Samsung invited us to attend its Southeast Asia Tech Seminar 2024 in Bangkok last week, where it showcased a slew of new first-party visual display technologies such as the NQ8 AI Gen3, AI-powered image enhancements, glare-free OLED panel, and more. All of these are featured on the brand’s upcoming TV line-up, including the new Neo QLED 8K and OLED 4K models, which are set to be released in Malaysia this year.
During the seminar, Samsung had set up different showcases to demonstrate its newer technologies, while at the same time comparing them with past generation products as well as equivalents from competing brands. For obvious reasons, the identities of the latter were kept hidden throughout the presentation.
AI Upscaling Technology
The first showcase centres on the improved AI Upscaling technology offered by Samsung’s new NQ8 AI Gen3 processor, which are featured on this year’s flagship Neo QLED 8K TVs. According to the company, the former offers double the power than the past generation NQ4 AI Gen2, enabling improved image quality boosting for 8K viewing. Native 8K content is still rare after all, so upscaling is useful in order to fully appreciate the high resolution output on Samsung TV models which are equipped with the processor.
Based on what’s shown, the NQ8 AI Gen3 handles real-time upscaling smoothly, while the AI algorithm manages to retain plenty of detail in the process. Impressively, visuals that run natively in FHD (1080p) and above appear quite natural and pleasant in 8K resolutions.
However, the same can’t be said for anything that’s offered in lower resolutions such as SD (480p) and HD (720p). This is a given since there’s only so much that can be salvaged from such formats, and the best the upscaling tech could do sharpen certain details as well as smoothen out noise and grains.
AI Picture Quality
For this demonstration, Samsung has prepared two TVs to showcase its AI Picture Quality feature. The one on the left is a conventional 8K TV from an unspecified brand that’s released last year, while on the right is the company’s 2024 Neo QLED 8K model. Right off the bat, it’s quite noticeable that Samsung’s own TV produces vibrant colours than the other, therefore allowing visuals to stand out more. But this isn’t the only trick that Samsung’s AI Picture Quality has up its sleeve.
Following this is the feature’s AI Motion Enhancer tech, which completely eliminates ghosting from fast moving objects that appear on screen. Samsung showcased this with two clips that’s shown simultaneously on both TVs: a generic news broadcast with moving text, and a baseball match. As you may have guessed, the Neo QLED 8K aced this demonstration, while the unspecified competing model struggled.
AI Gaming Experience
The Gaming Experience feature isn’t new, as it was initially introduced together with select Samsung TVs released last year. Instead, what’s showcased is an updated version that’s further enhanced with, you guessed it, AI.
As before, the feature enables supported TVs to optimise its image settings (ie: refresh rate, contrast, and so on) based on a game’s genre. What sets this version apart from the last is its ability to automatically detect the title you’re currently playing and immediately identify its genre, therefore sparing you the hassle of inputting things manually.
According to Samsung, Gaming Experience relies on a built-in database that will be frequently updated to include recent and upcoming games to help with its auto detection ability. However, a representative informed us that this perk doesn’t apply for titles from past generations, such as those from the PS3 era or older, so manual input is still required for these.
Glare-Free OLED Panel
Samsung’s next major showcase isn’t AI related, but instead focuses on its new Glare-Free panel. These are equipped on the brand’s 2024 OLED 4K S95D TVs, which promises an improved viewing experience in environments where external lights or windows are present.
This demonstration saw two of the company’s TVs placed side-by-side. On the left is one of its OLED models from the previous year, while on the right is its most recent TV. As you can see from the picture above, the differences are quite apparent in terms of handling glares from external light sources.
Though, calling it “glare-free” does seem like a bit of a stretch, as the panel technically diffuses light rather than eliminating the effect entirely. Nevertheless, it does prevent reflections, which certainly improve the experience when compared to the older OLED model.
Since we’re still on the subject, another feature included in this year’s OLED TVs from Samsung is the OLED HDR Pro technology. This enables for powerful brightness and rich contrast with fine control over every pixel, where each one is adjusted individually to make lights brighter and darkness even darker. According to the company, its newer models offer 20% increased brightness over their predecessors.
Samsung’s new NQ8 AI Gen3 processor is featured on its Neo QLED 8K QN800D and Neo QLED 8K QN900D series, which starts from RM23,249 and RM28,749 respectively. Meanwhile, the new HDR Pro is featured on the brand’s OLED 4K S90D 4K and OLED 4K S95D models, though only the latter comes with the Glare-Free panel technology. Both start from RM14,049 and RM17,999 respectively. All aforementioned models are now available for pre-order locally via Samsung’s official website.
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