Samsung is pushing towards 8K quality and improved audio using AI

[Greg S]

Samsung went big at CES with wall-sized displays and commercial LED cinema screens. Now, artificial intelligence software is taking a front seat to deliver image quality very near to native 8K resolution. Smarter upscaling capabilities could allow for compressed content to remain just as clear and crisp as native footage.

Cable TV has yet to move beyond 1080p for the majority of the world. As 4K televisions quickly take over as the de facto standard, native content is still trailing behind. With the help of Samsung's Machine Learning Super Resolution (MLSR) technology, images can be scaled to appear as if they were 8K in real-time.

Millions of still images and videos have been analyzed to train the artificial intelligence engine. There are three main criteria the software takes into account when upscaling content. First, localized adjustments of sharpness are applied to areas that would traditionally appear blurry after increasing the resolution. Second, edges are detected and properly modified to improve clarity.

Finally, a noise reduction filter is applied to remove artifacts resulting from compression. Brightness and black levels are key factors that are also taken into consideration when converting content. Photos and videos that are not shot with HDR in mind can be enhanced to create the illusion of increased contrast.

Sound is also taken into consideration when transforming lower quality content into lifelike images. Voices are able to be enhanced to make speaking roles more prominent over background noise. Directional changes to audio can be made to improve surround sound to more accurately reflect the content shown on screen.

Without the need to deliver content in native resolution to achieve the maximum possible image quality, the relevance of 8K and higher resolutions may increase. Although there is no reason to rush out and buy Samsung's 85-inch 8K QLED TV that was shown off at CES, improved AI for upscaling could have uses beyond home entertainment.

Top needs for improved clarity are in medical applications and virtual reality environments. There is no "good enough" resolution when human lives are affected by the ability of a doctor to clearly see small anomalies in images. In virtual reality headsets, displays mere inches from our eyes need to be extremely pixel-dense to prevent headaches and an overall poor user experience.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/73290-samsung-pushing-towards-8k-quality-improved-audio-using.html

 

[wiyosaya]

TechSpot should follow this up with an "Why Upgrading to 8K is Not a Good Idea at this Time" article.

 

[tipstir]

8K really where there is 16K already. 4K everyone buying where there is no need to purchase that. I will not spend the money on 4K where Full HD would be more ideal as everything is broadcast over the air OTA in 1080p. Then you got some 480i, 720p lurking around still. So much hype for 4K so crazy. Pushing it to the mark. 3K for 82 inch Samsung. I am fan of SONY just the 75 inch over 1K still high for me. I just don't like to buy something that being push in my face and then you buy and say oh my it's 8K now. Look how long it has taken us just to get 1080i of OTA and CATV. There just way too many HDTV out there LCD and LED, some 3D isn't that enough for quality. Do we really need to spend so much for 4K UHDTV.

 

[yRaz]

8K really where there is 16K already. 4K everyone buying where there is no need to purchase that. I will not spend the money on 4K where Full HD would be more ideal as everything is broadcast over the air OTA in 1080p. Then you got some 480i, 720p lurking around still. So much hype for 4K so crazy. Pushing it to the mark. 3K for 82 inch Samsung. I am fan of SONY just the 75 inch over 1K still high for me. I just don't like to buy something that being push in my face and then you buy and say oh my it's 8K now. Look how long it has taken us just to get 1080i of OTA and CATV. There just way too many HDTV out there LCD and LED, some 3D isn't that enough for quality. Do we really need to spend so much for 4K UHDTV.

I see a very large difference in 1080p images being displayed on a 4k display. Edges are just sharper, I can see the edges on my friends 1080p 60 inch from 8 feet away.

 

[c7p89]

8K really where there is 16K already. 4K everyone buying where there is no need to purchase that. I will not spend the money on 4K where Full HD would be more ideal as everything is broadcast over the air OTA in 1080p. Then you got some 480i, 720p lurking around still. So much hype for 4K so crazy. Pushing it to the mark. 3K for 82 inch Samsung. I am fan of SONY just the 75 inch over 1K still high for me. I just don't like to buy something that being push in my face and then you buy and say oh my it's 8K now. Look how long it has taken us just to get 1080i of OTA and CATV. There just way too many HDTV out there LCD and LED, some 3D isn't that enough for quality. Do we really need to spend so much for 4K UHDTV.

I’m guessing you don’t watch much Netflix or other streaming content because 4K is becoming standard. Prices are rapidly declining for 4K tv and given that a new tv is for me at least a 5 year investment it’s tech you’ve got to include for future proofing.

 

[wiyosaya]

8K really where there is 16K already. 4K everyone buying where there is no need to purchase that. I will not spend the money on 4K where Full HD would be more ideal as everything is broadcast over the air OTA in 1080p. Then you got some 480i, 720p lurking around still. So much hype for 4K so crazy. Pushing it to the mark. 3K for 82 inch Samsung. I am fan of SONY just the 75 inch over 1K still high for me. I just don't like to buy something that being push in my face and then you buy and say oh my it's 8K now. Look how long it has taken us just to get 1080i of OTA and CATV. There just way too many HDTV out there LCD and LED, some 3D isn't that enough for quality. Do we really need to spend so much for 4K UHDTV.

Sooner or later, ATSC 3.0 will hit the market, and 4K OTA soon thereafter. The "good thing" about ATSC 3.0 is that they will not have to replace it again when even higher resolutions hit OTA stations.

 

[Xabi Granja]

Consumers would benefit MUCH more from Samsung making 40" versions of their current QLED TVs than any 8K TVs right now. It's beyond stupid that to buy a 40" model you have to go down to the MU7000 range. There should be HDR1000 panels available at all sizes, not just the gigantor models.

 

[MirekFe]

4K, 8K, 16K! Smart TV!
You guys are spoiled.

I remember when Trinitron's were the best CRT's on the market. Now that was a big deal.

Good times.

 

[seeprime]

8K really where there is 16K already. 4K everyone buying where there is no need to purchase that. I will not spend the money on 4K where Full HD would be more ideal as everything is broadcast over the air OTA in 1080p. Then you got some 480i, 720p lurking around still. So much hype for 4K so crazy. Pushing it to the mark. 3K for 82 inch Samsung. I am fan of SONY just the 75 inch over 1K still high for me. I just don't like to buy something that being push in my face and then you buy and say oh my it's 8K now. Look how long it has taken us just to get 1080i of OTA and CATV. There just way too many HDTV out there LCD and LED, some 3D isn't that enough for quality. Do we really need to spend so much for 4K UHDTV.

The 4K broadcast standard is supposed to be finalized in the US by summer. That will let me know what kind of set to get. Which of the four competing HDR standards will be included, all of them, just one? We'll see.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I’m guessing you don’t watch much Netflix or other streaming content

You wasn't talking to me but I will comment anyway. I wish I could stream 1080. Until I can stream 1080, I'm not gonna care about 4K at all.

 

[ET3D]

While I notice the difference between 4K and 1080p on a big TV, I don't see it as very important. Same goes for 1080p vs. 720p on smaller screens. I had always thought that I was watching Netflix at 1080p until I read that it only supports 720p on Firefox.

 

[senketsu]

Consumers would benefit MUCH more from Samsung making 40" versions of their current QLED TVs than any 8K TVs right now. It's beyond stupid that to buy a 40" model you have to go down to the MU7000 range. There should be HDR1000 panels available at all sizes, not just the gigantor models.

I'm looking at TV's and finding that a problem as well. If you want a good screen it seems they are only made in like 60+ inch models. I would love a high end panel in a smaller size. Maybe then I could afford it more as well.

 

[Joe Blow]

They're also spying on consumers through the television sets. Internal cameras and mics that never shut off.

 

[MirekFe]

They're also spying on consumers through the television sets. Internal cameras and mics that never shut off.

Unplug it.

 

[wiyosaya]

I'm looking at TV's and finding that a problem as well. If you want a good screen it seems they are only made in like 60+ inch models. I would love a high end panel in a smaller size. Maybe then I could afford it more as well.

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