Samsung will return to the CEDIA show after an absence of several years, taking a cue from musician Bonnie Raitt, who sang “Let’s give them something to talk about.”

The A/V company will exhibit at CEDIA 2016 because it has a lot more to talk up in premium products of interest to installers, says Jim Kiczek, vice president of Samsung’s digital audio/video group.

The products include Samsung’s first 4K Blu-ray player, high dynamic range (HDR) TVs, a broad selection of TVs certified by the Ultra HD Alliance (UHD-A) as delivering a premium 4K experience, and 4K high dynamic range (HDR) TVs delivering more than 1,000 nits of brightness.

Samsung will also promote its first premium soundbars, including a $1,499 model with Dolby Atmos decoding. The company previously played mainly in the entry-to-mid segments of the sound bar market, Kiczek says.

“We’ll highlight the full 4K experience in TV, 4K Blu-ray and Atmos sound bars,” he continues. “We’re the only brand offering a full 4K solution from an audio and video perspective.”

“With new technologies, we have the opportunity to get in front of a large audience all at once,” adds Brandt Varner, senior director of TV product marketing.

Lifetime SUHD Guaranteee, Calibration Disc, IP Commands

The company will also use the Sept. 13-17 event to:

• Promote a lifetime burn-in guarantee on all SUHD TVs, which use quantum-dot display technology to promote the reliability and stability of the new technology, which delivers a wide color gamut with high dynamic range (HDR). In other parts of the world, the guarantee lasts for 10 years.
• Demonstrate the first-ever TV-calibration disc that lets installers accurately measure HDR.
• Talk up plans to release basic IP control commands “in the near future”  to integrate with IP-based home-control systems.
• Debut the installer-focused CMS (Content Management System)  applet on a USB stick.

The stick launches an applet enabling authorized dealers to access a Samsung portal to get firmware updates, spec sheets, product-information grids, RS-232 codes, and mechanical and CAD drawings of Samsung TVs to determine if a Samsung product physically fits into a custom install. Many of the materials were previously available to dealers only after they called their distributor or factory salesperson.

The CMS tool also provides direct notification of content updates.

The new HDR10 Reference disc, available free to authorized dealers, is touted as offering the first HDR calibration workflow that runs on CalMann test equipment. The test-pattern workflow enables installers who calibrate TVs to test the performance of HDR TVs and calibrate them for optimum picture performance.

With other calibration discs featuring static test patterns, the TV display maintains peak brightness only momentarily, preventing HDR measurement. Samsung’s moving test pattern, on the other hand, is interpreted by the TV as a moving image, so the TV’s display maintains peak brightness while the pattern moves, the company said.

Under the burn-in guarantee, Samsung promises to replace or repair any 2016  quantum-dot  SUHD TV purchased in the U.S. with a similar model at no cost for the life of the TV to the consumer to ease concerns that any consumers might have over a quantum-dot display’s potential retention of static images, such as on-screen channel logos, news tickers, video games with static heads-up displays, or any image that remains on screen for a long time.

The burn-in guarantee is on top of the company’s standard 1-year parts and labor warranty.

For integration with IP-based home-control systems, Samsung plans to release IP codes in the near future. The company already supports integration via RS-232 via XLink on 2016 TVs starting with the KS8 series and up and in select 2015 carryover TVs.

Changing the Dynamic

The launch of HDR-equipped TVs, however, is a key factor contributing to Samsung’s return to the show, a spokesman said. “HDR changes the dynamic. It really changes the picture quality, and we want to make sure integrators can ensure their customers realize its full potential.”

HDR’s picture-quality improvements are easily discernible, delivering a brighter more realistic image, whereas 4K doubles resolution and is more beneficial on larger screens in smaller rooms, he said.

To show the difference, Samsung will compare the performance of its HDR and non-HDR TVs for attendees. The company will also compare the performance of its top-end HDR-equipped 4K SUHD TVs with its HDR-equipped UHD TVs as well as compare its curved and flat TVs, says Varner.

The company’s TV focus, however, will be on SUHD TVs, which feature 10-bit quantum-dot technology to expand color gamut.  They range in price up to $19,999 for an 88-inch curved-screen model in the flagship KS98000 series of three curved SUHD TVs, all with 1,200-bit brightness compared to 1,000 nits on the company’s other curved and flat SUHD TVs.

Demos will also include the $1,499 HW-K950 Atmos sound bar, which delivers a 5.1.4 surround experience with included pair of wireless surround speakers and wireless subwoofer. The $999 HW-K850 bar with Atmos will also be displayed, delivering a 5.1.2 experience without separate wireless surround speakers.

The sound bars are positioned as delivering premium audio for secondary and tertiary rooms, Kiczek says.

Smart TVs with Faster Setup Times

Also at the show, Samsung will talk up new TV features of interest to installers. They include a seamless-integration feature in all 2016 smart TVs to reduce installers’ setup time. These TVs recognize metadata from HDMI-connected video sources and automatically adds the sources’ names to the TVs’ on-screen input labels, replacing such designations as HDMI 1 and HDMI 2. Compatible sources include Comcast, Time-Warner, DirecTV, and Dish set-top boxes, PlayStation and Xbox game consoles, and Roku devices.

The integration feature also makes it possible for an included Samsung remote to control the functions of the HDMI-connected products, including a set-top box’s DVR functions.

For home automation, Samsung plans in the first quarter to offer a free Smart Things Extend USB smart-home dongle for 2016 SUHD TVs and premium UHD TVs. The TVs are equipped with an on-screen home-control interface that, in conjunction with the dongle’s embedded wireless technologies, controls more than 200 Smart Things-compatible home-automation devices, many of which are sold by installers.

The dongle will also enable control from a smartphone app.

With the TVs, installers will be able “to add home automation to a home theater sale without tremendous cost,” says Varner. Though the system can be installed by DIYers, installers can add value by setting up the products for consumers not comfortable with doing it themselves, Varner said. Installers can also show them how to use the product.

The dongle was originally scheduled to be available in 2016.

Samsung continues to offer specially tailored programs to the channel along with a unilateral price policy (UPP), which is reserved for premium products such as SUHD TVs and Atmos sound bars that cater to the custom channel, Kiczek says.

Samsung reaches installers through distributors such as AVAD and through direct salespeople.

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