With arch rivals LG and Hisense, already announcing their first half TV plans, Samsung the #1 TV company has been keeping their powder dry.
At CES Samsung showed off several new TV models which Samsung Australia Marketing Director Phil Newton said would be launched in Australia.
Among them is the KS9800 Series, Samsung’s newest flagship SUHD series.
The Korean Company is tipped to launch a 65-inch model that is tipped to be available in June. The TV is expected to retail for between $5,995 and $6,500.
The three-model line-up, of cadmium-free TV’s, will eventually include a 78- and 88-inch model.
These models deliver a full-array local dimming and 1,000-Nits brightness.
Also set to be launched will be the KS9500 Curved SUHD TV series, featuring HDR1000 High Dynamic Range technology. Screen sizes include 55-inch, 65-inch and 78-inch models.
Like all current Samsung SUHD TVs, the new series feature 10-bit panels, Quantum Dot technology, and improved power efficiency, the new models also have no burn-in effects even when viewed at high brightness levels.
Each TV “meets or exceeds” the UHD Alliance’s Ultra HD Premium specifications Samsung insiders have said.
In addition, all Samsung 7, 8, and 9 Series 2016 smart TVs will be able to work as IoT hubs through the SmartThings Extender – a USB-sized plug-in device that enables the sets to interact with devices embedded with the SmartThings smart home platform. (Samsung acquired SmartThings and its technologies in 2014.)
A key innovation common to the line is Samsung’s upgraded Smart Hub interface, which automatically detects set-top boxes’ kind and provider, when connected through the HDMI input, and enables control of them without any setup needed on the part of the consumer. The TV intuitively programs the remote to work with the boxes, making the TV remote usable as the boxes’ remote.
Also coming from Samsung are new Dolby Atmos speakers.
We got a sneak peak of the new Samsung sound offering which has been developed by the Companies new sound labs in the USA at an event this week in New York.
The new HW-K950 and HW-K850 Atmos sound bar surround system is pretty special.
The K950 is a sound bar-anchored system that is made up of four components: the sound bar, a wireless subwoofer, and two wireless surround speakers.
This is easily the best home-theatre sound system Samsung has made yet.
Hidden in the low-profile sound bar are three front-firing arrays of speakers, supporting left right and centre channels, and two up-firing channels for the first half of the Atmos surround experience.
The sound bar has two 2.5-inch drivers paired with a 30 mm tweeter each of the three front channels, while the Atmos array up top is made up of two 2.5-inch drivers. Each driver in the sound bar gets its own 20-watt amplifier. The sound bar also has a user-facing LCD display, two HDMI inputs, and one HDMI output.
The surround speakers are similar, except there are no tweeters. Instead, the outward and upward firing speakers are full-range 2.5-inch speakers like those used up front, each getting 35 watts each. The only thing to plug in for the surrounds is a power cord: The two surrounds get their signals wirelessly from the sound bar and only need power for the built-in amplifiers.
The sub, also wireless save for a power cord, packs an 8-inch driver paired with a 160-watt amplifier, and is ported on the back.
This gives us a 5.1.4 surround system, with the last digit there referring to the four up-firing drivers, which bounce sound off the ceiling for a more immersive experience. That being the case, you’ll want relatively flat ceilings in reasonable proximity to the listening area to get the most from this system.
Samsung says it poured many, many man-hours into developing this system and it shows.
The K950 system is set to retail in Australia for over $2,499.
