With its 2020 QLED 8K TVs and AI sound technologies, Samsung has raised the bar for TV audio experiences. Object Tracking Sound+ uses AI-based software to match the movement of audio with movement on-screen; Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) tracks the user’s audio environment; and Q-Symphony creates a more realistic, three-dimensional sound.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with the sound developers of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business to learn more about their extensive capabilities and the journey to fostering innovation in sound.

(From left to right) Youngtae Kim (Sound Lab), Jongbae Kim (Sound Lab), Yoonjae Lee (Sound Device Lab) and Sunmin Kim (Sound Lab)

Object Tracking Sound+: Reading the Room for More Realistic Audio Experiences

Action movies with amazing sound arrangements provide the most realistic experiences when experienced at movie theatres. This is because movie theatres have multi-channel speakers with 3D sound placed on almost all the walls (including the ceiling), as well as around the screen. Compared with a two-channel sound that features speakers only on the left- and right-hand sides, the multi-channel speakers in a movie theatre deliver a more refined sense of realism. So how can this realism be recreated in the home? Samsung’s sound developers came up with Object Tracking Sound+ technology, in which sound follows movement onscreen through six speakers built into the TV.

Thanks to this technology, a video’s audio follows the action on-screen in real-time. When a car moves from the left to the right-hand side of the screen, so will the sound it makes; and when a heavy object drops from the top to the bottom of the screen, so will the audio.

When developing the 2020 QLED 8K TVs, Samsung’s TV developers increased the number of QLED TV speakers from two to six to realise a sound that can mimic the action. “By placing two speakers on each side of the screen, as well as on the top and bottom, we enabled the dissemination of sound in all directions from a total of six speakers,” explained Jongbae Kim. “The distance between the two main speakers has been widened as much as possible, and the additional speakers have been installed in order to maximise sound across all axes to be as three-dimensional as possible. For example, we placed speakers on the upper side of the screen to enable the movement of sound in a vertical direction for a more immersive sound experience.” Additionally, Kim highlighted how, despite the complex nature of a TV structure that includes six embedded speakers, the team managed to keep the design of the TV slim and minimal.

In order to ensure audio will follow on-screen movements accurately, it is important to understand the original intentions of content creators. “The role of a sound engineer is to increase the consistency between the action onscreen and its accompanying audio track when mixing. The location information of sound in a piece of video content, including sound panning information, is subsequently audio-signalled into the audio channel by the sound engineer – something we must be able to track in order to reproduce the location and movement of a content’s audio accurately,” noted Jongbae Kim. “Our Object Tracking Sound+ technology analyses the location information contained in these audio signals as originally placed during mixing. This means the TV can then effectively distribute the sound amongst its six speakers by distinguishing between sound orientations and whether or not the audio source is on-screen, off-screen, close-up or distant.”

AVA: Intelligent Noise Detection to Enhance Voice Clarity

When that crucial scene in the show you are watching is overwhelmed by mixer sound or an important breaking news report is obscured by loud thunder, the act of reaching for the remote to adjust the TV’s volume can come too late. This is why the team developed their AVA technology, which recognises exterior noises and increases the volume of voices in content accordingly if surrounding conditions become too loud.

The way it works is intelligent. The TV’s sound sensor, attached to the bottom middle of the TV, takes in audio from the content onscreen as well as its surrounding environs. AI technology then compares the volume levels of the two types of sound, and if external sounds are found to be louder than that of the TV’s content, it will selectively raise the TV’s volume. “The system does not have one set definition of noise,” explained Sunmin Kim. “It considers any elements that disturb the enjoyment of content as noise. When exterior sounds persist above a certain decibel level, that is when the system registers it as ‘noise’.”

However, AVA technology does not just raise the volume of the TV when it recognises a louder environment, as this would only contribute to a boisterous room experience. “The system harnesses AI to keep sound effect and background audio levels consistent and to only raise the volume of voice audio,” highlighted Sunmin Kim. “Our research showed us that the majority of content is dialogue-heavy, so we believe that enhancing the delivery of dialogue would be most beneficial to aid comprehension.”

Q-Symphony: Creating a Multi-Dimensional Soundscape

One of the key elements to achieving a realistic sound during content playback on a TV is three-dimensionality, which encompasses both horizontal and vertical audio characteristics. Until recently, these perspectives had been being developed separately by the TV and Soundbar teams. However, with the inclusion of upper side speakers on Samsung’s 2020 QLED 8K TVs, the team developed an all-inclusive solution that utilises the capabilities of both the TV and the soundbar in perfect harmony. Q-Symphony is a feature that plays audio using both the TV speakers and the soundbar at the same time, and as an industry-first achievement, the Q-Symphony technology was even recognised with a Best of Innovation Award at CES 2020.

“The core of Q-symphony, which manages sound playback harmoniously using speakers with different characteristics, is the technology that follows the sound playback rules which are determined in advance and exchanges the necessary information between the TV and the soundbar when connected. This approach allows for a superior reproduced sound experience,” explained Yoonjae Lee. “A key element of the technology is a special algorithm that we created which divides and harmonises sounds seamlessly between the TV’s speakers and soundbar.”

During development, the challenge arose regarding the quality of dialogue reproduction. When both the soundbar and the TV speakers played dialogue simultaneously, the sound quality was noticeably diminished. However, the sound development team were able to resolve this issue by separating the main soundtrack, including dialogue, from the entire signal and assigning the different tracks to the TV speakers and soundbar respectively. “In the 2020 QLED 8K TV range, the voice signal is extracted and removed from the sound being reproduced by the TV’s embedded speakers, which are then assigned to play ambient sound signals such as sound effects,” explained Lee. “The soundbar then reproduces the main sound involving any dialogue. With this technology, Q-Symphony harnesses the advantages of both TV speakers and the soundbar in order to deliver the best, and most harmonious, sound experience to users.”

Working Together to Develop the Perfect Sound Experience

The sound development team agreed that realising the addition of speakers, the new placement of speakers and the AI harmonisation with the soundbar on the 2020 QLED 8K TV range was possible because of close coordination with a variety of other teams. “When developing new TVs, all areas need to be in sync with their innovations,” noted Youngtae Kim. “We came together in suggesting various solutions to overcome each technological hurdle with an open mind.”

Youngtae Kim (left) and Sunmin Kim introduce the innovative sound technologies of the 2020 QLED 8K TV range

The sound development team has always been and always will be dedicated to developing the best possible audio experiences for users. As well as working with Samsung’s Audio Lab based in the U.S. for the future audio technology, the team also works with Samsung Research’s R&D Centers, universities and start-up experts around the world. “We want to bring about sound experiences that are as natural and as real as possible,” explained Youngtae Kim. “To achieve this, we will continue to work hard to understand the end-to-end process of the sound and realise sounds in our TVs.”

Samsung’s sound innovation is  paving the path forward. “In the future, we will bolster the use of AI so that users do not even need to use a remote control to find the perfect audio balance when enjoying their favourite content,” said Nivash Ramsern, Head: Visual Display at Samsung South Africa. “As time goes by, TV installation environments, lifestyles and age groups will be diversified. We want users to enjoy the sound of their content as intended, regardless of content type or listening environment.”

After a lengthy process, Samsung’s designers and developers were able to produce the unprecedented Infinity Screen, which makes use of 99% of the display space and comes in at a super-slim thickness of 15mm. Samsung Newsroom interviewed the product designers and mechanics engineers behind Samsung’s QLED 8K 2020 TVs to learn more about how this revolutionary design came to be.

(From left to right) Jang-ho Kim, Hyun-joong Chae, Jae-wook Yoo and Hokwon Peter Song of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business. Kim and Yoo are part of the product design group, while Chae and Song are part of the mechanics R&D group

Minimised Bezels, Maximised Immersion

Since its introduction to the market in 2018, Samsung’s QLED 8K TVs have constantly been applauded by the industry for their ground-breaking technologies which offer viewers the best available display resolutions powered by AI technology, HDR10+ and 100% colour volume. For those who worked on producing the 2020 QLED 8K TVs, this legacy was always front of mind. To deliver an even more immersive viewing experience with this series of TVs, the screen’s bezel and its black matrix – that black boundary at the edge of the display – had to be minimised.

“Users should be able to focus solely on watching and listening when enjoying the content on their TV,” stressed Jang-ho Kim. “To achieve this, we implemented a design that reduces the bezel count and black matrix into a near-imperceptible level. After numerous tests that involved reducing the black matrix each time by 0.1mm, we discovered the optimal values for this display, these being 0.8mm for the bezel and 0.9mm for the black matrix.”

Compared with the previous QLED 8K model (left), the Infinity Screen (right) has an immediately obvious lower bezel count

After many twists and turns, the ideal design was settled upon. But there were still challenges ahead when realising this design into a product for the market. Given the number of parts that make up a screen’s black matrix, the team needed to come up with a streamlined way to include them all into the limited space allotted by the 0.9mm total area. “Considering that the average thickness of a human fingernail is between 0.6 and 0.7mm, the space we had to negotiate to fit all of the necessary components into was barely thicker than a fingernail,” said Hyun-joong Chae. “We had to raise the degree of precision implemented at the product assembly stage, which we achieved by producing specialised instruments and equipment, as well as cells that had adequately thin boundaries.”

The team provided a differentiated bezel for this unique display by changing the materials used in production. Previously, the main material for such products had been aluminium, but for this product, stainless steel was spread in the thinnest layer possible using a special method to increase its durability. “By reducing the bezel count and black matrix, the resulting screen we created occupies 99% of the front side of the product,” noted Jae-wook Yoo. “The TV’s Ambient Mode feature, which displays a user’s photographs and videos when the TV is switched off, also contributes to breaking down the boundary between the TV’s display and the space it is placed in.”

A Flat Back Design for Seamless Adhesion

As well as innovating on the front side of the device, the team also eliminated unnecessary elements from its backside. Unlike the back of a conventional display which is thin at both ends but becomes thicker towards the device’s centre, the 2020 QLED 8K TV implements a flat back design that has a consistent thickness of 15mm. “When a product is wall-mounted, a differentiated backside design can cast a big shadow if there is a lot of space between the wall and the TV,” explained Yoo. “The flat back design allowed us to reduce this space and any resulting shadows considerably.”

The 2020 QLED 8K TV’s flat back design complements other interior elements well when wall-mounted

Of course, this slimmer backside design resulted in a reduction of space wherein to fit all the TV’s parts and components. Accordingly, these components, including the output port, the processor, the circuit board, the speaker and the cover, had to be reduced in size to fit naturally into this reduced space. “The cover was 2.7mm in width previously, but using a special method, we managed to reduce its thickness down to 0.8mm for the 2020 QLED 8K TV,” noted Hokwon Peter Song. “,To do so, we spent a lot of time working with external factories and other experts in various fields to develop this specialised method.”

A Stand That is Strong in its Simplicity

Conventional TV stands often implement designs that stand out. However, the stand for the 2020 QLED 8K TV is small and simplistic to place more emphasis on the screen. Moreover, understanding that every user has consoles of different styles on which to place their TVs, the team decided that a simplistic design would best suit everyone’s TV environment.

“The display stand we designed tilts the TV’s screen backwards around 3.5 degrees,” explained Kim. “We calculated this specific angle to ensure that users would be able to enjoy a fully immersive, comfortable TV experience and the angle also boast the TV’s slim design at 15mm.”

The stand, which tilts the screen back by 3.5 degrees, provides the optimum angle for user immersion

Samsung’s 2020 QLED 8K TVs have been receiving favourable reviews from across the media and industry landscape not just for their advanced screen quality and sound technologies, but also for the concerted efforts the team have put in to overcome the limits of conventional design.

“In the future, TV screens are set to grow in size and provide even more immersive experiences,” said Nivash Ramsern, Head: Visual Display at Samsung South Africa. “Samsung’s job is to make sure the product design fully backs up and complements the features and performances of these future products. We will continue to work hard to create products that provide the highest quality TV-watching experiences to users.”

Samsung Newsroom interviewed the team from the Picture Quality Solution Lab of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business to learn more about this revolutionary technology.

(From left) Hyungjun Lim, Hyunseung Lee, Cheon Lee and Seungho Park of the Picture Quality Solution Lab of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business

Levelling Up Deep Learning for Optimised Upscaling

When a low-resolution video plays on a high-resolution display, the resulting image quality can be below a viewer’s expectations. AI (artificial intelligence) upscaling is a technology that converts low-resolution videos into ones of more vivid and natural resolutions by analysing the video data and adapting it intelligently.

In 2018, Samsung Electronics implemented its machine learning-based AI 8K upscaling technology for the first time. This technology harnesses machine learning wherein a human-designed algorithm intelligently analyses the various video qualities, including line, light and colour, and improves each of these for an improved display resolution. Such deep learning capabilities permit a TV to analyse and process video features whilst simultaneously learning thanks to an artificial neural network that acts in the same way as the human brain.

The members of Samsung’s Picture Quality Solution Lab focused on developing deep learning algorithms that enable displays to always showcase optimum video qualities without human intervention. “Deep learning enables more precise and efficient image quality improvements than can be achieved by humans alone,” noted Hyungjun Lim, who developed the AI upscaling technology’s texture generation method.

This operational advantage is what led the team to develop an AI upscaling technology that combines machine learning with deep learning – Samsung’s AI Quantum Processor 8K. “Previous machine learning technology brought about enhanced sharpness to display picture quality, but now our technology can also offer more delicate texturing,” noted Hyunseung Lee, who developed enhanced edge sharpness for the AI Quantum Processor 8K. “Images with complicated textures, like mountain or grass landscapes, can now be up-scaled into 8K quality more naturally.”

Solving the Conundrum of Deep Learning

Although deep learning has limitless potential, there are still obstacles to be overcome. The Picture Quality Solution Lab team had to go through countless trial-and-error scenarios to make their technology market-ready. “It was difficult for us, at first, to clearly follow and comprehend the algorithm being developed by the artificial neural network of the processor,” highlighted Cheon Lee, the developer of the AI Quantum Processor 8K’s network structure and learning method. “The artificial neural network’s high hardware chip power consumption was an issue we had to solve, too.”

After a lengthy development process, Samsung was eventually able to solve the problems that had arisen thanks to its range of differentiated technologies. “We achieved the highly efficient display quality performance of our processor by making it a hybrid technology that combines complexity along with different aspects of deep learning and machine learning,” explained Lee.

Dreaming Bigger, Better and More Realistic with AI      

It wasn’t that long ago that the day-to-day application of AI-powered technologies was but a distant dream to us. Nowadays, technology has improved rapidly to the end of improving the lives of people across many different areas of everyday life.

“We are now able to categorise videos of differing quality levels in a more detailed way while also bringing these AI categorisation technologies to the commercial market,” noted Seungho Park, who worked the AI Quantum Processor 8K’s noise elimination and improving the detail contrast range. “Such technologies permit next-generation displays, such as The Wall, to be able to showcase all kinds of videos at the most realistic qualities possible today.”

Samsung Electronics’ 2020 QLED 8K TV line-up continuously receives praise for its devices’ innovative display quality, sound, design and many other areas. In particular, the range showcases an impressive evolution with regards to its video upscaling technology, at the core of which is Samsung’s AI Quantum Processor 8K

This AI-powered innovation is not just limited to upscaling technologies. There exist a variety of ways to harness AI to improve the screen qualities of displays, including video quality categorisation, noise elimination, data-compression-caused distortion restoration and spatial or time-based resolution restoration, to name just a few. “Our goal is to continue Samsung’s legacy of providing leading TV viewing experiences by combining the advantages of our next-generation displays with AI technologies that can restore videos to realistic-level qualities, regardless of their original qualities and resolutions,” Nivash Ramsern, Head: Visual Display at Samsung South Africa. The future of QLED 8K is looking bright.