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By Samsung Newsroom
Samsung Electronics renews its technological contribution for the Vatican with four outdoor LED signages (XHB series, two measuring 7.935m x 4.83m and two measuring 5.865m x 3.105m) and Harman Kardon embedded audio for St. Peter’s Square. This installation follows the previous collaboration in 2020, where two indoor displays were installed in the Nervi Auditorium to help more visitors take part in the ceremonies.
▲ Four Samsung outdoor LED signage (XHB series) have been installed in the St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City
St. Peter’s Square, founded on an architectural layout boasting illustrious signatures and timeless pieces of art, hosts various ceremonies where the Pope meets the public. Acknowledging the requirements for the best acoustic and visual rendering in an outdoor space, Samsung took to its outdoors audio-and-video expertise. The four outdoor LED signages have been installed in strategic points of the square to convey a clear picture of commencing events as well as audio solutions to broadcast the message.
▲ Visitors and worshippers can clearly view the proceedings through Samsung’s outdoor LED signage (XHB series) at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City
Thanks to Samsung’s LED Signage technology, spectators will be able to take part in the ceremonies at St. Peter’s Square and admire all the details. Being IP66-certified, the XHB series reproduce high-impact content even in harsh weather conditions. In addition, the extremely compact 99.4 mm-thin housing makes them perfectly integrable in an iconic space such as St. Peter’s Square.
Harman Kardon’s signature audio provides balanced panoramic sound that is distributed throughout the space, conveying crisp dialogues for an immersive and engaging experience for worshippers and visitors alike. Adaptive Sound technology clearly diffuses sound even when the volume of voices is low to divulge every element of speech, even during the most whispered dialogues.
“We at Samsung Electronics are excited to make our technological contribution and renew our engagement with Vatican City,” said Davide Corte, Head of IT Division, Samsung Electronics Italy. “The outdoor LED signages and audio solutions create an immersive audio and video experience to serve visitors as well as the communities of the Faithful. It is an honor for us to be present with the best of our technologies in such a unique and prestigious setting such as St. Peter’s Square.”
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By Girish
Hi All
We are facing an issue with login in the Tizen app. While generating the certificate in the certificate manager we need to login into the Samsung account. The login is not happening and is stuck on the page, no error is thrown.
Note this issue is on Windows PCs only, we tried on MAC, and working fine.
Are there any ongoing issues with the Windows platform?
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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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By Samsung Newsroom
Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of the KMC-W, an updated Windows version of the Samsung Kiosk, winner of an ISE Best of Show award from AV Technology at Integrated Systems Europe 2023. The new version of the Kiosk features an interactive 24-inch display that brings expanded software compatibility to advanced self-service display technology for the food and beverage, retail, travel and healthcare industries.
The convenience of contactless technology has become critical for businesses to meet consumer demand across various industries and applications, including bill payments, drive-thru, self-ordering, smart cafés and unmanned fitting rooms. At the same time, touchscreen sanitation is one of the biggest concerns for consumers and a top priority for businesses. This has led to an increased application of antibacterial coatings and films on screens. The shatterproof film and UL-certified Antimicrobial Coating1 that Samsung applies to its Kiosk displays protect their screens and customers.
“The retail landscape is changing based on consumer behaviors and rising demand for contactless and non-cash payment methods,” said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “As this trend accelerates not just in retail but also in the food and beverage, healthcare, travel and other sectors, the Samsung Kiosk is the future-ready solution industries need to respond to global demand.”
Powerful Performance, Versatile Applications
Built on the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise operating system (OS), the KMC-W expands the Samsung Kiosk’s OS compatibility to meet the needs of customers in various business environments. Powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core Processor,2 it offers high performance computing power and full compatibility with major ordering, point-of-sale and property management system software. Accordingly, the display comes equipped with various CPU options — including a choice of Intel Celeron 6305E, Core i3 or Core i5 processors — as well as fast 8GB DRAM memory and a 256GB SSD for greater storage capacity.
“It’s great to see the launch of the new KMC-W, which leverages the 11th Gen Intel Core Processor Enterprise Edition and the powerful Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS to expand customer choices,” said Analisa Roberts, General Manager, Global Device Partners at Microsoft. “With 8GB of DRAM and a 256GB SSD, it provides ultra-fast processing and ample storage space to meet evolving industry demands.”
Offering more interfaces for third-party peripherals, the KMC-W supports a wide range of use cases across industries. Its extensive integration capabilities enable it to meet the needs of a wide range of businesses, from hotels and airports to convenience stores, restaurants, and pharmacies. Businesses can tailor their Kiosks for various scenarios, including using them as ID/passport scanners, external cameras, payment terminals, and vending machines.
The KMC-W’s compact design and flexible features make it suitable for virtually any business environment. Its flexible installation options, which enable it to be affixed to a countertop, wall mount3 or a stand that can be positioned anywhere to seamlessly blend in with its surroundings, allow businesses to save time, cost and space without the need for additional construction.
Enabling More Personalized Customer Experiences Around the World
The Samsung Kiosk Tizen version, launched in 2021, allows businesses and retailers around the world to optimize the customer journey. With the new Samsung Kiosk Windows version, retails can enjoy the business advantages of the Kiosk display whether they use Tizen or Windows OS.
In the Philippines, fast food chain KFC currently uses Samsung Kiosks on Windows OS at 63 locations. The Kiosks create an in-store digital experience for KFC customers, enabling them to self-serve and enjoy a more personalized and convenient visit. To continue enhancing its customer experience, the company will install Kiosks at more than 100 additional stores by the end of the year.
French company LAPEYRE, which manufactures and sells equipment for home kitchens, bathrooms, doors, and windows, has installed Samsung Kiosks operating on Windows OS throughout its stores. As a growing franchise with 126 locations in France and 25 new stores set to open across the country by 2025, the company has partnered with Samsung to digitalize services to boost business and attract new customers. The rollout includes 100 Kiosks to display queue status, 70 Kiosks to support fast self-ordering, and 300 Kiosks for consumers to browse the company’s product catalog and customize their product using configurators on the kiosks, generating more sales and enhancing the customer experience.
In addition, made-to-order restaurant company Duck Donuts Powered by GRUBBRR is currently utilizing Samsung Kiosks based on the Tizen OS. The company’s rollout enhanced the purchase experience at 30 of its stores across the U.S., improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. With personalized ordering and easy-to-read menus, Duck Donuts was able to strengthen its customer relationships and drive revenue.
The KMC-W Samsung Kiosk model is currently available for purchase in more than 35 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East.
For more information, please visit displaysolutions.samsung.com/kiosk.
1 This product has been treated with the biocidal substance Zinc Pyrithione. Antibacterial property does not completely protect users against bacteria and provides no protection against viruses including Covid-19. Coating applies only to the surface of the screen and its effect may vary depending on conditions of use. Available in select markets.
2 All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Intel, the Intel logo and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
3 Wall mount and stand must be purchased separately.
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