It was probably no coincidence that Samsung announced a new cinema LED at Infocomm India 2024 – in the heart of Bollywood. Six months later, the Korean visual solution manufacturer presented the second generation of Onyx – the cinema LED solution – at the Cinemacon motion film industry trade show in Las Vegas.
Samsung starts a second attempt to capture the cinema market. In 2017 Samsung disrupted the cinema market with it’s first DCI-certified LED. While the viewing experience was far superior to projection, most cinema operators just couldn’t afford the upgrade. Today only a hundred plus cinemas feature LED-based screens, most of them with Samsung technology.
The latest Onyx cinema LED generation launched in Las Vegas this week offers improved LED-technology combined for the first time integrated with Harman JBL surround sound. The LED is available in different pixel pitches, brighter than the first generation and for the first time available in four standard sizes:
- 5 meters (16ft) — Ideal for boutique and smaller-format theaters (Pixel pitch: 1.25mm)
- 10 meters (33ft) — The industry standard for premium cinemas (Pixel pitch: 2.5mm)
- 14 meters (46ft) — A versatile format that delivers an impressive, large-scale cinematic experience (Pixel pitch: 3.3mm)
- 20 meters (66ft) — A large-format solution for premium auditoriums (Pixel pitch: 5.0mm)
Tailor-made sizes for larger venues will also be available on request.
Brighter, Bolder and More Immersive
Samsung Onyx cinema LED screens natively support both scope (2.39:1) and flat (1.85:1) aspect ratios, ensuring films are displayed in their intended formats without the need for additional adjustments. When scaling beyond standard sizes, Onyx maintains both aspect ratios while maximizing the screen size, allowing content to expand proportionally without distortion.
Integration of Samsung’s HDR technology, Onyx reaches peak brightness levels of 300 nits (87.6fL) – six times brighter than conventional cinema standards. This enables clear and vivid playback even in brightly lit environments, making it ideal for alternative content such as live sports, concerts, gaming events and corporate presentations.
10 Years Warranty
Samsung is offering the cinema industry’s first and longest 10-years warranty for cinema LED. This extended coverage is supposed to reduce total cost of ownership and to ensure a future-proof investment for theater owners.
To maintain optimal picture quality, Samsung provides an auto calibration solution that enables theaters to calibrate their screens during installation and routine maintenance.
Onyx is compatible with both Dolby and GDC media servers, making it easier for theaters to transition from traditional projection systems. Because of this, theater networks can enjoy seamless content playback and efficient management. Similar to play back infrastructure, Onyx is also fully compatible with leading cinema audio solutions, including Dolby Atmos, Meyer Sound and QSC. For theaters using Samsung Harman’s JBL surround sound technology, Onyx also offers seamless integration to ensure optimized audio performance.
invidis commentary
The revolution that never really took off was announced in 2017 – Samsung presented it’s first LED-based Cinema solution. The concept of LED replacing projection in cinemas sounded convincing. Improved picture quality, real black instead of projected grey, very slim scree form factor and no projection cabin providing more seating space and expanded screen scalability – LED seemed a no-brainer for engineers.
But bean-counters, civil engineers and the large studios had a different view. Higher Capex, much more weight of LED vs projection screen often exceeding permissible structural weight of existing cinemas and last but not least surprisingly film studios which didn’t like the rich colours of LED. Believe it or not – for one of the Starwars director the dark black of space was to intense on LED, he preferred the washed out black of projection.
But times have moved on and LED technology is omnipresent. It may be a good time for Samsung to relaunch Onyx. Time will tell.
