Samsung Redefines the Movie Theater Experience with new Onyx Cinema LED Screen

LAS VEGAS – April 24, 2018 – At CinemaCon 2018, Samsung Electronics will premiere its branded Samsung Onyx Cinema LED display, giving a new identity to a technology that already has generated significant interest and praise among theater operators and attendees. Additionally, all venues featuring Samsung’s enhanced screen will operate under the “Samsung Onyx Theater” name moving forward.

Inspired by the gemstone of the same name, the Samsung Onyx brand alludes to the display’s ability to showcase cinema content with true, deep and realistic black colors. When combined with an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone grayscale settings, this pinpoint representation produces brighter and more detail-rich content that further makes viewers feel a part of every scene.

The Next Generation of Cinema

Available in variations extending between 16.4ft in height and 33.8ft in width, the Samsung Onyx display accommodates any venue configuration while delivering visual quality, technical performance and reliability beyond that of traditional projector-based operations. With the 4K model earning validation as the world’s first Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)-certified theater display, the Samsung Onyx translates the combination of advanced LED and High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture quality to lifelike big screen content.

“By aligning brilliant, uniform color presentation with LED picture quality and crystal-clear audio, the Samsung Onyx screen invites movie enthusiasts into the most immersive and memorable viewing arena available and repositions the theater as an entertainment haven,” said Seog-gi Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are thrilled to deliver a new and exciting theater experience to operators, managers and consumers around the world, and we look forward to working further with leading movie industry decision-makers to usher in the next generation of cinema.”

CinemaCon 2018 attendees also will be among the first to experience the Samsung Onyx’s powerful multi-sensory viewing environment. Each Samsung Onyx screen features state-of-the-art JBL Sculpted Surround TM sound from HARMAN’s JBL Professional brand, bringing scenes to life through clear and consistent audio. This integration enhances the listener experience while expanding the audio “sweet spot” within Onyx theaters, and ensures that all attendees can enjoy the same exceptional audio presentation regardless of seat location.

“JBL Professional’s legacy dates back to the infancy of talking motion pictures and has been at the forefront of the industry’s sound recording and amplification innovation for the past nine decades, twice earning Scientific and Technical Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, making it the preferred brand for cinemas all over the world,” said Mohit Parasher, Executive Vice President of HARMAN and President of HARMAN Professional Solutions. “Bringing the ground-breaking technology of the Samsung Onyx Cinema LED screen together with HARMAN’s innovation of the JBL Sculpted Surround system delivers the ultimate and unmatched audio visual audience experience.”

Samsung also will preview the Onyx’s 3D screen capability at CinemaCon 2018. The 3D Onyx Cinema LED screen accomplishes the uncanny feat of making 3D movie content even more realistic through enhanced brightness and consistent color amplification. Glass-wearing viewers now can enjoy subtitle text, images and even minor visual details with unprecedented clarity and without the dark, blurry shadowing and potential dizziness that can occur in traditional 3D movie theaters.

A Worldwide Blockbuster

The Onyx’s debut at CinemaCon 2018 comes as Samsung continues to expand its presence among global cinema operators and audiences. Last week, Samsung and partner Moving Image Tech (MIT) opened the doors to America’s first U.S. Onyx Theater in Los Angeles at Pacific Theatres Winnetka w/XD.

“As the heart of the American film industry, Los Angeles is an appropriate and symbolic location to introduce a game-changing technology for movie producers and consumers in the Samsung Onyx,” said Ron Gazzola, SVP, Sales and Marketing, IT B2B Division at Samsung Electronics America. “We are excited to revolutionize the cinema experience and look forward to sharing the Samsung Onyx with wider audiences both in the U.S. and throughout the world.”

“As a technology integrator for the cinema industry, we are proud and excited to be a part of the first installation of the Samsung Onyx Theater in America. To have it located in the heart of the movie business makes it that much more special,” said Joe Delgado, EVP Sales and Marketing for Moving Image Technologies. He goes on to state, “Working and learning with the HARMAN and Samsung teams has been a pleasure! To finally see this incredible image and hear the corresponding sound in Pacific’s amazing theater is a benchmark moment for all of us at MIT.”

As more theaters upgrade to the Onyx screen, Samsung is working with cinema content developers to ensure that the display can optimize upcoming films. Notably, Samsung will collaborate with leading cinema technology services provider Ymagis Group and its Eclair content development business unit to deliver EclairColor® HDR-compliant pictures that shine on the Onyx screen. CinemaCon 2018 attendees will get a sneak peek at the benefits of this alliance, as Samsung will unveil EclairColor-enhanced visuals on its next-generation display.

“Today’s movies feature the most sophisticated production and advanced graphics ever, and producers and directors need powerful theater technology to showcase their works as intended and at optimal quality,” said Jean Mizrahi, President and Co-founder of Ymagis Group. “We anticipate dynamic and powerful cinema displays like the Onyx becoming the accepted industry standard in the coming years. We are honored to partner with Samsung to drive change throughout the industry and ultimately improve the content experience for cinema-goers everywhere.”

World’s First 2K Screen for Post Production

Samsung additionally has forged a partnership with Hollywood-based post-production company Roundabout to develop specialized Onyx-ready HDR content. “We’re passionate about helping our clients create extraordinary images at Roundabout and we believe this emissive display technology will help redefine the cinema experience,” said Jerome Dewhurst, Senior Color Scientist at Roundabout. “Our color-grading service for the Samsung Onyx screen allows DPs, Directors and colorists to craft images with incredible tonal detail that has previously been practically impossible using projection. For example, it will be possible to create scenes with extremely dark, yet still very detailed shadows, un-polluted by a theater’s exit lights. It will also be possible to create shots with a luminance range that can look much more life-like, allowing for a more immersive effect in the theater. Ultimately, we have a much larger gamut in which we can work, and it will be entirely down to the creatives as to how much of that they wish to utilize when they master their film with us.”

The evolution of the Samsung Onyx screen has also inspired production equipment businesses to refine their equipment to welcome a more advanced picture for filmmakers. At CinemaCon, Samsung additionally will highlight its partnerships with production equipment businesses, such as the new research and development initiative performed in conjunction with Arnold & Richter Cine Technik (ARRI), a Munich-based designer and manufacturer of specialized motion picture camera and lighting systems, to create Onyx-optimized content. Samsung also is collaborating with GDC Technology, a leading global provider of end-to-end digital cinema solutions, to develop Onyx-compatible cinema servers.

Samsung also recently announced partnerships with Golden Screen Cinemas – the largest cinema company in Malaysia, with 35 venues and 328 screens throughout the nation – and Cineplexx Cinemas – the largest cinema company in Austria, with 171 screens nationwide – to bring the Onyx screen to movie- goers in each country. The first locally revamped Samsung Onyx theaters are expected to open in Kuala Lumpur and Vienna, respectively, later this year.

Taking place April 23-26, 2018 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, CinemaCon is the official convention of the National Association of Theater Owners. The annual event gathers theater operators and leaders from across the worldwide motion picture industry to discuss significant trends and share innovative ideas, with participants from more than 80 countries expected to attend.

For more information about Samsung Onyx, visit https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/led-signage/onyx.

To learn more about CinemaCon 2018, visit cinemacon.com. For more information about Samsung’s latest visual display innovations, as well as related Samsung Newsroom articles, photos and videos, visit news.samsung.com/us.