Samsung Launches 2011 Home Theatre Lineup

Samsung Electronics America Inc. announced U.S. pricing and availability for its 2011 lineup of Blu-ray home theatre systems, sound bars and standalone AV receivers.

For more information visit: www.samsung.com


Unedited press release follows:

Samsung Takes Home Entertainment Systems to the Edge with Stunningly Designed 2011 Lineup

Award-Winning Products Showcase First-to-Market 3D Sound Plus Technology with Built-in 3D and Smart Features

NEW YORK–Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced the U.S. availability and pricing of the company’s new line of home entertainment systems that deliver beyond a traditional home theater experience. With 10 models across three categories – Blu-ray home theater, sound bar and standalone AV receiver – Samsung is meeting the evolving demands of consumers for a smarter, more immersive home entertainment experience. The new products provide a theater-like experience while enabling easy connectivity to other devices in the living room.

In 2011, key innovations across the home entertainment system category include:

* The new 3S home entertainment design philosophy – symmetric, slim and slot-in – that delivers unique yet functional form factors, including multiple CES 2011 Innovations Design and Engineering award winners with the HT-D6730W, HW-D7000 and the HW-D550.

* First-to-market 3D Sound Plus technology that dynamically generates a 3D sound experience and enhances 3D video content as it pops out of the screen.

* The lineup is packed with smart features, including easy search and discovery of content with the new to 2011 Smart Hub, multimedia sharing across devices with AllShare and a hassle-free network setup with Samsung’s One Foot Connection.

* New advanced audio technologies, including Crystal Amplifier Plus and Super Tweeter with Wideband Amp that ensures a premium audio experience.

“Consumer expectations of their home theater systems have evolved. They now demand a full home entertainment experience that delivers more than just pristine audio and fully immersive HD video,” said John Revie, senior vice president of Home Entertainment for Samsung Electronics America. “The availability of Samsung’s new home entertainment systems represents our commitment to delivering the best experience across multiple devices. We are offering more choice to consumers without sacrificing the premium quality that they have come to expect from Samsung.”

Samsung HT-D6730W

3S Design Philosophy Combines Elegance with Functionality
In 2011, Samsung is taking home entertainment design to new heights with the introduction of its new 3S design philosophy – symmetric, slim and slot-in. The new home entertainment systems embody this philosophy with stylish and award-winning form factors.

Honored with a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award, the HT-D6730W features a high-end midnight black, glossy finish to complement the full line of Samsung’s stylish HDTVs. The 7.1-channel system consists of six speakers: a wide center channel speaker for clear dialogue, a large but unobtrusive passive radiator subwoofer, two tower super tweeter speakers that include embedded height channel speakers and two surround speakers. The speakers operate without protection grilles, improving sound clarity and giving them a stylishly retro appearance. The HT-D6730W sports Samsung’s innovative Swivel Head Speakers, which create a clean look while delivering an immersive, vertical surround sound experience.

Samsung maintains its leadership in technology and innovation with the introduction of the world’s first 7.1 channel AV receiver system with Blu-ray playback, 3D viewing and Internet services in one integrated component. The HW-D7000 features a brushed metallic finish and a high-gloss panel that hides an integrated Blu-ray load-in slot. When the Blu-ray door is opened, the display moves downward to unveil the load-in slot. The sleek touch screen panel enables the user to press icons on the display to navigate the system. Included in the package is a single remote to control the receiver and Blu-ray player.

Expansion of 3D and Smart Features Take Home Entertainment to the Next Level
As the market leader in smart TV and 3D, Samsung has integrated smart and 3D features into more of the home entertainment system lineup than ever before.

While most 3D products only support 3D picture, Samsung’s home entertainment systems support the complete 3D experience with the introduction of the first-to-market 3D Sound Plus technology. 3D Sound Plus does for audio what the 3D processor and emitter do for video by creating the most immersive 3D experience yet. Viewers feel like they are part of the action as 3D Sound Plus technology dynamically generates 3D audio to complement and enhance the 3D video playing onscreen. For example, a rocket ship blasting off will not only leap out of the screen, but 3D Sound Plus will create 3D depth sound – vertical surround and horizontal sound waves – to make the viewer feel like the rocket ship is lifting off from their living room. Built into the included 3D Blu-ray player, the 3D Blu-ray home theater portfolio features integrated support for 3D Sound Plus.

To further enhance the total 3D experience, Samsung added its proprietary audio digital signal processing (DSP) algorithm to enhance 3D depth sound. Consumers experience the maximum three-dimensional effect as the audio DSP analyzes the depth of sound signals and can be easily controlled by using the “3D Sound” button on the remote control.

But 3D is just one component of a smart home entertainment experience. As more devices and services enter the living room, consumers want to be able to seamlessly access and share content across these devices. Samsung has introduced new Smart features to the majority of Blu-ray home entertainment systems to allow consumers to do just that. These features include access to Smart Hub, integrated AllShare, and easy connectivity to the Internet with built-in or Wi-Fi-ready access and Samsung’s new One Foot Connection across the entire Blu-ray home theater line.

Smart Hub builds on the successful launch of Samsung Apps in 2010. It is a simple menu system that empowers people to connect, discover and enjoy a wide range of content. Key features of Smart Hub include:

* Search, which allows users to easily search for content on the TV and via Samsung Apps or other online services.
* Your Video, which delivers recommendations based on a user’s viewing history.
* Samsung Apps, the world’s first HDTV-based application store, now with more than 200 apps for download in the U.S. Samsung Apps offers a range of paid and free apps that help people connect to their passions – whether in sports, entertainment, information, games or social networking.

Samsung also included two HDMI inputs on select models – the HT-D6500W and HD-D6730W. The HDMI inputs enable consumers to easily connect digital devices like HD camcorders, HD set-top boxes or gaming consoles to the home entertainment system. Once connected, the system is able to deliver undistorted sound and picture quality for an unsurpassed immersive entertainment experience.

Samsung HW-D550

New Audio Technologies Deliver Pristine Sound Quality
Premium audio quality continues to be of paramount importance to Samsung. The 2011 home entertainment systems embody this commitment to quality with the introduction of new and enhanced technologies that produce crystal clear sound with enhanced detail and clarity.

Samsung continues to build on its line of industry-leading sound technologies that protect the integrity of sound and ensure it is as close to the original quality through multi-feedback and adaptive control technology. This year, Samsung extended that innovation with the introduction of Crystal Amplifier Plus to the entire line of home entertainment systems. This new technology filters sound distortion and noise levels multiple times to deliver the purest sound ever – even at high volumes.

Samsung is also bringing its proprietary Super Tweeter with Wideband Amp to premium models, including the HT-D6500W and HT-D6730W, to deliver outstanding detail and clarity of sound in high frequencies. Super Tweeter expands the range of high frequencies up to 50kHz so that listeners can experience robust sound quality even at high frequencies.

The 2011 home entertainment system line will support the latest premium HD sound innovations, including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Pricing and Availability

Series/Model          ESP                    Availability
HT-D6730W               $799.99               March 2011
HT-D6500W               $649.99               March 2011
HT-D5500               $499.99               March 2011
HT-D5300               $399.99               March 2011
HW-D7000               $599.99               May 2011
HW-D551               $499.99               March 2011
HW-D550               $499.99               March 2011
HW-D451               $349.99               March 2011
HW-D450               $349.99               March 2011

*Prices are suggested retail prices and are subject to change.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, digital consumer electronics and home appliance products, including HDTVs, home theater systems, MP3 players, digital imaging products, refrigerators and washing machines. A recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology, Samsung is the HDTV market leader in the U.S. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.