Samsung’s NEO OLEDs are the slimmest 8K TVs around.
The current model year has reinvigorated CE
By Stephen Paczkowski, Expert Warehouse
While all eyes are on next month’s CEDIA Expo for a taste of next year’s consumer tech, let’s not forget the current lineup of TV models and CE products, which can really add value to our membership. Let’s review!
First, Samsung still offers the slimmest 8K TVs ever with its NEO QLEDs. Not content to stop there, the company also features a matte finish OLED in its top-of-the-line S95D model. The flat finish is a design element long overdue where glare is an issue, say in front of a living room window.
Elsewhere, the QN900D touts Samsung’s “AI for All” initiative, using a built-in AI processor called the N8Q AI Gen 3. As in previous LG models, this processor uses AI to upscale and sharpen images to enhance 8K viewing across all video inputs. There are also audio enhancements provided by AI, notably Active Voice Amplifier Pro, which takes all vocal and ambient noise (as in sports broadcasts, for example) to prioritize clear and concise center channel or critical speech. This allows you to experience sound as if you were right in the stadium, but with the sportscasters’ commentary distinct and clearly pronounced. Exciting stuff!
Frame of Reference
Samsung also reinvigorated its extremely popular Frame TV line with a much-needed refresh, as previous models were built on two- to three-year-old technology. The updated models feature upgraded hardware architecture and an on-the-fly adjustable frame rate for added green initiative capabilities.
Samsung also finally released Music Frame, a cool, LP-sized multi-speaker and Wi-Fi-enabled music system, and upgraded their Premiere projectors with a wireless 8K model. I specifically asked Samsung about the size of the Music Frame relative to LP sleeves and am happy to report that they do match closely. That means you can clip an LP cover onto the unit as a display. (You can Venmo me later.)
There were equally exciting developments on the LG front, where the company introduced its A11 chipset, which boasts a 4X improvement over last year’s processor. The A11 is seated in the G4 and M4 models for the custom installer channel (featuring the No-Connect wireless connectivity innovation). This GPU provides a whopping 70% increase in graphic performance and 30% boost in processing power over its predecessor. This AI-infused powerhouse also provides noticeable improvements in upscale processing, along with dynamic brightness in scenes and tightening color sharpness.
Life’s Good
LG also employs AI Sound Pro, which provides 11.1.12 surround sound separation along with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for height simulation out of the box. This was the year’s most important audio boost.
These two series from LG are also MLA (Micro Lens Array) certified. In plain language, this tech places a group of smaller cells (actually microscopic lenses) over the main panel of the display. This is where things got remarkable: LG claims it can fit 5,000 lenses on a single pixel. This translates to 42.4 billion lenses on a 77-inch set. It is almost inconceivable (unless you’re a billionaire) to imagine this quantity of, well, anything. The benefit? It’s been clocked at over 2,100 nits of peak brightness. This is impressive stuff.
QNED also got an AI boost this model year, resulting in a 1.6x processor increase along with 2.3X in graphic analysis. LG’s 99T series made a reappearance in 2024, utilizing the company’s AI toolsets including AI Sound Pro and dynamic local dimming, boosted from previous benchmarks. And of course, as previously announced in this space, the transparent T model also bowed this year. As a transparent-frame TV, it allows window views through its 77-inch border.
And Let’s Not Forget …
We here at Expert Warehouse were also happy to announce the relaunch of audio speakers from Definitive Technology and Polk, LG Commercial panels and the addition of Furrion outdoor TV to augment an already exciting field of play. Boasting shade, partial and full-sun models, EW saw this as an immediate boon to outdoor TV sales in the CI and CE dealer markets. Each of these additions also further enhanced our compatibility with the audio and CI channels.
As always, here are some of the sounds and films we’ve been enjoying using the awesome technology provided by the Expert Warehouse:
WISP, “Pandora”: A shoegaze-inspired indie EP from singer/songwriter WISP, featuring the single “Enough for You.” A Deftones to Slowdive influence. Beautiful and slow.
Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things”: Signed to Imagine Dragon’s personal record label, Boone has Noah Kahan vibes.
“Dune 2” (streaming): A spectacle that veers more so from the books than the first, but a visual delight, nonetheless.
“Shogun” (Hulu streaming): A lush, rich adaptation of the book (and TV series from the ’80s) that trumps both in its depth and imagery.
Stephen Paczkowski is an account manager for CE and FTS at Expert Warehouse, the inventory distribution arm of AVB BrandSource.
