taking place April 23-26, 2018 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, CinemaCon is the official convention of the National Association of Theater Owners with participants from more than 80 countries expected to attend.

For more information about Samsung Onyx, visit: https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/led-signage/onyx.