‘Eclipsa Audio’ Immersive Format Arrives On 2025 Samsung TVs and Soundbars
Back
in 2023, Samsung and Google
announced that the two companies would collaborate on a project called Immersive Audio
Model and Formats (IAMF).
Samsung described IAMF as “a complete open-source framework for 3D audio, from
creation to delivery and playback.” Now, the technology is being put to work in
a new audio format called Eclipsa Audio, which is being integrated into Samsung’s
2025 TV and soundbar lineup. Samsung
Electronics America made the announcement at CES 2025, calling Eclipsa Audio “a
groundbreaking 3D audio technology” that would enable content creators to “craft
dynamic, immersive audio content which can seamlessly playback on Samsung
TVs and soundbars.” According to Samsung, the integration of Eclipsa Audio
into the company’s 2025 AV products “brings truly captivating 3D audio and
visual experiences closer to consumers than ever before.”
What
is Eclipsa Audio?
Essentially,
Eclipsa Audio is like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, in that it allows creators to
adjust audio data, such as “the location and intensity of sounds, along with
spatial reflections,” according to Samsung. If the content includes an audio
track encoded with Eclipsa
Audio, and the playback gear can decode and reproduce the audio data, the user
should experience immersive, three-dimensional audio, similar to what we have
come to expect from Dolby and DTS. But Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are proprietary
systems; both content creators and AV manufacturers must pay in order to use
and support them. Eclipsa Audio’s biggest differentiator is that it is an
open-source system, so it is free for anyone to use.
Eclipsa
Audio dynamically adjusts audio levels for different scenes, ensuring optimal
sound quality. Additionally, it offers customization features that allow
listeners to tweak the sound to their preferences, helping to ensure that every
listening experience is personalized and unique. An Eclipsa Audio
bitstream can contain up to 28 input channels, which are rendered to a set of
output speakers or headphones. These input channels can be fixed, like a
microphone in an orchestra, or dynamic, like a helicopter moving through a
sound field in an action movie. Eclipsa Audio also features binaural rendering,
which is essential for mobile applications when delivering immersive audio
through headphones. Finally, the new audio technology supports content creation
across consumer devices, enabling users to create their own immersive audio
experiences.
—
Arm Newsroom
We
are proud to lead the industry with the integration of Eclipsa Audio into our
2025 TV and soundbar lineup. This innovation opens new possibilities for
immersive audio experiences and reinforces our commitment to shaping the future
of home entertainment.
—
Taeyong Son, Executive Vice President and Head of the R&D Team, Visual
Display Business, Samsung Electronics
Samsung’s
2025 TVs, from the Crystal UHD series to
the premium flagship Neo QLED 8K models, will all support Eclipsa Audio.
Samsung boasts being the number-one global TV brand for 18 years running, and
it’s no
surprise that the company is the first to integrate a new audio technology that
it helped develop (alongside Google). But even though Samsung is a powerhouse
company in the world of TV manufacturing, Eclipsa Audio won’t take off unless
other brands begin supporting it too. So why is Samsung putting so much effort
into developing an open-source technology? It all has to do with the licensing
costs associated with Dolby Atmos.
Dolby
Atmos has become a household name among those with even a casual interest in
home entertainment. For years now, manufacturers of TVs and home theater audio
gear have had no choice but to pay Dolby’s fees if they want to offer support
for Atmos and other proprietary Dolby technologies, such as Dolby Vision HDR.
In the case of Dolby Vision, most major players in the TV industry (including
LG, Sony, TCL, and Hisense) all pay up in order to offer an enthusiast feature
that some consider crucial to maximizing image quality. Samsung is the odd one
out, choosing not to support Dolby Vision HDR. Instead, Samsung helped to
develop HDR10+, an open-source alternative to Dolby Vision that claims to offer
similar performance benefits. (Both systems rely on dynamic metadata to deliver
the most impactful high-dynamic-range video possible.) And now, Eclipsa Audio
is aiming to become the HDR10+ of audio. It’s an open-source alternative to
Dolby Atmos, just as HDR10+
is an open-source alternative to Dolby Vision. Competition in the TV
manufacturing industry is fierce at every performance level, and profit margins
are slim. If Samsung can save money by incorporating open-source technologies
like Eclipsa Audio and HDR10+ instead of paying fees to integrate Dolby Atmos
and Dolby Vision, doing so might make a difference to the company’s bottom
line.
What
about Google?
It
isn’t hard to see what Samsung might stand to gain by devoting resources to
develop Eclipsa Audio and integrate the tech into its vast lineup of AV
products, but what’s in it for Google? The motivation for Google may be as
simple as improving the audio quality available on YouTube — both the
traditional version of the popular video site, and the YouTube TV streaming
service that allows cord-cutters to ditch cable TV while maintaining access to
live TV, news, and sports. Starting this year, content creators will be able to
upload videos with Eclipsa Audio tracks to their YouTube channels. At first,
only the more tech-savvy content creators with sophisticated audio rigs will be
likely to experiment with the format, but there reportedly will be AI tools available
to convert standard audio tracks into immersive Eclipsa Audio tracks. If it catches on, Eclipsa Audio might allow
YouTube viewers to experience the kind of premium, three-dimensional audio that
we normally associate with Hollywood movies. As soon as later this year,
YouTube viewers with 2025 Samsung devices
will be able to test the benefits of Eclipsa Audio for themselves.
Samsung
and Google are working with the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA)
to create a certification program for devices using Eclipsa Audio, and the hope
is that other AV manufacturers will embrace the format. The existence of a certification
program should ensure consistent
audio quality across brands and
device categories.
We
believe that Eclipsa Audio has the potential to change the way we experience
sound. We are excited to see how the creator community uses it to create new
and innovative audio experiences.
—
Jim Bankoski, Vice President of Engineering, Google Chrome
It
remains to be seen whether Samsung and Google can get enough momentum behind Eclipsa
Audio for it to make an impact on the AV industry. There’s no denying that
Dolby has more than a decade-long head start with Dolby Atmos. Not only is the technology
widely embraced by filmmakers and device manufacturers, it also enjoys
significant brand recognition among end-users. Will Eclipsa Audio’s
royalty-free appeal be enough to make the tech world take notice, or will 3D
audio continue to be dominated by Dolby in 2025 and beyond? Share your thoughts
in the related forum thread below.