Samsung Display and Dolby Laboratories announced on December 19, 2024 a strategic partnership aimed at integrating Dolby Vision technology into automotive OLED screens. A first step before integration into the brand's future TVs and video projectors? Many dream of it.
This announcement is a real bolt from the blue in the display sector, since Samsung Display, manufacturer of panels for the video industry, but also for automobiles and the mobility market (smartphones, tablets and others) has just announced the signing of a partnership with the company Dolby Laboratories. The latter notably offers Dolby Vision video technology (but also Dolby Atmos audio processing).
According to the press release, this collaboration will make it easier for automakers to implement Samsung OLED displays pre-tuned for Dolby Vision.
We can enjoy Dolby Vision in the car…
Until now Samsung had always refused to pay for the license which allows Dolby Vision technology to be used on these screens, regardless of their size and use, including for smartphones. However, with this collaboration, Samsung Display plans to present this new automotive experience during CES 2025 in Las Vegas in January. A dedicated exhibition space will allow visitors to discover this innovation in preview.
According to Yong-seok Choi, executive director of sales at Samsung Display. “Through this collaboration, Samsung will consolidate its technical leadership in the automotive display market and set new standards in display quality. »
Remember that the Dolby Vision video format is a dynamic HDR technology taking into account media metadata (like HDR10+) with a maximum bit rate of 12 bits (compared to 10 bits for HDR10+ which is supported by Samsung).
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…, but not at home?
So this seems to be a good start so that we will soon be able to enjoy Dolby Vision in our cars (equipped with Samsung Display screens), but suddenly we immediately think of the next step. Indeed, it is impossible not to imagine the integration of this technology on televisions and video projectors from the South Korean brand which has, until now, always refused to pay the license to Dolby Laboratories, because it is that's what it's all about.
Remember that Samsung is at the origin of the consortium around the HDR10+ format which includes most video product brands. But we must also admit that the Dolby format is today much more widespread within film studios and series production, and therefore by extension on televisions and video projectors of almost all brands, except Samsung. Thus, Blu-ray discs offering Dolby Vision are much more numerous than those which support the HDR10+ format although one does not prevent the other. In addition, more and more content available on streaming platforms is in Dolby Vision format.
So will we see Dolby Vision compatible Samsung TVs and projectors soon? Perhaps we will have an answer at the next CES 2025 on the next TV series, most of whose references are now known, unless this is a first step before models in the years to come or not…
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