Samsung teased a fresh take on backlit premium televisions at CES in January, with a 98-inch 8K LCD TV prototype featuring RGB microLED technology. Now the company has gone into production with a 115-inch 4K model – and it's coming to the US.
A step up from the MicroLED technology seen in Samsung's The Wall and subsequent consumer flavors, Micro RGB tech crams in tiny RGB LEDs behind the LCD panel of big-screen TVs.
These RGB LEDs each measure less than 100 µm – around the thickness of the average human hair – and the platform is reported to enable "unprecedented precision in the control of micrometer-sized RGB LEDs, raising the bar for color accuracy and contrast in consumer displays."
Claimed to set a new benchmark for color accuracy, contrast and immersive viewing, the display technology covers 100% of the BT.2020 color gamut, and has been certified color accurate by Germany's Verband der Elektrotechnik institute. The folks over at Pantone have also validated skin-tone accuracy for onscreen realism.
An AI engine is tasked with optimizing color output based on real-time frame analysis for the promise of vivid and immersive viewing with minimal reflections – even in brightly lit rooms. There's support for HDR10+ content, plus standard dynamic range content can be automatically bumped to something approaching HDR.
The first Micro RGB TV has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, though Samsung says that 144 Hz is possible for sharp action when gaming. AMD FreeSync helps reduce stutter and tearing, and players can tap into an in-game menu to adjust frame rates, input lag and aspect ratio. AI can also automatically optimize parameters during gameplay.
Streaming entertainment is provided by Samsung's Tizen smart TV platform, with 7 years of OS updates promised along with data security from Knox tri-layer protection. And onscreen digital art from top museums and artists is available between shows.
As you will expect, the premium TV is no slouch in the audio department. The 70-watt 4.2.2 Dolby Atmos sound system "puts you at the center of the action" while a neat system can keep track of what's happening onscreen for dynamic, realistic playback. AI can bring dialogue to the fore in noisy scenes, and the TV's speakers can work together with a chosen sound bar for unified output.
Though other display manufacturers like Sony and Hisense are also working on next-gen backlighting technologies, Samsung is the first to market. The 115-inch Micro RGB TV has launched in the company's home turf of South Korea, but has been confirmed for release in the US for around US$30,000 – in fact, Samsung US already has a product page ready.
That's a lot of change for a gogglebox, but is a fraction of the ticket price for the company's 110-inch MicroLED telly. The ticket price is likely to come down as Samsung moves ahead with its planned global rollout of smaller screen sizes, which could take a big bite out of the current color-rich OLED market.
Product page: 115-inch Micro RGB Vision AI Smart TV
