Jordan O'BrienThe Samsung QLED TVs that were announced at CES 2017 are the first sets in the world to support 100% colour volume, an important milestone in the age of HDR.
Samsung received the 100% colour volume certification from Verband Deutscher Elktrotechniker (VDE), which noted that the TV had the ability to provide a consistently high quality picture to viewers.
Colour volume, which is the exacting standard of colour expression, measures two elements of the TV with three-dimensional space – the colour gamut and the brightness level. The colour gamut looks at the largest amount of colours that can be displayed physically. The peak brightness represents the display’s maximum brightness level. The larger the colour gamut and the higher the brightness, the bigger the colour volume of the TV. The QLED TV’s expanded colour volume supposedly results in more realistic, accurate and vibrant HDR images as the director or content producer intended, in both bright and dark scenes.
‘100 percent colour volume’ presents colour that can be expressed regardless of the different levels of brightness. For example, a leaf can be perceived as different coluors, from yellowish green to turquoise, depending on the brightness of the light. According to the certification, the Samsung QLED TV can capture even the subtlest differences in colour pertaining to brightness – something that is not easily depicted in traditional 2D colour space.
Despite Samsung’s claim to be able to accurately reproduce the DCI-P3 colour space with 100% accuracy, the TV still lags behind those boasting Dolby Vision technology. That’s because Dolby Vision utilises the Rec.2020 colour space, which encompasses slightly more than 57% of the visible spectrum – significantly more than that of the DCI-P3 colour space. Of course, comparing the Samsung TVs against those without Dolby Vision will lead to more accurate colours on the QLED sets.
Samsung’s QLED TV uses a new metal Quantum Dot material – which the company says made it possible for the TV to express a significantly improved range of colour and peak brightness with much greater detail compared to conventional TVs. The new Quantum dots also allow the Samsung QLED TV to express deep blacks regardless of how light or dark the scene is, or whether the content is played in a brightly lit or dark room. Samsung also says that the same level of performance should be consistent no matter the viewing angle.
“The ‘100 percent colour volume’ verification awarded to Samsung’s QLED TV signifies the excellence of our product and its revolutionary picture quality. As the global TV market leader for 11 consecutive years, we are thrilled to be leading the TV industry into a world of Quantum dot-powered displays featuring the best available picture quality,” concludes JongHee Han, executive vice President of the visual display business at Samsung Electronics.