Samsung Launches NextGen Cinema LED Screen

June 20, 2025 by guest author, Florian Rotberg

Seven years ago, Samsung planned to disrupt the cinema industry with Onyx LED, the world’s first DCI-certified cinema LED display. A first step into replacing projection. But the adaption of LED in cinemas has been disappointing so far, mainly because of massive investments into technology and structural improvements in theaters. Now, Samsung is renewing its commitment to transforming traditional projection-based cinemas with the launch of a new LED technology, content, and ecosystem partners.

Samsung Electronics launched its latest Onyx Cinema-LED (ICD model) for North America at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas and at CineEurope 2025 in Barcelona. The new Onyx supports frame rates of up to 120Hz at 4K resolution. The screen delivers HDR visuals with peak brightness levels of 300 nits (87.6fL), true black levels, and precise color accuracy.

The latest generation of Onyx Cinema LEDs has been further refined and, for the first time, features Harman JBL surround sound. The LED is brighter than the first generation and available in a variety of pixel pitches. It also offers four standard sizes for the first time:

• 5 meters: Ideal for boutiques and smaller theaters (pixel pitch 1.25 millimeters)
• 10 meters: The industry standard for premium theaters (pixel pitch 2.5 millimeters)
• 14 meters: A versatile format for a large-format cinema experience (pixel pitch 3.3 millimeters)
• 20 meters: A large-format solution for premium theaters (pixel pitch 5.0 millimeters)
• Custom sizes: Also available for larger venues upon request

According to industry gossip, at the launch of Onyx the black of the LED was “too black” for the makers of Starwars. They preferred the slighty toned down black of projection and even briefly banned the movie to be shown on the new Cinema LED.

The latest Samsung Cinema LED – first announced at Infocomm India 2023 in Mumbai – offers four standard screen sizes – 5, 10, 14 and 20 meters – along with additional flexible scaling options. This adaptability allows theaters to maximize their available spaces and present films in the largest possible format without compromising image quality.

Samsung Onyx comes with a total 10-year warranty – the industry’s longest warranty for cinema LED screens. This extended warranty is supposed to help lower the total cost of ownership and ensures that theater owners make a future-proof investment.

Deepening HDR Workflow With Pixar Animation Studios

Samsung and Pixar Animation Studios will continue to cooperate in developing HDR cinema content. Pixar is mastering its films to offer the best visual quality on Cincema LED and has done so again for its new animated film “Elio” . The movie premiered globally on June 18 – making it available in 4K theatrical HDR format compatible with Samsung Onyx.

In line with ongoing efforts to expand the theatrical exhibition of HDR films, Pixar will continue mastering future films in DCI HDR that is supported on Onyx screens. Pixar plans to install the new Onyx display at its Emeryville, California campus. This screen will be used during production to evaluate HDR color and brightness, conduct content quality tests and host demonstration screenings for filmmakers.

Potential to change the cinema industry

LED in cinema has the potential to disrupt a conservative industry. But the timing of the launch of the first generation was unfortunate. Cinemas around the world had just recently digitized their theaters and were still paying off the huge invest. In addition the pandemic hit and it took several years for cinema operators to recover from the massive business interruptions.

Maybe, now the time is ready for a second attempt. But to make cinema LED a success it requires much more than just replacing projectors and screens with LED. New LED-first theaters need to be designed and build which are able to make use of the technology’s benefits.