Samsung ONYX replaces projectors with LED – and it feels like the future of cinema

The cinema of the future is here.

Samsung has taken the wraps off its all-new LED-powered ONYX cinema screen – the first of its kind in Europe.

Express.co.uk flew out to ARENA Cinema in Zurich to check-out the futuristic cinema technology first hand ahead of its public launch tomorrow morning.

Dubbed Samsung ONYX, the new system replaces the good old fashioned silver screen with a pixel-packed LED display.

There’s no projector at the back of the movie theatre, instead Samsung ONYX uses the same LED display technology that powers top-of-the-line smartphones like iPhone X and Galaxy S9.

And it looks breathtaking.

In a nutshell, imagine the best widescreen LED TV on display in your branch of Currys PC World – only stretched to fill an entire wall in the cinema.

Samsung ONYX is not a single LED screen, but in fact 96 individual panels seamlessly slotted together to make-up the 10.2m wide and 5.4m high display.

Express.co.uk watched upcoming blockbuster Pacific Rim Uprising to put the new screen through its paces.

The 4K HDR ONYX screen bursts with vibrant colour, sharp images, eye-wavering detail.

Unlike traditional set-ups, which use a projection beam, ONYX is made up of 24 million LEDs.

These LEDs light-up individually when needed, and produce no light when they’re not.

As such, Samsung ONYX is capable of true black – plunging the auditorium into total darkness during the credits, instead of the muggy grey-black usually seen at the movies.

And when it’s not pitch-black, Samsung’s gorgeous LED technology is capable of 500nits of brightness. That’s about 10 times brighter than screens which use a projector.

It’s seriously impressive stuff – and is even capable of playing HDR and 3D content, too.

However, throwing out century-old projection technology did bring some serious challenges.

In traditional cinema set-ups, the sound system is kept directly behind the screen so it’s at the correct level to fire towards the audience.

As you’d expect, this isn’t possible from behind a solid wall of 96 LED panels.

To solve the problem, Samsung worked with audio brand Harman Kardon to create an algorithm that adjusts the sound beamed out by the speakers kept above the LED display so it still sounds like it originates behind the centre of the screen.

And while there’s no light bouncing off the screen in a Samsung ONYX theatre, the audio system uses the solid wall of LED panels to bounce sound-waves towards the audience to create a richer surround sound experience.

Managing Director and owner of Imaculix AG, Andy W. Bohli worked on the project, redesigning the movie theatre and packing in more seats now there is no projection beam overhead to worry about.

He said: “We are proud to ring in the next revolution in cinema technology with our partners Samsung Electronics and Arena Cinemas.

“We installed the first laser projector in Switzerland in-house two years ago, and now we are taking the next logical step for the best possible movie theatre experience.

“Our self-developed Cingerine Digital Signage System will also provide information and advertising on the screen here.”

Following the launch of the ONYX screen in ARENA Theatres in Zurich, there are now three of these LED-powered cinema experiences in the world, so you’ll have to travel if you want to experience this awesome cinematic set-up.

But that could change in the future.

Samsung boss Daniel Périsset told us the company is “already looking forward to the use of the screens in other movie theatre”.