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Samsung’s second-generation Onyx cinema display has arrived in Korea, bringing brighter blacks, smoother motion and larger LED canvases to moviegoers. The new screen has made its first appearance at Lotte Cinema Sillim’s Gwang-eum LED theatre — a sign that LED cinema screens are continuing their global push into premium venues.
What’s different about the new Onyx?
Samsung has refined its Onyx lineup with higher refresh rates, automated calibration and multiple size options suited to modern multiplexes. The updated Onyx ships in four sizes — 16 feet, 33 feet, 46 feet and a massive 66 feet — and delivers native 4K resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. It supports HDR content and peaks at around 300 nits of brightness, while Samsung’s auto-calibration tool helps theaters maintain consistent color and contrast without complex manual tuning.
Why theaters are adopting LED screens
LED-based cinema displays like Onyx promise deeper blacks and richer color than traditional projection, especially in controlled HDR workflows. Imagine walking into a dark theater and seeing scenes rendered with cinema-grade contrast and near-instant pixel response — motion looks crisper at 120Hz, and HDR expands the perceived dynamic range. That experience is exactly what exhibition chains are chasing as streaming-quality visuals raise audience expectations.
- Sizes: 16 ft, 33 ft, 46 ft, 66 ft
- Resolution: 4K native
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
- Brightness: Peak ~300 nits
- Features: HDR support, auto calibration tool
Lotte Cinema has already rolled out multiple LED locations; the Sillim venue becomes the company’s seventh LED site. Jinha Jeong, Senior Manager at Lotte Cultureworks’ Operations Innovation Team, praised the display’s rendering: “Samsung Onyx enables sophisticated color expression and reproduces true blacks, earning highly positive feedback from audiences.”
What this means for audiences and exhibitors
For moviegoers, the most noticeable changes will be richer color reproduction and smoother motion during fast action sequences. For exhibitors, the benefits include simplified calibration and a modernized offering that competes with premium home displays and other theater chains. Given the widespread adoption of the first-generation Onyx, Samsung’s second-gen model is likely to appear in more cinemas worldwide as chains refresh auditoriums.
Whether you’re a cinephile curious about tech upgrades or an exhibitor planning a renovation, Samsung’s refreshed Onyx points to a future where LED walls become a standard for high-end cinema experiences.
Source: sammobile
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