Following the release of the HW-S800B Ultra Slim Soundbar for Samsung’s QLED TV line-up, which was unveiled earlier this year at CES, Samsung Newsroom spoke to Ema Souza Blanes at Audio Lab of Samsung Research America. She is the person behind the process for product validation and research that includes countless listening tests, all of which are conducted to deliver the best possible immersive viewing experiences with the finest sound.

▲ Ema Souza Blanes at Audio Lab of Samsung Research America

1. Briefly tell us about yourself and your role in the Samsung Audio Lab.

I am a French audio engineer, and after graduating from the engineering school Arts et Métiers ParisTech (ENSAM) and the Paris-Saclay University, I joined the Samsung Research America’s Audio Lab in Valencia, California. My role with the Audio Lab is to run listening tests for product validation and overall research purposes.

2. What is a new or recent trend happening in the soundbar industry?

Immersion is a topical subject in soundbar development, with the inclusion of more advanced audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos in home audio. Soundbars have also naturally followed the TV design trend with the intent of blending into the home décor with a sleek and discreet build. Though, despite these new slim designs, sound quality and immersion yet remain at the heart of soundbar development.

3. Samsung has recently released the ultra-slim soundbar HW-S800B. What were some of the primary objectives for this model?

The design process of the HW-S800B was dedicated to combining all aspects of these recent trends into one product. We aimed to develop a soundbar that blends seamlessly with discreet screens such as The Frame, which challenged us when it came to customization and optimization due to its slim design.

▲ HW-S800B

4. The soundbar’s depth and height are 1.6” x 1.5”, which is a difficult size in which to include all amplifiers and multi-channel speakers. Can you describe some of the challenges you faced during the development process?

Most soundbars in the market that are designed to be slim or small typically have a weaker integration of the subwoofer to the soundbar. The result is a colored sound, especially when it comes to voices. The challenge was to avoid this effect and to ensure that voices are maintained in the center of the sound field. This required custom soundbar transducers and a design capable of low crossover frequency to the subwoofer.

5. We noticed that the subwoofer appears different from past models. Can you elaborate on this difference?

Most subwoofers feature a port to enhance the bass response. Since the HW-S800B’s subwoofer has a smaller enclosure which limits the port size, we recognized that this would cause turbulent air motion, resulting in distortion and less bass. This constraint was addressed by designing a custom passive radiator in place of a port and a long-excursion 6.5” woofer that is able to displace as much air as a larger woofer.

6. Similar to other premium Samsung soundbars, this model features a wireless connection between the soundbar and TV along with Dolby Atmos sound technology. Why should consumers want these capabilities?

Samsung’s 2022 soundbars come with Wireless Dolby Atmos connectivity, a wireless Smart TV-to-soundbar connection in which both the screen and soundbar speakers deliver an incredible audio experience with no distracting cables. It allows for smoother on-wall mounting setups by minimizing the number of visible cables. Nobody wants their homes cluttered or disorganized, and we are living in a time, in which more consumers are eyeing products that perfectly blend their sophisticated, personal style in and out of the home with technological innovation for a better, connected experience. I believe our soundbars exemplify this desire that we’re seeing in the consumer electronics industry.

7. Samsung’s Q-Symphony sound technology has also significantly improved in the past year. What are some of the upgrades over the previous version?

In the 2021 TV models, Q-Symphony combined the power of the top speakers and the soundbar. The new Q-Symphony enhances the surround sound and feeling of immersion through channel separation technology. This enables the soundbar and TV speakers to work together with all the speakers on the TVs, including the top, bottom and side speakers, providing for an expansive, powerful soundscape.

8. Is there anything else we should know about the Audio Lab and your work?

Running listening tests is crucial to ensure the quality of our products. At Samsung, we work closely with our skilled listeners in various and rigorous listening tests where they give their opinion on our products including the comparison between our previous models. The HW-S800B is no exception and showed compelling results while also competing with much larger soundbars.

▲ Samsung Research America’s Audio Lab

[1] Samsung Research, acting as Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

(From left) Mingyo Oh, Haekwang Park and Shinhye Choi, at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business behind Premium Soundbar, the HW-Q950A

With the increasing popularity of large screen televisions and the continued addition of further OTT (over-the-top) services, more users are looking to establish a theater-like experience in their homes. On top of that, social distancing measures have required people to go out less, stoking their desire to enjoy premium visual and audio experiences from home.

Full, clear and deep sound plays a crucial role in ensuring that content is delivered as it was originally intended. Paving the way for new audio experiences, Samsung Electronics introduced its high-end soundbar models, the HW-Q950A and HW-Q900A, in May of this year. The new premium models take sound quality to the next level with up to 16 channels and a host of enhanced functions that bring even greater satisfaction to users. Samsung Newsroom met with the product experts of the 2021 soundbar models to find out the secret behind their powerful and precise sound.

11.1.4-Channel Surround Sound That Fills the Entire Room

Haekwang Park, Principal Engineer at the Sound Device Lab, Samsung’s Visual Display Business

Thanks to our ever-evolving content culture, sound is getting richer, fuller and more expressive. The days of one-directional (mono) sound are long gone as we have ushered in the era of multi-directional channels that allow sound to fill up the surrounding space. “Sound is becoming increasingly important as people nowadays watch a wide variety of programs that place more emphasis on audio quality, such as music shows and films,” says Haekwang Park, Principal Engineer from the Sound lab at Samsung’s Visual Display Business.

To live up to consumers’ heightened expectations, Samsung has spared no effort in developing high-quality soundbar products that deliver very realistic sound. In 2016, Samsung brought its first 5.1.4-channel soundbar model to market. This soundbar was equipped with left, right and middle channels, two rear channels, a subwoofer and four upward-firing speakers, and delivered immersive, three-dimensional surround sound. More channels were added to later models, including a surround channel on the side of the soundbar and a wide surround channel to deliver sound from the front and sides. In 2020, Samsung introduced a 9.1.4-channel model.

In 2021, Samsung went a step further with its latest 11.1.4-channel model, the HW-Q950A, which features two rear surround channels. Product planner Mingyo Oh explained that, “The newly added channels are located on the sides of the rear surround speakers. They add liveliness to dynamic scenes involving things like airplanes in flight and car chases by allowing the sound to hit the side walls before it bounces back to where the audience is positioned.” The premium soundbar delivers an outstanding audio experience by filling previously quiet moments with powerful, immersive sound.

Mingyo Oh from the Product Planning Group at Samsung’s Visual Display Business

Delivering Sound Exactly as Intended With Advanced Rendering and Waveguide Techniques

A channel is a passage for sound that dictates which direction it travels. This is why having a higher number of channels provides better, smoother sound. It usually requires costly equipments to offer 11.1.4-channel sound, but Samsung’s HW-Q950A is able to provide a breathtaking 3D surround sound experience with only four speakers thanks to its unparalleled rendering and waveguide techniques.

Rendering is the process of creating a way for the audio output to deliver sound exactly as the artist intended. The Samsung developers made it possible to deliver an optimal acoustic experience with the soundbar system by tapping into its cutting-edge rendering technology. “To provide the most natural audio experience to users, we have carefully designed our products to deliver sound seamlessly. The HW-Q950A soundbar delivers sound that is reflected in various directions and arrives at users’ ears at the optimal angle,” related Shinhye Choi.

Shinhye Choi from the Global Product Marketing Group at Samsung’s Visual Display Business

An advanced waveguide technique is also indispensable when it comes to delivering next-level sound. A multi-channel speaker emits sound in multiple directions, and the waveguide technique allows components in the speaker to deliver sound in the direction intended by the developer. Haekwang Park reported that, “Top-tier experts at the Visual Display Business’s Sound Lab and Samsung Audio Lab in California came together to design the parts that went into the speakers. Our soundbar models are meticulously constructed to deliver world-class sound performance.”

How SpaceFit Sound+ and Q-Symphony Further Elevate the Viewing Experience

Usually, most of the sound emitted by speakers hits walls or curtains before reaching the audience’s ears. This explains why the same sound is heard differently depending on the dimensions and layout of the viewing environment. Samsung’s HW-Q950A soundbar and 2021 TV models deliver stunning sound that tunes into users’ viewing environments by analyzing the dimensions of the space they’re in using SpaceFit Sound+.

SpaceFit Sound+ combines SpaceFit Sound technology, which delivers optimized audio, and Auto EQ (auto equalizer) technology. Together, the SpaceFit Sound and Auto EQ solutions use embedded microphones to thoroughly survey the viewing space, and then feed that data to the soundbar to enable it to deliver a tailored sound experience.

But the collaboration between the Samsung TV and the soundbar does not stop there. Samsung’s innovative, proprietary Q-Symphony technology additionally combines and enhances the sound generated by the TV and soundbar to guarantee optimal sound quality. Normally, when you connect a soundbar to your TV, the sound is emitted only from the soundbar. What’s more, some technical issues involving out-of-sync sound and tone disparities between the two devices had been observed. Q-Symphony overcomes these issues by incorporating a stereoscopic sound effect that allows sound to play through the speakers that wrap around the TV in addition to through the soundbar, providing richer and more realistic sound compared to when sound is produced through the soundbar alone.

Combining Truly Rich Sound With Highly Convenient Functionality

As with other models, Samsung has placed great emphasis on creating a new level of acoustic immersion with the HW-Q950A. But that doesn’t mean it can’t also include a host of convenient features. To begin with, the Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) feature clarifies dialogue in the viewer’s favorite shows to help them hear on-screen conversations clearly amid a variety of background noises. With an embedded microphone, the soundbar automatically measures noise levels and enhances voices if the noise continues for more than three seconds or surpasses a certain threshold.

And the HW-Q950A optimizes sound for different types of scenes, such as those with loud sound effects and dialogue-heavy scenes. For instance, the Adaptive Sound feature analyzes sound signals to deliver an optimal sound experience for each scene. Moreover, Game Mode Pro delivers a powerful, immersive gaming experience with subwoofers and upward-firing speakers. The Tap Sound feature also enables users to simply tap their smartphones on the soundbar when listening to a song to take their listening experience to the next level.

The motto of Samsung’s soundbar developers is to get the basics right when it comes to sound. “We are working our hardest to deliver sound of the highest quality,” the developers related. “We do this by collaborating closely with groups of experts and employing Samsung’s advanced measuring and simulation techniques to set clear standards for what we define as ‘optimal’ sound.”

The developers’ ultimate goal is to deliver a best-in-class acoustic experience to users regardless of the type of content they’re consuming, or the specific features of their viewing environment. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they make this dream a reality.

In addition to holding first place in the global TV market for fourteen straight years, Samsung Electronics has also maintained the number one position in terms of market share for soundbars.¹ What’s more, Samsung’s ‘Q-Symphony’ feature now allows joint playback once a soundbar is paired with a television. With its ability to produce rich, immersive surround sound from both the TV speakers and the soundbar, Q-Symphony picked up the ‘Best of Innovation’ award at CES 2020.

Following on from our previous piece exploring the sound technologies of Samsung’s QLED 8K TVs, we present Samsung’s soundbar solutions, which are bringing dynamic surround sound to the home entertainment environment.

Perfect Harmony – The Building Blocks of Q-Symphony

Until recently, using conventional TV speakers and soundbars simultaneously could lead to the audio playback getting out of sync with the scenes playing on the screen, meaning that TV speakers had to be muted when using a soundbar. However, Samsung’s 2020 QLED TVs are equipped with upper speakers, enabling simultaneous use of TV speakers and a soundbar. Furthermore, Q-Symphony technology has unlocked compatibility between the 2020 Q80T TVs (which include the moving sound feature for models 55 inches and wider) and the 2020 Q Series soundbars.

The idea for Q-Symphony started from an idea to provide higher quality surround sound by using the upper TV speaker in combination with a soundbar. To make this hybrid solution a reality, the sounds from the TV speakers and soundbar had to be synchronized in terms of timing and volume.

Moreover, in the latest technology, the respective roles of the TV speakers and the soundbar have been clearly distinguished to allow for better harmonization of sounds. While the soundbar delivers primary sounds such as human voices, the upper speaker delivers the ambient sound effects. In this way, the two devices avoid interfering with one another, and provide a richer sound experience.

Dynamic Sound from a Wide Range of Angles

Representing the next stage in the progression from the HW-Q90R soundbar, the aforementioned HW-Q950T 9.1.4-channel soundbar, features two wide channels that deliver sound at angles of 60° to either side of the center. To provide fuller sound, the speakers at the far right and left, which provide the surround sound, have been moved to the edges of the soundbar. Furthermore, two additional speakers that are oriented at an angle that is optimized for wide channel functionality have been incorporated in the far left and right positions.

With wide channel functionality, users can benefit from sound being emitted from a host of different angles and benefit from a more complete audio experience. This effect additionally provides a broader sense of realism, and, by adding vitality to the movements on the screen, guarantees a better experience when watching content such as concerts, musical performances and films.

Maximizing the Audio Experience

Before being finalized, all of Samsung’s soundbars undergo a final tuning process at Samsung’s Audio Lab in Valencia, California. The high-level expertise of the Samsung Audio Lab are well established, as was demonstrated when three of the lab’s papers were selected among the top 10 papers by the Audio Engineering Society at AES 2019. Likewise, Samsung more broadly is working to optimize users’ audio experiences by applying powerful, innovative technology to its soundbars.

Over recent years, the home audio experience has been constantly evolving and diversifying to offer users increasingly vivid sound experiences. Now, as the industry looks to realize the next stage in the evolution of sound, Samsung is providing comprehensive sound solutions for the future of top-tier audio experiences.

¹ According to global market research firm FutureSource, from 2014 (the first year to officially include soundbars in the survey) until 2019, Samsung has maintained the top spot globally in terms of soundbar market share.

Just as Samsung TVs have ranked number one globally for 14 consecutive years,¹ the company’s soundbars also hold the number one position in the global soundbar market. Samsung has held the number one spot in the global soundbar industry ever since international research firm Futuresource Consulting started officially recording in 2014. According to Futuresource, Samsung ranks number one in sales revenue, maintains 21.8 percent of the global market share, and accounted for 16.5 percent of the industry sales volume in 2019.

All Samsung soundbars and audio technology are tuned at the Samsung Audio Lab in Valencia, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Thanks to continuous efforts from the Samsung Audio Lab, the ‘Q series’, a part of its 2019 premium soundbar lineup, boasts high quality sound for which it garnered positive reviews from key tech media in the U.S. and Europe.

“It is rewarding to see that our competitiveness in the audio market over the last several years has culminated in this result,” said Seong Cho, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Product Marketing of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “We will ensure Samsung remains an industry leader in both the global TV and soundbar market for years to come.”

Samsung’s position as the soundbar market leader will be further strengthened through synergies with Samsung TVs. The 2020 QLED models, which include new and proprietary AI technologies to improve audio as well as picture quality, provide new standards of home audio and entertainment. Using the TV speakers in conjunction with a soundbar to establish the optimal sound, the Q-Symphony feature will produce richer surround sound and provide Samsung’s most immersive audio experience to-date to consumers. This technology received the CES 2020 Best of Innovation award, and is standardized across the entire range of Samsung’s soundbars (above Q60T) and some QLED models (above Q80T).

For more information, please visit https://www.samsung.com/my.

¹ Source – Omdia, Jan-2020. Ranking in terms of shipments. Results are not an endorsement of Samsung. Any reliance on these results is at the third-party’s own risk.

Malaysia’s leading cinema exhibitor, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) has announced that it is partnering with Samsung Malaysia Electronics (SME) to introduce and bring its pioneering Cinema LED technology to Malaysia, as the cinema chain continues to innovate and deliver enriching experiences for movie-goers in the country.

This new next-generation viewing experience, which will be made available at GSC’s flagship theatre in Mid Valley Megamall, marks a new milestone for GSC with Samsung’s Cinema LED Screen implementation in Malaysia, and follows successful implementations in Asia including China, Korea, and in Europe.

“Golden Screen Cinemas is excited to introduce the Samsung Cinema LED to Malaysians, as it underscores our commitment in bringing in the latest cinematic technologies. The Samsung Cinema LED screen expands our offerings, enabling us to deliver new and enriching cinema experiences to customers, but it is also part of our efforts to transform the Malaysian entertainment landscape. We intend to change how audiences across the country look at the traditional cinema-going experience, and this is the next step for the future of cinema,” said Ms. Koh Mei Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Screen Cinemas.

“At Samsung, we design our products around how people live, bringing joy and value into their life. Through the partnership with GSC, we hope to provide the best audio-visual enjoyment and we strive to continuously redefine cinematic tools to stand out and be a part of creating cinema history. We are confident that this partnership with GSC will be a successful one as they are the largest cinema exhibitor in Malaysia, and we shall grow together to bring the best immersive cinematic experience with Samsung Cinema LED screens,” said Mr. Yoonsoo Kim, President of Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

As the world’s first Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)-compliant High Dynamic Range (HDR) LED theatre display, Samsung’s Cinema LED Screen is designed to deliver a more captivating and vibrant viewing experience, by pairing stunning video technology with state-of-the-art audio technologies from JBL by HARMAN Professional Solutions and Samsung Audio Lab.

Measuring 10.3m (33.8 ft) wide in size, the Cinema LED Screen brings the visual power of HDR picture quality to the big screen, delivering ultra-sharp 4K resolution visuals (4,096 x 2,160) and peak brightness levels of 146Fl. Leveraging its ultra-contrast and low-tone grayscale settings, the futuristic screen is able to showcase the brightest colours, most pristine whites, and deepest blacks at a nearly infinite contrast ratio, enlivening and bringing content to life.

To complement its stunning picture technology, Samsung’s Cinema LED screen also comes with world-class audio technology from JBL by HARMAN. This integration includes powerful speakers bordering the screen, and an expanded audio “sweet spot” throughout the theatre’s seating area, so that audiences can enjoy a true multi-sensory aural experience, just the way the content creators intended.

“GSC has always been poised at the forefront of out-of-home entertainment, delivering high-quality cinematic experiences that are complemented by a diverse range of content, some of which are available exclusively under our GSC International Screens brand. We are confident that with the Samsung Cinema LED screen, our customers will get more out of their movie-going experiences with us, whether they are watching a Hollywood blockbuster, catching a foreign film, celebrating their favourite bands in concert, or cheering for their favourite e-Sports teams,” added Ms. Koh.

For more information, please visit GSC’s website at www.gsc.com.my, check out GSC’s Mobile App, or GSC’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GSCinemas.

For more information about Samsung’s Cinema LED Screen, as well as related articles, photos and videos, please visit https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/showcase/news-press/detail/samsung_debuts_worlds_first_cinema_led_display.

About GSC

Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC), Malaysia’s largest cinema exhibitor, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PPB Group (a member of the Kuok Group). GSC operates a total of 404 screens in 47 locations across Malaysia and Vietnam, with 344 screens in 36 locations in Malaysia, and 82 screens in 13 locations in Vietnam through a partnership with Galaxy Studio. Aspiring to be a regional cinema and content operator that is recognized for providing total quality movie entertainment, GSC offers THX-certified halls and the multi-dimensional Dolby Atmos® audio surround technology across Malaysia. The 21-screen GSC Mid Valley Megamall holds the record of being the largest multiplex in Southeast Asia, while GSC Paradigm JB houses the largest GSC Maxx screen in Malaysia. GSC Signature offers exclusive cinema experience with its luxurious Gold Class and Premiere Class halls, while GSC Lite brings urban-class cinema entertainment into smaller towns. For more information, log-on to www.gsc.com.my