The cinema industry is undergoing a profound transformation. As audiences increasingly seek premium and luxury experiences, theaters are evolving to deliver immersive, differentiated environments — and Samsung Electronics is at the forefront of this revolution.
Raising the bar for cinema innovation, Samsung unveiled the latest model of Onyx (ICD) in March. The next generation of cinematic experiences will be defined by immersive visuals, improved comfort and a reliable viewing experience.
In this article, Samsung Newsroom takes a closer look at the company’s vision for the future of cinema in terms of Visuals, Space and Consistency.
▲ Samsung Onyx was the center of attention at the company’s booth at CinemaCon 2025, the industry’s largest exhibition
Visuals — An Out-of-This-World Screen Experience
Immersion is at the heart of the cinematic experience — a setting designed to transport audiences into the world of the film. Only in an environment free from the everyday distractions such as constant calls, notifications and household chores can viewers fully engage with the story unfolding on the screen.
A true cinematic experience faithfully delivers the filmmaker’s vision, presenting every detail, color and shadow exactly as intended. Onyx brings that vision to reality.
▲ Pixar’s Inside Out 2 shown on Samsung Onyx, demonstrating the display’s peak brightness and vibrant color accuracy
Onyx, the world’s first cinema LED display certified1 by Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), delivers superior picture quality in 4K HDR resolution with vivid colors, deep blacks and infinite contrast. The clarity, precision and rich detail in each frame help give life to the narrative. Gone are the days of poor edge resolution and inconsistent brightness.
▲ Samsung Onyx enhances Pixar’s Lightyear (top) and Soul (bottom) with outstanding contrast, making dark scenes more vivid and immersive
The Onyx screen can lend its brightness and clarity to applications other than movie screenings — live sports, concerts, gaming events and corporate presentations, for example. The ability to host alternative content empowers theaters to diversify their offerings and create new revenue streams without compromising the premium viewing experience.
▲ A live concert seen on Onyx, demonstrating the display’s color accuracy and sharp details
Space — More Room for Comfort and Flexibility
Comfort and spatial design are also key factors that set premium cinemas apart. Much like the distinction between economy and business class on an airplane, the seating experience can make or break a theater’s appeal. As theaters evolve into premium auditoriums, spacious, comfortable seating becomes essential.
Onyx helps enable this transformation. Unlike traditional projectors which require separate projection rooms and large setups, Onyx’s cinema LED technology maximizes the available space in a theater. This allows cinemas to optimize their auditorium spaces and provides more flexibility to install specialized seating like larger recliners or dining tables.
Furthermore, new Onyx (ICD) offers flexible scaling options, allowing screens to be customized to fit the dimension of each auditorium, ensuring the best use of space without sacrificing picture quality and comfort.
▲ Pixar’s Elio screened on Samsung Onyx featuring luxury seating for a premium cinema experience
With Onyx, every seat in the theater offers a reliable high-quality visual experience — no edge distortion or resolution loss — ensuring that the entire audience is fully immersed in the story. The combination of optimized space, enhanced comfort and stunning visuals elevates the overall cinema experience.
▲ Samsung Onyx empowers theaters to deliver a premium cinema experience and luxury dining for customers.
Consistency — Reliable Viewing Quality With Smarter Management Tools
We go to the theater to be transported — to lose ourselves in the world of a story. But experiences in traditional projection-based theaters can deteriorate with picture quality that varies depending on the age and condition of the equipment.
Samsung’s Cinema LED screen, on the other hand, features an ‘Auto Calibration Solution’ that automatically adjusts color consistency across each module, ensuring optimal picture quality — not just at installation, but every step of the way through ongoing maintenance.
Onyx also offers the industry’s first and longest 10-year warranty for cinema LED,2 raising the bar for long-term reliability in cinema technology.
▲ Samsung Onyx, an out-of-this-world cinema LED display
Since debuting the world’s first Cinema LED screen in 2017, Onyx has built strong partnerships with major global film studios, earning trust and recognition across the industry. As the leader in Cinema LED technology, Samsung is committed to pushing boundaries — so the magic of the movies is always seen exactly as it was meant to be.
With Samsung Onyx, the future of premium cinema is brighter, clearer and more immersive than ever before.
1 Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) is a consortium of major film studios established to define specifications for an open architecture in digital cinema systems.
2 Based on internal research and publicly available information. Onyx includes a standard three-year warranty, with options to extend coverage up to 10 years.
