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Samsung Electronics QLED 8K TV

As TV screens get bigger and picture quality improves day by day, the importance of sound is also on the rise. Recently released TVs provide immersive, theater-like surround sound to offer viewers the best possible experience.

Samsung Electronics increased the number of built-in speakers in its 2020 QLED 8K TV from two to six. With these six speakers, it introduced the 'Moving Sound Plus(+)' technology that follows the movement in the video.

Moving Sound+ is a technology where the sound moves along with the objects in the video by following the TV’s built-in speakers. For example, if a car moves from left to right, the sound follows that direction, and if a heavy object falls from top to bottom, the sound also drops accordingly.

Jongbae Kim, a researcher at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business Division Sound Lab, explained, "We placed six speakers in total?two on each side, two at the bottom, and two at the top?so that sound can come from all directions. By maximizing the distance between the left and right speakers and adding side speakers, we enhanced the horizontal spatial sense and stereoscopic effect."

Speakers installed at the top also enable three-dimensional sound expression in the vertical direction. He added, "The key was to implement six separate speakers while maintaining the ultra-thin, minimal TV design that makes the presence of speakers unnoticeable."

To accurately follow the movement of sounds in the video, understanding the original intent of the content creator is also important. This means that if the sound is still, it should be expressed as still, and if it moves complexly, it should be expressed accordingly without exaggeration. Kim said, "Engineers who mix sound for content watch the screen directly and arrange various audio signals. Moving Sound+ is a technology that reads these recorded signals well."

He continued, "We analyzed whether the sound is coming from outside or inside the screen, from far away or from above, and studied which speaker inside the TV should distribute the sound for the most effective listening experience."

Samsung Electronics QLED 8K TV Moving Sound+

◆Smarter TV Sound with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning Technology= Samsung Electronics combined its existing AI and deep learning technologies with TVs to create the AI Quantum Sound unique to QLED 8K TVs.

Along with Moving Sound+, a representative advanced technology of the QLED 8K TV is 'Active Voice.' Sometimes when watching dramas, viewers miss dialogue due to construction noise or vacuum cleaner sounds from outside. In such cases, the QLED 8K uses Active Voice technology, which applies deep learning to make voices in the TV clearer.

This technology separates sounds inside and outside the TV, and if noise that interferes with viewing continues for more than three seconds, it automatically amplifies only the voices in the video. At this time, AI keeps sound effects and background music unchanged while increasing the volume of voices to enhance content delivery.

Seonmin Kim, a researcher at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business Division Sound Lab, explained, "The types of noise are not fixed and include all elements that interfere with TV viewing. Any sound exceeding a certain decibel level continuously is judged as noise."

Increasing the overall TV volume just because surrounding noise gets louder is not the solution. Simply turning up the volume would only make an already noisy environment more complicated. Kim said, "Using AI, we keep sound effects and background music as they are and extract only the voice to increase its volume. Our analysis showed that most content played on TV includes dialogue, so improving dialogue clarity is key to understanding the context of the content."

The 'Q Symphony,' which won the Innovation Award at CES 2020 this year through the fusion of AI and soundbar technology, is also noteworthy. It combines the immersive TV speakers perfectly synchronized with the screen and the powerful output of a soundbar, delivering rich surround sound like an orchestra. Especially during the information exchange between the soundbar and TV, AI technology plays a prominent role.

Samsung Electronics QLED 8K TV Active Voice

◆Samsung Infinity Screen as a Catalyst for Sound Technology Innovation= Another reason why the sound technology of the QLED 8K TV stands out is its screen. By developing the 'Infinity Screen,' which minimizes the boundary between the inside and outside of the screen, Samsung Electronics challenged a new path to incorporate immersive sound technology into an extremely slim design.

This involved significantly reducing the size of devices such as speakers and completely redesigning the arrangement of all components including the TV chassis, circuits, AI chips, and panels.

Samsung Electronics turned the limitations encountered during this process into opportunities. Through collaboration among various departments, unprecedented new technologies were developed. To fit a rich surround sound system into a thin and clean flat-back structure, sound-related components including speakers were newly developed to be ultra-small and ultra-thin. Additionally, perforations were added to the bezel design to create a new style of TV sound.

Another success factor was improving processes by aligning them around sound technology. A Samsung developer explained, "Sound and picture quality process data units per second differently. During integration, we had to develop a framework optimized for both technologies, which was possible thanks to close cooperation and compromise between departments."

Samsung Electronics is also dedicating itself to future technology research for continuous sound innovation. It is currently conducting advanced research on next-generation speaker technology in collaboration with an audio lab in the United States. Moreover, it is securing advanced AI technology through industry-academic cooperation with research institutes in Europe and India as well as leading domestic universities.

A Samsung Electronics official emphasized, "We are entering an era where developing sound technology alone cannot achieve the best audio technology; the ability to integrate cutting-edge technologies from various fields is the core of future technology. We will actively sense future technologies at home and abroad and steadily draw the blueprint for sound innovation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.