Since introducing their very first soundbar at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2008, Samsung Electronics has continued to release soundbar solutions packed with innovative technologies so that users can enjoy truly immersive TV experiences.

Take a look at the infographic below to learn more about the history of Samsung’s leading soundbars and to find out how they have been charting new territories in audio quality since 2008.

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 synchronised 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 harmonisation 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.

Hearing is believing ­- experience the reality of Q-Symphony above.

A Top-tier Soundbar – Nine Channels with Just Four Speakers

The current top sound specifications for a home theatre system are a 9.1.4-channel set-up, which would ordinarily require a total of 14 speakers. However, the top-of-the-line HW-Q950T Soundbar from the 2020 Q Series is capable of realising these excellent channel specs with only four speakers.

Following the advent of the home theatre market in the 1990s, users were afforded the chance to experience surround sound that covered not only the left and right-hand sides but also the front and rear too. Further down the line, the 2014 introduction of Dolby’s ATMOS technology enabled 3D surround sound that covered sounds from the top and bottom too.

Samsung’s development of premium surround sound hasn’t happened overnight though. In 2016, Samsung released the HW-K950, a soundbar that only required four speakers to provide 5.1.4-channel surround sound. Samsung didn’t stop there though, instead introducing the HW-Q90R, a 7.1.4-channel soundbar that featured a rear surround channel. This year, Samsung took another step forward with its introduction of the HW-Q950T, a 9.1.4-channel soundbar equipped with two additional wide channels.

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 a 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 optimised for wide channel functionality have been incorporated in the far left and right positions.

With wide channel functionality, users can benefit from the 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.

Maximising the Audio Experience

Before being finalised, 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 optimise 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.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 18 September, 2020 – With the emergence of high definition and large-screen TVs that offer spectacular visuals, user attention has been turning to the importance of sound quality, the finishing touch to providing the most immersive home entertainment experience possible.

In developing its 2020 QLED 8K TVs, Samsung implemented artificial intelligence (AI) so that users are able to enjoy a truly powerful large-screen TV experience. The 2020 QLED 8K range features technology that configures content audio to follow the movement of objects on screen and will also change depending on obstructions or distractions it senses around the product. These features further maximise audible immersion sound when paired with the HW-Q800T soundbar – winner of the CTA’s “Best of Innovation” Award. The QLED TV’s speakers sync with the soundbar, allowing it to serve as an additional audio channel and create a more dynamic soundscape.

In this two-part series, Samsung is exploring this innovative technology to learn more about its intelligent functionality.

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

Say you are enjoying an action movie with a dynamic car chase. As the car moves from left to right and top to bottom on-screen, with a 2020 QLED 8K TV, the tension of the scene seems even more real, regardless of where in the room you are watching from.

The secret to this dynamic and realistic sound experience is Samsung’s Object Tracking Sound (OTS) technology, realised through the optimised speaker placement of the QLED 8K range. Unlike conventional TVs, which feature two speakers, the QLED 8K has six speakers1 positioned all around the screen for a more vivid audio experience. The QLED 8K even has two speakers on the left- and right-hand side of the back of the device for a surround sound experience that fills up any room.

A conventional TV that emits sound only from the bottom of the screen (left) and the 2020 QLED 8K TV with speakers on all sides (right). Thanks to this speaker placement, the QLED 8K TV delivers a dynamic surround sound experience

A conventional TV that emits sound only from the bottom of the screen (left) and the 2020 QLED 8K TV with speakers on all sides (right). Thanks to this speaker placement, the QLED 8K TV delivers a dynamic surround sound experience

On TVs with a conventional design, which normally feature speakers only on the bottom of the device, an increase in screen size will lead to more audio blind spots between the points of sound emission. For example, if a helicopter is flying on the upper left-hand side of the screen, the sound would still be being emitted from the bottom of the screen, resulting in a dissonance between the content’s visuals and its audio.

Compared with two-channel sound that features speakers only on the left- and right-hand sides of a TV, multi-channel speakers, as found in movie theaters, deliver a more refined sense of realism. The optimum placement for speakers is on the backside of a screen, just as it is in movie theatres, meaning that when an object on-screen moves, a speaker right behind that object can produce sound to match the visual. In order to recreate this dynamic realism achieved by movie theater screens, Samsung’s OTS technology harnesses all six speakers on all sides of the QLED 8K TV in order to have a video’s audio follow the on-screen action in real time.

OTS also features 3D rendering technology, which automatically recognises a content’s genre and optimises the sound tracks accordingly. This means that any type of sound, including stereo and 5.1 channel, will be optimised as 3D multi-channel sound. Whereas with conventional TVs, users would need to sit front-on to the screen to best enjoy the sound of a helicopter in flight in a movie or TV show, with a QLED 8K TV, users can experience the sound of the helicopter moving and rising over the TV even while sitting at a side angle from the screen.

AVA: Intelligent Noise Detection to Enhance Voice Clarity

The living room is the heart of the home, and often, the soundtrack to a movie or TV show is not the only source of noise to be found in this busy family space. However, there is nothing more frustrating than having a crucial scene in a TV show be overpowered by ambient noise.

This is why Samsung’s Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) technology was developed for QLED 8K TVs. AVA technology recognises exterior noise sources and increases the volume of the voices on-screen if the surrounding conditions become too loud. For example, if there is a vacuum running while the TV is playing, the TV will automatically amplify the audio track to ensure viewers can hear everything that is going on.

Not only does this technology help ensure users never miss a piece of dialogue, it does so intelligently by meticulously analysing the space within which the TV has been placed. Through a sound sensor on the bottom middle of the TV, AVA technology will allow its quantum processor to adjust the sound output when it detects a continuous noise from the surrounding environment that is louder than the TV and lasts for more than 3 seconds.

The TV’s sound sensor takes in and monitors audio from the content onscreen as well as the ambient audio from its surrounding environment. 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 just the voice audio track from the content being watched to ensure users can clearly hear every word being said.

Thanks to AVA technology, users no longer need to scramble for the remote when ambient noise suddenly gets too loud to adjust the TV’s volume. Furthermore, as the only existing TV technology to extract and amplify just the voice audio track of a piece of content, users do not have to put up with a boisterous sound experience when looking to increase a TV’s volume due to a loud surrounding environment. Users can also easily toggle the automatic audio adjusting of AVA on or off in the TV’s settings menu.

The sound innovations that come together to make up the 2020 QLED 8K’s dynamic audio experience take the inconvenience of adjusting TV audio out of users’ hands. Users can enjoy intelligent, 3D surround sound thanks to Samsung’s OTS and AVA technologies. Check out the videos below to experience the realistic sound experience of the 2020 QLED 8K range for yourself.

A Closer Look at the 2020 QLED 8K’s OTS Technology

A Closer Look at the 2020 QLED 8K’s AVA technology

1 As of the 2020 product line-ups, 8K QLED TV implements OTS+ that uses a total of six speakers and 4K QLED TV (Q90, Q80 series) implements OTS that places a total of four speakers on top and bottom.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 21 August 2020 – Just as Samsung TVs have ranked number one globally for 14 consecutive years*, 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 Nivash Ramsern, Head: Visual Display at Samsung South Africa. “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. This technology received the CES 2020 Best of Innovation award, and is standardised 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/za/.

* 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.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 21 May 2018 – Eight years ago, with the whole world watching South Africans of all shapes and sizes took to the cold streets wielding colourful and noisy vuvuzelas to celebrate the beautiful game. In 2010, stadiums were full of fans lustily supporting their favourite teams and fan parks or gatherings sprung up everywhere. It was another extraordinary example of how amazing South Africa is and just how enthusiastic we are as a sports-loving nation.

While the buzz of being with a crowd of strangers all sharing a common enthusiasm is exhilarating, the cold weather does lend itself to slightly less exuberant celebrations. This year, streets are most likely going to be less crowded and sports enthusiasts will have the luxury of staying indoors to seek out all the beautiful and extraordinary moments offered by watching every detail in full, vivid colour. Sports fans can do what they normally couldn’t – with QLED technology, where detail and colour are so intricately showcased that not a single moment is missed. Of course, being able to rewind or pause favourite moments is a huge bonus.

Lyle Mitchley, Head Product Manager for TV at Samsung South Africa, says, “QLED technology is better than reality. The brilliant colours, depth of blacks and intensity of whites makes for a fully immersive viewing experience. Watching your favourite sport on a QLED TV creates an extraordinary feeling of truly being in the game.”

QLED technology enables viewers to see every detail, no matter which angle they’re sitting or standing at. This means that however many friends and family are invited over to watch the game, everyone gets to experience the detail and vivid colour in the same way. If it does get a bit crowded, or if the game coincides with ‘braaiing’ time, then the lightweight TV with flush mount or easily moveable stand can be placed outside – with Q contrast, it doesn’t matter what the lighting situation is, viewing remains as vibrant as ever.

“Although the TV’s sound is already incredible, adding a surround-sound wireless Samsung Soundbar to your viewing experience will make it all that much more real. You’ll be in the moment with the millions of fans cheering in stadiums on the other side of the world,” adds Mitchley.

With technology as innovative as QLED, you can get into the game like never before – so, whichever team you’re rooting for, pack away your beanies and scarves and watch where you are. A little bit of vuvuzela blasting will never go amiss, however, no matter how many or few people are gathered around the TV.