Hackers’ Playground Recap: The first hacking experience event at SDC
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By Samsung Newsroom
Gamescom 2023 celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, from August 23 to 27 in Cologne, Germany. The world’s largest gaming event brought together more than 1,320 game, hardware, and software companies from 63 countries, filling an exhibition space of 230,000㎡ and uniting gaming fans from all over the world.
Samsung Electronics welcomed gamers to its largest Gamescom booth ever, measuring 752 square meters.
▲ The Samsung Booth at Gamescom 2023 was filled with visitors throughout the entire show
At the booth, Samsung showed off its vision for the future of gaming, which includes the upgraded Odyssey gaming monitor lineup. From gaming monitors to gaming TVs with Samsung Gaming Hub, as well as mobile and storage technologies on display, Samsung demonstrated its commitment to the gaming community.
Unveiling the World’s First Dual UHD monitor, the Odyssey Neo G9
On the first day of Gamescom 2023, Samsung hosted a keynote presentation, with key partners including AMD and Pearl Abyss, to introduce the remarkable capabilities of the new 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 (G95NC), which was fully unveiled at Gamescom.
▲ Director of Europe Display Marketing for Samsung Electronics Ben Holmes gives the Samsung keynote speech
In the keynote, Ben Holmes, Director of Europe Display Marketing for Samsung Electronics showcased the ambition of the Odyssey Neo G9, which is to bring gamers together through immersive gaming experiences. “It’s our most immersive monitor ever, for the gamers who want to get lost in the ultimate experience,” he said.
▲ (From left) AMD Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions and Gaming Marketing Frank Azor and Pearl Abyss Head of Marketing & PR Rick van Beem during the Samsung Electronics keynote
Frank Azor, Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions and Gaming Marketing, AMD, shared what it means to collaborate with Samsung, saying, “With the Odyssey Neo G9, Samsung came to us with a challenge of powering this incredible-looking display with the graphics horsepower and the bandwidth necessary to be able to let it do what it was designed to do: deliver the most immersive graphics and gaming experiences possible.”
Next up was Rick van Beem, Head of Marketing & PR at Pearl Abyss. With their globally successful MMORPG, Black Desert Online, he explained how Samsung monitors make the most out of the game. “We partnered with Samsung because we believe that the 32:9 display format offered by Samsung’s displays is an ideal way to play Black Desert Online.”
The newest entry in the Odyssey lineup, the Odyssey Neo G9 was designed to look spectacular and to support the connectivity needs of gamers. In addition to HDMI 2.1, the Odyssey Neo G9 supports the VESA-certified DP (Display Port) 2.1 connectivity. The Dual UHD and a high refresh rate of 240Hz will provide gamers with an optimal gaming experience for high-performance games.1
Bringing the Excitement to Samsung’s Largest-Ever Gamescom Presence
At Samsung’s booth, fans could experience this year’s new products hands-on, including the brand new 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 (G95NC), the upgraded Odyssey Ark (G97NC), and the 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 (G95SC), all in one place.
▲ Gamers from all over the world visited the Odyssey Gaming Zone. Through a collaboration with Pearl Abyss, Samsung Electronics provided a unique play experience of Black Desert Online on the Odyssey Neo G9.
The booth was packed with gamers from all over the world, who flocked to experience the incredibly large screen and image quality of the 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9, which was fully unveiled for the first time in person at Gamescom.
“The screen is so big that I have no problem streaming and gaming at the same time,” said one streamer who tried out the Odyssey Neo G9. Another visitor to the booth said, “It wraps around me and makes me feel like I’m inside the game.”
▲ (Left) The screen Odyssey Ark allows for 4 inputs on screen at once with the new Multi View. (Right) A group of visitors test out the Odyssey OLED G9.
The upgraded Odyssey Ark debuted at Gamescom with significant enhancements to connectivity and convenience. The new Multi View lets users see input from up to 4 devices at once,2 and make the most out of the Odyssey Ark’s large screen.
A visitor who experienced the Odyssey Ark commented, “It’s nice to be able to see a variety of things on one screen while working. I can use this instead of multiple screens.” In addition, the Odyssey OLED G9 impressed visitors at the booth. “The colors were amazing and vibrant,” commented one gamer. “It looked really good!”
Seamless Gaming Across Multiple Amazing Displays
▲ (Left) A group enjoys playing Xbox games on the Samsung Neo QLED 4K. (Right) A visitor in the Mobile Gaming Zone plays “Warcraft Rumble” on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Driven by partnerships with gaming companies, the Samsung booth was full of gaming monitors with industry-leading specifications, gaming TVs, Samsung Gaming Hub, and mobile devices to allow visitors to experience a wide range of games on their preferred gaming screen.
As part of this partnership, in the keynote’s last session, Mike Lucero, Head of North America Gaming Service for Samsung Electronics announced that Bethesda Game Studios’ much-anticipated open-world space adventure “Starfield” will be available through the Samsung Gaming Hub, with an Xbox Game Pass subscription from September.
▲ (Left) A family enjoys playing Xbox games on the Neo QLED 8K. (Right) Samsung Gaming Hub zone offered an arcade-like concept where you could play games
Samsung Gaming Hub3 is also highly popular among console gamers, as it allows them to enjoy a variety of game titles from partners like Xbox and NVIDIA GeForce NOW without connecting consoles. Families with children could be seen having fun in the Samsung Gaming Hub zone, which is organized to play games on the TV like an arcade.
A gamer who visited with his children said that the Samsung Gaming Hub “looks just as good as if I was playing directly on [a gaming console].”
On the main stage, Samsung continuously hosted events and programs with popular streamers and eSports teams. Fun competitions with today’s most popular games and exciting conversations kept the attention of booth visitors through the entire show. The world’s first 240Hz 4K gaming monitor, the Odyssey Neo G8 32” was able to fully express the colorful graphics and fast pace of games like Overwatch 2.
▲ A thrilling racing challenge unfolded from the racing zone.
A “Racing Challenge” was held in the Gaming TV zone with 98-inch QLED Q80C. Fans could race using a steering gear and a high-definition Gaming TV, for life-like high-octane, thrilling matches.
Bringing the Hottest Games to Life With New Technology
▲ Gamers in costume take photos at the Samsung Electronics booth.
At Gamescom 2023, Samsung Electronics announced a partnership with NEXON to adopt HDR10+ GAMING technology, a high-definition video standard for gaming. The world’s first HDR10+ GAMING title, “The First Descendant” developed by NEXON will provide gamers with the ultimate HDR game experience through deeper color, contrast and brightness.
And Samsung was proud to show how a premiere gaming screen can bring games like Black Desert Online from Pearl Abyss studio.
▲ Visitors filled the Samsung Electronics booth. There has been a lot of interest every day to experience various gaming monitors in Samsung’s largest Gamescom booth ever.
At Gamescom 2023, Samsung Electronics showcased gaming solutions optimized for the increasingly diverse game genres and tastes of global gamers, and a connected gaming experience that brings the gaming community together with leading technology. Samsung Electronics is envisioning a different future for the gaming ecosystem and bringing that vision to life at Gamescom.
1 Dual UHD 240Hz is supported only by graphics cards that support Display Port 2.1 (UHBR 13.5) or HDMI 2.1 (FRL 6). Support and actual refresh rate may vary by graphics card.
2 Up to 3 inputs and 3 screens in vertical Cockpit Mode.
3 Samsung Gaming Hub availability and support vary by region and monitor and TV lineup. Service and content availability may vary by region and partners.
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By Samsung Newsroom
Samsung Electronics, a global leader in the TV industry for 17 consecutive years, has been propelling its commitment towards sustainable tech through a series of new features. The latest AI Energy mode on SmartThings is a prime example of Samsung’s commitment to Everyday Sustainability. It works by leveraging the TV’s built-in processor and sensors to analyze the viewing environments and automatically adjusts relevant settings to save energy.
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By Samsung Newsroom
It is no secret that Samsung Electronics — the global leader in TV manufacturing for 17 consecutive years — also has a strong presence in the soundbar market, boasting an impressive nine-year reign since 2013. The secret to Samsung’s success lies within a dynamic team of innovative engineers who are pioneering the way people consume content. At the heart of this change is Samsung’s advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the company’s use of AI to improve sound and picture quality across its screens.
Following the first installment of this series about the significance of hardware innovation in achieving premium sound quality, Samsung Newsroom sat down with its engineers once again to take a closer look at Samsung’s remarkable AI features that helped create a state-of-the-art sound experience.
Embracing AI for Sonic Perfection: Tuning Your Sound to Your Environment
“Ironically, I don’t recall sound engineers being interested in AI in the beginning when we started seeing a boom in the technology,” said Sunmin Kim, Head of the Sound Device Lab, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. But with an intuition that AI could help improve TV sound, the Sound Device Lab decided to get a head start, about six years ago, in exploring AI and its applications to sound technologies.
Then, a shift occurred. With the advent of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and its application to Samsung’s flagship TVs, the possibilities of applying AI technology to TV audio were unlocked. The team fast-tracked machine learning for its TVs which led to significant early successes. Kim is confident that AI has and will continue to exponentially elevate the viewing experience by enhancing TV sound in numerous and profound ways.
▲ “AI plays a critical role in improving the user experience on our screens,” said Kim.
Samsung’s advanced AI applications include a deep learning algorithm that distinguishes and separates the primary voice on the screen from other sounds. Before, an equalizer feature simply adjusted the high-, middle- and low-pitched sounds within humans’ audible frequency range — approximately 20 to 20,000Hz — to improve sound quality. The 2023 TVs and screens go above and beyond, providing deeper and greater details by analyzing content scene by scene and accentuating various audio elements including human voices, background music and sound effects. Additionally, this optimization process happens behind the scenes so that users can enjoy optimal sound effortlessly.
SpaceFit Sound: Tailoring Audio to Your Space
The listening environment and its acoustic properties must be considered to truly optimize sound from TVs. Samsung’s latest TVs come with the SpaceFit Sound feature that leverages AI technology to assess surrounding environments and ensure sound is appropriately adjusted. The feature utilizes the TV’s built-in microphone to automatically identify various factors present in the room, such as the distance between the TV and the wall as well as the room’s acoustic properties, to measure the reflection of the TV’s sound. AI is used to enhance the sound accordingly.
▲ SpaceFit Sound leverages AI to learn the acoustic properties of the environment and calibrates the sound accordingly.
“Through continuous research and analysis, we found certain frequency patterns that are more susceptible to change based on a device’s surroundings, potentially impacting the TV’s sound quality,” said Kibeom Kim. “The built-in microphone identifies changes in acoustic properties and sound caused by factors like a carpet or an empty room to optimize sound regardless of the TV’s location.”
“Traditionally, TVs use a set of dedicated sounds to check sound through the mic. SpaceFit Sound, on the other hand, utilizes real content to analyze viewing environments and modifies sound accordingly,” Kim explained. “The technology was designed not only for real scenarios but also real-time circumstances as the feature automatically and conveniently adjusts sound.”
▲ Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound has become the industry’s first technology to earn the Spatial Sound Optimization certification from VDE.
In recognition of the company’s dedication to innovation and user-centric design, Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound also became the first audio technology to receive the Spatial Sound Optimization certification from Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE) in 2021.
Q-Symphony 3.0: Harnessing Hyperconnectivity for Three-Dimensional Sound
Whether it’s through bigger screens or deeper acoustics, today’s viewers desire more cinematic experiences. Q-Symphony is a proprietary technology from Samsung that orchestrates a harmonious interplay between a TV’s speakers and a connected soundbar, resulting in a richer, more vibrant audio experience. As the name suggests, the feature allows two audio outputs to synchronize, similar to a carefully conducted concerto, creating a unified, immersive soundstage. More specifically, the soundbar plays primary audio channels, while the TV speakers add background and surround sounds to create a dynamic and three-dimensional audio experience.
▲ Q-Symphony allows soundbar and TV speakers to work in perfect sync, producing harmonious blends of sound for immersive experiences.
Despite the apparent simplicity in concept, Q-Symphony leverages a wide range of AI technologies to produce and sync sounds with such accuracy. Any gaps in sound levels between the TV speakers and soundbar must be precisely synced to prevent unwanted echoes and achieve perfect audio harmony. Over the years, Samsung engineers have tirelessly worked to refine this technology. Q-Symphony 1.0, which originally utilized the TV’s top speakers, evolved into Q-Symphony 2.0, which controls all speakers with improved channel separation technology for a greater sense of depth and immersion.
The latest Q-Symphony 3.0 takes sound to the next level by integrating the neural processor and AI-based real-time voice separation technology. This advanced Q-Symphony feature provides three-dimensional sound by distinguishing and optimizing various audio elements including voices, background music and sound effects based on the type of content and users’ volume settings. The resulting sound is a perfect replication of the audio track the creators intended.
Samsung’s AI algorithm can also take the input signals and play them through multiple channels, whether it’s the soundbar or all the TV speakers, customizing each channel for powerful and dynamic sounds. In addition to content featuring Dolby Atmos or 5.1-channel audio, content with regular stereo channels can also be processed to create 20 individual channels. This means that any media can be delivered with exceptionally immersive sound quality on Samsung TVs and soundbars.
▲ “Q-Symphony is a revolutionary algorithm by Samsung that can masterfully synchronize audio volume and timing in perfect harmony,” said Kim.
“The sound offered through Q-Symphony is so immersive that viewers feel as though they are physically present on set with so many different background sounds coming alive through the feature,” said Kim.
Unifying Picture and Sound Experiences for Optimal Viewing Experiences
Today, AI sits at the core of Samsung’s audio strategy with its applications extending across numerous products. This widespread adoption of AI has resulted in features like Q-Symphony and SpaceFit Sound that enrich the audio experience, alongside other audio technologies that breathe life into content through dialogue and movement. Additional capabilities include Active Voice Amplifier, which adjusts and improves dialogue clarity with the speaker and surrounding noise in mind, Human Tracking Sound, which dynamically reproduces the sound based on the position of the on-screen speaker, and OTS Pro, which creates a dynamic soundscape based on the movement of objects or the speaker on the screen.
These features are the outcome of two symbiotic AI technologies: a content analysis model and a sound separation model. The neural processors work with both auditory and visual cues, among other signals, to create the perfect audio experience that syncs with what is happening on the screen. Despite the complexity of this process, Samsung was able to bring these features to life by forming a cross-departmental team of engineers and pooling resources across picture, sound and other departments.
The Future of Sound: Reshaping Audio Experiences With Samsung’s Sound Device Lab
▲ (From left) Seongsu Park, Sunmin Kim and Kibeom Kim at the Sound Device Lab are on a mission to capture audio just as the artists intended.
In the Sound Device Lab, there is a clear and unwavering goal that guides every innovation: recreate the original sound as closely as the artists intended, with consumers top of mind. AI is a critical tool that enables Samsung to do this.
Sunmin Kim, who heads the Sound Device Lab, believes that sound is just one side of the coin: “The focus on sound quality is a given, but all innovations that made breakthroughs came from user-centric design. Sound settings and features need to be straightforward and user friendly.”
Seongsu Park noted that 70% of TV sound comes from the product while the remaining 30% is shaped by the space in which the sound is played: “Our products will continue to leverage the latest measurement systems and AI algorithms to analyze space and sound settings for optimal sound quality.”
On a final note, Kibeom Kim also shared the Sound Lab’s ambition in the era of multi-device sound experiences initiated by the Q-Symphony feature: “There is unlimited potential in Q-Symphony to produce audio that works in perfect harmony. We will continue to improve inter-device connectivity and enhance the feature for our users.”
Samsung is committed to delivering premium experiences for consumers, prioritizing their needs through innovative products. With a strong track record as a market leader for 17 consecutive years, Samsung will continue to enhance the viewing experience and drive sound innovation.
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By Samsung Newsroom
Sound has the power to transform how we enjoy visual media, from movies to TV shows. Premium audio brings content to life by invoking emotions — complementing what is on screen and sometimes even foreshadowing what will come next. Sound adds depth and texture to the narrative, enhancing the viewer’s connection to the story unfolding.
▲ One of Samsung’s industry-leading anechoic chambers in Suwon is used to accurately evaluate the audio performance for various products.
Samsung Newsroom sat down with Sunmin Kim and Seongsu Park from the Sound Device Lab within the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics to discuss the importance of audio in delivering a superior viewing experience as well as Samsung’s latest innovations in sound and picture quality.
▲ Samsung’s sound engineers explain why audio is so important for the TV viewing experience and introduce some of the latest features based on artificial intelligence (AI).
Bringing Content to Life Through Sound
“Sound plays a very important role in making the content we consume immersive,” said Sunmin Kim, Head of the Sound Device Lab, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. Be it romantic films, funny TV shows or even live sports broadcasts, Kim believes that a majority of the emotional impact from visual content is delivered through sound. “For example, it’s often the background music and sound effects that make horror films more terrifying. If you were to turn off the sound, many scenes wouldn’t be as scary. In fact, you may even find some scenes to be funny.”
▲ “The Sound Device Lab is committed to developing optimal solutions that deliver sound just as artists intended,” said Kim, Head of the Sound Device Lab, Visual Display Business.
“Film, TV and music directors are all artists. And what’s important to me is that they work to amplify stories through sound effects and music,” said Kim. “The goal here at the Sound Device Lab is to deliver content to viewers as the artists intended.”
This can be a daunting task because production and viewing environments tend to vary significantly. Seongsu Park, who oversees speaker development and audio evaluation in the Sound Device Lab, shared some of the challenges his team faces.
“Audio for movies and TV shows, in general, are mixed to a reference level of approximately 85 decibels (dB), equivalent to volume levels found in a movie theater. However, at home, many viewers watch the content at lower volumes. According to our research, many TV viewers reduce the volume to around 60dB, and some even to 20dB, to avoid disturbing neighbors,” explained Park. This means that dialogues that would have been audible in the mixing studio may be indiscernible in the living room. Engineers must consider additional differences in consumers’ viewing environments such as curtains, furniture and other elements that might absorb or deflect sound waves.
▲ “We’ve moved on from front-facing speakers to speakers all around the TV,” said Park of Samsung’s Visual Display Business.
The Sound Device Lab found solutions in the form of hardware and software innovations. From the hardware side, multiple smaller, specialized speakers were introduced to provide surround sound. The software side tuned these speakers to form a balanced audio experience and remixed the sound signals to ensure key sound factors are delivered to viewers.
From Few, Front-Facing to Many, Everywhere-Facing Speakers
TVs are usually limited to their set form factor when producing sound. Recently, this limitation has become increasingly restrictive for sound engineers as TVs have become slimmer from both the front and side. “In the past, huge front-facing stereo speakers were on each side of the TV screen. Current TV designs deny such placement,” said Park. “We were forced to dig deep.”
▲ TV designs have become thinner and slimmer, forcing sound engineers to get creative.
The Sound Device Lab responded to the challenge by developing multiple smaller speaker units for its TVs and placing them away from plain sight. By arranging these units in different directions and coordinating the audio output, the team was able to simulate surround sound.
This technology is further pushed in models that feature Neural Processing Units (NPUs), such as the Neural Quantum Processor found on select Neo QLED TV models, by unlocking features such as Object Tracking Sound (OTS). OTS identifies picture and audio objects on the screen in real time before matching, tracking and coordinating multiple speakers to create a dynamic three-dimensional soundscape.
▲ The latest Samsung TVs utilize a number of distributed speakers to offer a more 3D-like sound.1
To support slimmer bezels and flat-to-the-wall TV designs, sound engineers also had to reduce the physical size of the speakers. Speakers operate by physically pushing out air, so in many cases, speaker performance is directly affected by size. As the Sound Device Lab could not physically enlarge the speakers, it instead focused on the range of movement.
“Let’s say the moving range of a speaker driver is 100. Using 50-70% of that range was considered to be sufficient. To respond to slimmer TV designs, however, we raised that range to 80-85%,” explained Park. “As we fit smaller but more efficient speakers in our TVs, we were not only able to accommodate the slimmer design, but we also ended up improving the collective sound performance.”
▲ A wide range of speakers are strategically positioned in recent Samsung TVs, including up-firing and side-firing hidden center speakers as well as woofers that bounce deep bass off the walls.1
Creating Perfect Balance From Every Angle
While adding speakers resulted in a more immersive and dynamic audio experience, it posed another challenge. Sound engineers had to fine-tune and balance the multiple speakers to achieve a perfect blend of sound. With many speakers operating at differing frequency ranges and all facing different directions, tuning them to work in unison as a single balanced unit became exponentially difficult — but it had to be done.
The effort started with gathering accurate data. In anechoic and semi-anechoic chambers, the Sound Device Lab members measured TV sounds from 323 different points, covering the entire range of TV viewing, for each of the settings until the frequency and volume balance was optimal. After that, they took each model to listening rooms and simulated various real-life living room settings to ensure the speakers were tuned to perfection.
▲ Direct sounds, sans echoes and reverberations, are measured and tuned at a total of 323 points by adjusting TV angles. This is an essential process in tuning each unit to an optimal sound balance.
▲ (Clockwise from the top left) The images represent the following: (1) a graph measuring Sound Pressure Level (SPL) by frequency band at a specific angle, (2) SPL in a specific frequency space, (3) SPL by distance for all frequency bands and SPL by frequency band at an angle from a specific direction and (4) a graph combining measurements from all 323 points. This is the process of finding a “Target Curve” that ensures even sound distribution within the human hearing range, tuning each speaker to deliver excellent sound quality from any angle.
Future-Proofing Sound
As the global TV market leader for 17 consecutive years, Samsung remains committed to innovating the TV experience. So, what’s next?
“I was shocked when a colleague told me that the volume keys are the most frequently pressed buttons on a TV remote. This signals a clear inconvenience. So, it has become a vision of mine to remove the volume buttons completely from the remote control,” shared Park, expressing his desire to enable Samsung TVs to automatically adjust the volume based on surrounding noise.
“Great technology produces and delivers accurate sound,” said Kim. “We will continue to incorporate our long-running expertise with newer technologies such as AI to create as close a reference sound as possible.”
In the next part of this series, Samsung Newsroom will explore the role of AI in elevating audio performance and sound experiences.
1 Speaker locations may vary by model.
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