Samsung and Harman debut world’s first cinema display

After technical demonstrations at cinema conferences around the world, it was exciting to see that the first real commercial cinema installation of an LED screen has taken place at the Lotte Cinema World Tower in Korea. Designed as a High Dynamic Range (HDR) LED cinema display, the Cinema LED Screen is claimed to create a more captivating and vibrant viewing experience through next-generation picture quality and true-to-life audio, thanks to a collaboration between Harman Professional Solutions and Samsung Audio Lab.

Bringing expertise together

There has been much comment from cinema experts (see our CineEurope reports, p33) about how difficult it would be to ensure that the sound accompanying an LED display will satisfy the requirements of a cinema auditorium, where it has always been considered necessary to have the sound emanating from behind the screen via perforations. Samsung are world experts in LED displays, whilst its recently acquired subsidiary company Harman has a wealth of experience of cinemas and cinema sound, so it makes perfect sense for the two to work together in bringing this revolutionary new technology to the commercial cinema market.

feel part of the picture

HS Kim, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics said that through sharper and more realistic colours, complementary audio and an elevated presentation, the new Samsung Cinema LED Screen makes viewers feel as if they are part of the picture. They are partnering with Lotte Cinema to bring this technology to market, and look forward to continuing to shape the cinema of the future.

The screen at the Lotte cinema is about 10.3m (33.8ft) wide, but Samsung can supply such screens in a variety of cinema configurations. The LED screens offer superior levels of technical performance, reliability and quality. They bring the visual power of High Dynamic Range picture quality to the big screen, and enliven content with  4K resolution (4,096 x 2,160) and peak brightness levels (146fL) nearly 10 times greater than that offered by standard projector technologies.

Additionally, the Cinema LED Screen’s futuristic, distortion-free presentation leverages ultra-contrast and low-tone grayscale settings to showcase the brightest colours, deepest blacks and most pristine whites at a nearly infinite contrast ratio.

They haven’t forgotten the sound

To go with the stunning video technology within the ‘Super S’ theater of the Lotte Cinema, Samsung has paired its Cinema LED Screen with state-of-the-art audio technologies from JBL by Harman. This integration includes powerful speakers bordering the screen, proprietary audio processing technology, and JBL’s Sculpted Surround system, producing an unparalleled sight and sound experience that is faithful to the content creators’ intent.

Pushing forward into cinema

Samsung say that as demands within the cinema industry evolve, its Cinema LED Screen offers the versatility to expand services to meet a wider range of audience needs. The display maintains its advanced presentation capabilities in a range of dark and ambient lighting conditions. This flexibility makes the Cinema LED Screen ideal for venues wishing to use auditorium space for corporate events, concerts, sports event viewing and for gaming competitions.

And The Cinema’s View?

Lotte Cinema/Entertainment is a Korean-based entertainment company that provides theatre screening, movie investment and movie distribution services throughout the globe. Lotte Cinema’s CEO Wonchun Cha said that their ‘Super S’ theatre is a new paradigm of movie screening, and that they look forward to working with Samsung to introduce more new, high-quality technology to the industry, which they believe will drive customer satisfaction through an improved viewing environment that brings a variety of content to life.