Samsung this week planted its flag in the 8K consumer television world with initial shipments of its new 85-inch Q900 QLED television to select retailer.
Samsung has built an AI-based upscaler, called the Quantum Processor 8K, into the television to produce 8K resolution regardless of the video’s original resolution, the company said. The proprietary 8K upscaling technology is capable of up-resing content from a variety of sources, including streaming services, set top boxes, HDMI and USB sources and even mobile sources, the company said.
Samsung’s Quantum Processor 8K also optimizes audio for each scene, adjusts brightness to the set’s surroundings and drives personalized content recommendations.
Priced a penny below $15,000, the Q900 offers Q HDR 8K, Samsung’s high dynamic range powered by HDR10+ technology. The new TV is capable of 4,000 nit peak brightness, and includes many new functions. They include One Remote, which allows the TV to recognized and analyze devices connected via optical cable and automatically switch image source and audio output to optimize the viewing experience; Ambient Mode, which enables the TV to mimic the surroundings wall pattern and overlay art, personal images or news, weather and other helpful information; and Universal Guide, a personalized recommendation feature that finds live and OTT content on TV, the company said.
In August, Samsung announced the Q900FN QLED 8K television in Berlin at IFA 2018, and at the time said it would begin U.S. shipments in October.
“At Samsung, we’ve worked tirelessly over the years to move the industry forward when it comes to premium picture quality, and the introduction of the Q900FN with 8K AI Upscaling is an integral component as we look to the future of displays,” said Jongsuk Chu, SVP of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics.
The company is also taking pre-orders for the Q900, it said.
More information is available on the Samsung website.
