삼성전자가 강력한 프로세서로 초고화질을 제공하는 초대형 프리미엄 TV를 새롭게 선보였다. 삼성전자는 AI TV가 가전 기능을 넘어 스마트싱스를 중심으로 AI홈을 연결하고, 타이젠 OS를 통해 플랫폼 경쟁력을 강화하겠다는 포부를 드러냈다.
3rd generation AI 8K processor...high resolution upscaling
Leading the smart home by connecting smart devices centered on SmartThings
Strengthening Tizen OS services...Expanding content portfolio
Samsung Electronics has unveiled a new, ultra-large premium TV that offers ultra-high definition with a powerful processor. Samsung Electronics has revealed its ambition to connect AI Home with SmartThings, which goes beyond home appliance functions, and to strengthen platform competitiveness through the Tizen OS.
Samsung Electronics held a new product launch conference at its Seocho office building on the 13th and introduced its 2024 Neo QLED and Samsung OLED TV new products to the domestic market. The new product will be officially released domestically on March 15th.
Samsung Electronics Visual Display Business Division President Yong Seok-woo said, “The Korean market is a key global market leading the premium TV and ultra-large TV trend, with customers purchasing TVs larger than 75 inches six times the global average. Samsung Electronics will open the era of AI TV based on the technological know-how that has allowed it to maintain the No. 1 position in global sales for 18 years.”
In addition, he said, "Samsung Electronics' global TV market shipments decreased slightly last year compared to 2022, but the premium TV market and the lineup of products over 75 inches are increasing, and we will fully attack the premium TV and ultra-large TV markets this year."
■ Neo QLED 8K, equipped with a screen-specific NPU
Samsung Electronics' new AI TV is equipped with a '3rd generation AI 8K processor' with 512 neural networks and a twice as fast NPU. This is eight times more than the previous work.
Baek Gwang-seon, a professional in the display business division, said, "In order to increase TV resolution, we have advanced the latest deep learning-based processing and developed a screen-specific NPU by concentrating Samsung Electronics' SoC technology."
Equipped with this, the 'Neo QLED 8K' is described as an on-device AI TV that upscales even low-resolution images to 8K, the highest picture quality available, with '8K AI Upscaling Pro'. 512 'neural networks' create the optimal picture quality for any content, such as sports or games, just as 512 chefs create a great dish with any ingredients.
The '3rd generation AI 8K processor' supports 'Contrast ratio enhancement pro' and 'AI motion enhancement pro' that analyze objects, people, etc. For example, 'AI motion enhancement pro' automatically detects the sport when a ball is shown in a sports video, identifies the movement of the ball, and fills in the empty frames according to the trajectory of the ball, thereby expressing it naturally and clearly.
In particular, Samsung Electronics emphasized the importance of picture quality solutions suitable for ultra-large screens in proportion to the recent increase in demand for ultra-large TVs. Pro Kim Jang-hyun said, "With the overall OTT usage rate in Korea approaching 86.5%, the demand for ultra-large TVs to maximize the viewing experience is also increasing," adding, "The pixel size of a 98-inch TV is 2.3 times larger than that of a 65-inch TV. The AI processor reduces noise even as pixel size increases and provides clear image quality without blurring outlines,” he said.
AI technology also optimizes sound. The 'Active Voice Pro' function detects the difference in volume for each content and separates the voice to make the dialogue clearer. ‘Moving Sound Pro’ enhances the sense of presence.
CEO Yong Seok-woo added, "In the future, we plan to expand barrier-free content based on on-device AI and upgrade it to enable natural language processing by applying LLM (Large Language Model) such as Bixby."
■ Strengthening connectivity of SmartThings-centric devices
Samsung Electronics announced that it will strengthen device connectivity centered on 'SmartThings' through its new AI TV.
According to Samsung Electronics, the total number of registered SmartThings customers reached 19.44 million as of the end of January 2024, and 10 million customers use SmartThings at least once a month.
Choi Shin-wook, a professional, said, "As various third-party devices can now be connected based on the HCA and Matter standards, the usage of SmartThings is expected to increase," and added, "Samsung Electronics will lead smart home innovation and complete the ecosystem based on device connectivity and convenience through SmartThings."
Samsung Electronics has chosen AI TV as the core of implementing smart homes. First, you can monitor the status of devices in your home with 3D map view and control temperature, lighting, air quality, cameras, etc. You can also set widgets to display a home cam screen operating in another room on the TV screen, run routines, or use the Health View function connected to the Galaxy Watch. If you link your smartphone, you can use it as a mobile remote control. Users can also reduce power consumption by automatically adjusting the brightness with the light sensor when watching through the AI saving mode.
Samsung Electronics has increased connectivity between devices and provided the 'Knox Matrix' based on blockchain technology to encrypt personal information between TVs and mobile devices, thereby enhancing the stability of smart homes. It is explained that data is safely transmitted and stored with the on-device AI-based 'Knox Vault' and personal information is prevented from being leaked by blocking HW and SW attacks.
■ Expanding the content portfolio based on Tizen OS
Samsung Electronics is expanding its services based on the operating system 'Tizen OS', which supports SW functions suitable for products.
Launched in 2015, the ad-based free streaming service 'Samsung TV Plus' currently provides approximately 2,500 channels and 40,000 VODs in 24 countries around the world, and recorded approximately 5 billion hours of cumulative global viewing time per year as of last year.
Pro Yongmi Kim said, "For consumers who are feeling burdened by recent OTT paid platforms, Samsung TV Plus provides content without subscription or payment as long as you have a Samsung device connected to the Internet." She added, "With Samsung TV Plus, content can be used on 500 million devices worldwide, including TVs, smartphones, tablets, and refrigerators."
He added, "This year, we will expand our diverse content portfolio, including exclusive partnerships with CJ ENM, and improve usability, such as AI-tailored recommendations, to build a win-win cooperation system encompassing consumers, content distributors, and advertising partners."
President Yong Seok-woo said, "Samsung OLED will continue to use third-party components regardless of the department, but Samsung plans to differentiate itself through its platform technology rather than display technology."
Meanwhile, Samsung Neo QLED 8K will be released in 8 models in 3 series (QND900, QND850, QND800) and 3 sizes (85, 75, 65). The factory price is 15.9 million won for the 85-inch model and 12.9 million won for the 75-inch model, based on the top model (QND900).