Samsung Unveils 2013 Home Theater Product Lineup (Displays, Blu-ray players & more)

Samsung has taken CES 2013 as an opportunity to unleash its latest Smart HDTV and home theater product lineup. Leading the charge is the giant 85” S9 UHD (Ultra High Definition, a.k.a. 4K) TV, while the F9500 OLED, F8000 LED, F7500 LED, and F8500 Plasma TVs round out the new TVs announced. This isn't their entire 2013 TV lineup, simply a showing of some of their top of the line offerings. Samsung has also highlighted several features at CES with their new television lineup, including Smart Hub, S-recommendation, Advanced Smart Interaction, Smart View, AllShare, and Evolution kit.

In addition to their plethora of television offerings, Samsung has announced some other potentially interesting A/V products including the HW-F750 sound bar, which can connect with a TV via Bluetooth and also features a vacuum tube amplifier. Also on the 2013 product lineup is a portable wireless (Bluetooth) speaker, new 7.1 channel home theater system, and up-scaling Blu-ray player.

Features

It would seem that Samsung’s latest offerings in the HDTV market are taking “Smart TV” to the next level.

For example, the new iteration of Smart Hub is powered by a quad core processor (most of the competition uses dual core processors), and breaks things down into five different panes (On TV; Movies & Shows; Photos, Videos, & Music; Social; Apps) to help manage and navigate through various types of content. S-Recommendation, as the name suggests, allows your Smart TV to suggest content based on previous viewings and user ratings, and checks not only broadcast TV, but streaming video-on-demand content, applications, social content, and locally stored content as well.

In terms of actually interacting with the TV, Advanced Smart Interaction allows users to interface with their Smart TV using voice and motion controls. Viewers can use regular language to control the TV, or ask the TV to search for content available by actor, title, or genre and it will provide suggestions. Motion control also recognizes more movement than in the past, including two-handed gestures, pinch to zoom, and a flip motion to navigate among the various Smart Hub panels. Overall we think the Smart Hub, voice control, and motion control are poised to work much more fluidly than they have in the past. The new Smart Hub interface looked particularly intriguing when we saw it on site. We are also glad to report that Samsung is ditching their current smart remote in favor of a new design.

Samsung TVs are also better equipped to operate as the hub of an entertainment system thanks to Smart View and AllShare. Smart View allows users to move content among devices in real time, while AllShare connects the TV to compatible mobile devices and home appliances wirelessly, creating a smart center for media and whole-home automation. Users can also mirror their TV content on compatible Samsung GALAXY tablets and phones.

Last but not least among Samsung’s highlights is the Evolution Kit. This kit allows you to update your current Samsung TV with the latest Smart TV features simply by slotting in the kit. So, if you love the picture on your 2012 Samsung TV but want the new features in the 2013 lineup, then the Evolution Kit is your way to have the best of both worlds.

New Samsung Smarthub Interface

S9 UHD TV

Boasting a giant 85" screen with UHD resolution, Samsung’s Precision Black Pro technology, and a proprietary up-scaling engine, the S9 promises the best possible picture quality regardless of the source. The TV comes with an odd "Timeless Gallery" frame design that seems to be polarize people to either love it or hate it. The frames can be ordered in different sizes and actually does double duty as the TV speakers and TV stand. Each frame features a complete 2.2 sound system built-in. Samsung plans to release a 95" and 110" version of the TV as well.

F9500 OLED TV

Samsung’s F9500 promises to deliver excellent picture quality courtesy of its OLED display, with absolute blacks and pure whites. However, in addition to the features common among the rest of the lineup, the F9500 offers another interesting feature: Samsung’s Multi-View. This allows two people to watch totally different full HD content simultaneously on the same screen, with separate audio and controls. This is accomplished by using Samsung’s special 3D glasses which include personal speakers built in. We didn't get a chance to demo this at the Samsung booth, but Sony was showing off a similar technology (well, the exact same but with a different name) that looked great.

F7500 and F8000 LED TV

Billed to deliver greater picture quality from a LED TV than ever before, the F8000 boasts Samsung’s Micro Dimming Ultimate technology for greater contrast and is available in 46”, 55”, 60”, 65”, and 75” screen sizes. In addition, the F8000 features a built in camera and microphone, separating it from the F7500, which is offered in 46”, 55”, and 60” screen sizes.

F8500 Plasma TV

Offered in 51”, 60” and 64” screen sizes, Samsung’s F8500 Plasma TV offerings continue Samsung’s improvements in plasma TVs with enhancements like Deep Black Algorithm and Real Black Pro II for improved black levels. It, as well as its brethren, also offers native support for HEVC-encoded content. We are actually pretty excited to see what Samsung did with Plasma TVs this year because they are making some pretty hefty claims.  The purport their new plasmas can achieve the same brightness as an LED with 160% deeper blacks than last year. In a dark room they are supposed to have 400% deeper blacks.

Model HW-F750 Soundbar

 

Samsung aims to deliver warm, natural sound with this bar by integrating a vacuum tube amplifier into a sound bar for the first time. In addition, it offers Bluetooth connectivity, and has a gyroscope sensor to measure height, rotation, and slope to help optimize sound quality.

 

Model DA-F60 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

 

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could just tap your phone or tablet on a speaker, and they would connect, giving you music effortlessly? With the Samsung DA-F60, you can! Built utilizing neodymium magnets and a passive radiator, portability is the name of the game here, and the speaker tips the scale at 3 pounds, meaning you can enjoy your music anywhere.

 

Model HT-F9750W 7.1 Home Theater System

 

Created to be the perfect counterpart to a 2013 Samsung TV, the HT-F9790W features 1,330 watts of total system power, DTS’ Neo fusion codec, and a Gallium Nitride amplifier coupled with a vacuum tube pre-amplifier. While hardcore Audioholics may not be overly impressed with the audio capabilities of such a system, the ease and depth of integration with a new Samsung TV makes it an interesting option for casual users.

 

Model BD-7500 Premium Blu-ray Player

 

Samsung’s BD-7500 is their premium Ultra-HD up-scaling Blu-ray player. Naturally, it is designed with integration in mind, and supports Samsung’s Smart Hub and AllShare technologies. In addition, thanks to a 900MHz dual core processor which powers the up-scaling engine, users can enjoy fast web browsing speed, as well as improvements in picture sharpness.

For more information visit Samsung

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.