Earlier this week I and several other media representatives from all over Southeast Asia were invited to attend the Samsung VD Tech Seminar in Bangkok Thailand. Samsung used this opportunity to show the latest innovations in the world of their smart televisions which is the reason they are the number one smart TV manufacturer in the world for 18 years in a row.
Among the questions we often see about TVs is whether the innovation used on Samsung smart TVs is useful or just a gimmick? Another common question is what is the difference between this year's model and the previous year's? Based on these frequently asked questions, some demos were shown to media representatives and here are five interesting things about Samsung's smart TVs in 2024.
1. 8K Upscaling Technology
The Samsung Q900FN is Samsung's first 8K smart TV sold to consumers since it launched in 2018. Almost six years have passed and native 8K content is still not widely offered. The majority of popular streaming platforms limit content to 4K resolution with over 80% of the rest being just FHD.
With 8K content still rarer than people with four wives, upscaling technology that improves video quality is backing up to ensure 8K TVs don't become white elephants. The NQ8 AI Gen 3 chip is the “brain” used in this year's Samsung 8K smart TVs with up to double the power compared to Gen 2. With this power increase, its capabilities are comparable to the NQ4 AI Gen 2 chip used in Samsung's 4K smart TVs last year this.
The first thing we noticed was that the upscaling image was sharper with colors that looked more vibrant when compared to the original FHD or 4K video source. Native 8K content is certainly better but as long as it's not widely offered, the effective upscaling system from Samsung is a good substitute.
2. Less Glare and Reflection Screen
This Samsung 2024 OLED smart TV screen demo is the one that caught my attention the most. This is because for decades the issue of light reflection and surrounding objects on the screen forced me to close the curtains and turn off the lights if I wanted to watch a movie at home. The OLED panels on Samsung TVs this year have a new layer that reduces glare and reflections.
The demo shows the difference between the 2024 and 2023 Samsung TV screens. It is clear that this year's screens reduce reflections and glare quite significantly. This technology was previously only offered on The Frame TVs and is now also provided on all 2024 OLED TVs.
3. AI Picture
If Samsung flagship phones have Galaxy AI, Samsung smart TVs have AI Picture that solves issues on modern TVs such as video not being sharp enough, and fast movements looking blurry. AI Picture will ensure that fast-moving objects do not have ghosting issues or appear less smooth due to low frame rates.
A demo in Bangkok of a Samsung Neo QLED 8K smart TV placed next to an 8K TV from a competitor's secret brand. On the Samsung TV, the softball thrown is clearly visible when in the air, unlike competitor TVs. It also solves the issue of moving text under the screen when the news is hard to read because it's blurry. This feature in my opinion is useful for those who are interested in watching sports content.
4. AI Gaming
AI features are not limited to improving picture quality but also dominate the system that enhances the video game experience on Samsung TV 2024. The Game Bar that provides quick access to various video game features now identifies the genre of the game being played.
With this settings for FPS, RPG, RTS, sports and more will be changed automatically this year. In previous years it had to be done manually. In sports mode for example the colors are adjusted so that the grass on the field does not hurt the eyes so the ball cannot be seen clearly in eFootball 2024. In FPS mode for COD Warzone the background image appears clearer and the crosshair is activated directly on the screen.
Deficiencies
All of the features listed above are indeed interesting and show an improvement in Samsung's smart TV capabilities this year. But there are still shortcomings like there is still no Dolby Vision because Samsung is still using HDR10+ developed by them with 20th Century Fox and Panasonic Corporation. I admit the HDR10+ picture is beautiful but many people make Dolby Vision support a must on the TV they want to buy.
The second issue is definitely the price. Although Samsung's Neo QLED and OLED TV technology is more than half a decade old, the selling price is still beyond the reach of many. When do you think the price of 8K TVs will drop like the price of 4K TVs now? Maybe this will only happen when Samsung starts selling their rollable 16K TVs in the near future.
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