Toronto, March 6, 2012– Samsung Electronics of Canada (SECA) America Inc., the current marketshare leader in consumer electronics, today announced the immediate availability of its 2012 range of product lineup, which include Blu-ray players, home theater systems, sound bars, and of course both plasma and LCD TVs featuring SmartHub feature. Samsung also announced its audio docks, which support both Apple® and Android®devices, will begin shipping in April 2012. In this report I will only discuss the innovative and unique products. So no Home Theatre in a Box and no entry-level anything.
In terms of audio dock, Samsung unveiled the first models of their new line of audio dock systems that feature a stylish and very unique design. The two foremost unique ones are the horn-shaped audio dock and a box-shaped audio dock with vacuum tube to “warm-up” the sound (see photo). Users will be able to connect to both Galaxy® S and Apple iOS® devices, either wired or wirelessly. An integrated subwoofer delivers an improved bass response compared to conventional docking stations.
When it comes to Blu-ray players, there is nothing new can be added right? Wrong! Samsung equipped their entire lineup with Smart Hub making any TV connected to them into a SmartTV and every single one of them is also DLNA compatible with full web browsing capability. The only drawback is Samsung’s 3D Experience is only available on their SmartTV lineup which is too bad because currently the channel provides viewer with close to 150 free-of-charge 3D video sequences (some of them are full-length 3D documentaries usually sold for $40 in various places) and will continually be added to up to 300 free-of-charge 3D video content before the end of 2012. If the Smart Hub functionality is not enough to entice you, the top-of-the-line Samsung BD-E6500 3D Blu-ray player comes equipped with 2 HDMI inputs, so consumers can connect the player to two devices – such as a game console and set-top box – and the TV without additional wires.
I promised you that I won’t be talking about entry-level stuff, but I absolutely have to talk about this unique soundbar from Samsung (see photo). The so-called “4-in-1” soundbar is extremely unique because you can either wall mount it as one single bar, table mount it, or separate it in half to become left and right speakers to be wall mounted or even table mounted. From the design and lifestyle perspective, it’s a very stylish and will fit into most people’s lifestyles. Furthermore, the wall mount, table mount, and table stands are included in the box so no extra purchase is necessary.
Now we move on to the 2012 TV lineup. As per usual, I will not talk about the individual model number and pricing but will discuss the groundbreaking technology of this year’s lineup. The list of main features are as follows:
• The introduction of Micro Dimming and Micro Dimming Ultimate for LCD TVs
• The introduction of Real Black and Real Black Pro anti reflective coating for Plasmas
• Dual-core CPU for quick app launching, multi-tasking and better video processing
• Voice and gesture control, as well as face recognition on TVs with integrated camera and noise-cancelling microphone
• AllShare Play with seamless connectivity to other devices and to cloud storage
• New Smart Touch Remote and Smart Wireless Keyboard (see photos)
Remember some high-end TVs have 228 local dimming LED and the highest end TV currently on the market have around 340 local dimming LED? Well, for 2012 lineup, Samsung uses 288 local dimming LED called “Micro Dimming” for their entry-level local dimming LCD TVs and 576 local diming LED called “Micro Dimming Ultimate” for their top of the line TVs. That is one LED for every four pixel!! From the demo, not only there is virtually no halo-effect, it is TRULY has ZERO halo effect. Finally, an LED backlit LCD that is nearly indistinguishable from plasma!! Even the viewing angle is wider than the best LED backlit LCD on the market!! Of course I can not determine the colour accuracy until I get my hands on the finished product and calibrate it properly.
On the plasma front, the introduction of Real Black and Real Black Pro nano-carbon anti reflective coating creates blacker blacks by actually absorbing the ambient light so there is no more need to watch a plasma TV in complete darkness in order to get the deepest black. The Real Black Pro coating results in 10% blacker black than Real Black coating and the Real Black coating results in 50% blacker black than Samsung’s regular plasma screen. So mathematically, the Real Black Pro coating produces 600% better blacks than the regular Samsung Plasma
Furthermore, any 3D TVs this year will come with a minimum of two pairs of 3D glasses (see photo) which although not rechargeable, only weighs around 18 grams including a button-battery that lasts about 300 hours. Additional 3D glasses only cost $30 per pair or if you opt for the rechargeable version, they will only be $50 per pair with the capability of 4-hour usage for 1-minute recharge time.
Last but not least, Samsung’s signature-class TV will include gesture control, voice control and face recognition. So to turn the TV you only need to say “TV on” and to control the volume, channel, and even web browsing you can either use voice control or gesture control. Furthermore, because the Smart Hub function can have multiple user, you can log into your account by using the TV’s intelligent face-recognition. No need to type in your username and password anymore. However, should you choose to do so, a bluetooth keyboard can be purchased separately and it does not even have to even be Samsung brand.
www.samsung.com
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