Samsung and Google continue to show their close relationship in public with the announcement of Eclipsa Audio. It is an audio technology for smart televisions and more specifically, a kind of audio standard to compete with Dolby Atmos.
At CES 2025, Eclipsa Audio was introduced with an official name after it was first announced in 2023. Its original name was Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF) and it is for open source spatial audio. This IAMF standard has been adopted by the Alliance for Open Media and Samsung televisions are the first to use it.
Eclipsa technology will also be brought to platforms other than televisions, such as Chrome someday. With the introduction of Eclipsa, Samsung and Google can rely on their own audio technology instead of paying a license to Dolby. Indirectly, product development costs will be saved. Unfortunately, the introduction of their own audio standard does not mean that users can enjoy the price of the product at a more affordable price.
Eclipsa Audio will use the audio source played on the television such as from built-in speakers, soundbars or headsets. Not only that, Eclipsa can also simulate audio vertically – meaning that the audio beam appears to come from above or below.
Samsung Neo QLED immersive audio with Dolby Atmos
Eclipsa Audio will be used on all Samsung Crystal UHD and Neo QLED 8K televisions model year 2025. For content creators, this year Google will offer support for uploading videos with Eclipsa audio and when playing videos on Samsung televisions – immersive effects and 3D spatial audio can be enjoyed.
Let's wait and see, to what extent Eclipsa Audio can be integrated into various products.