Samsung didn’t talk about Eclipsa Audio at CES 2025

Before CES 2025 kicks off in Las Vegas, Samsung announced that its spatial audio collaboration with Google will be available on it 2025 TVs and sound tapes. Finer details about the platform were notably absent from that announcement, with the company noting only that 3D Eclipsa Audio will be available this year for YouTube content creators. There was also the general explanation that the platform will allow creators to “adjust audio data such as the location and intensity of sounds, along with spatial reflections, to create an immersive 3D sound experience,” according to the press release.

If that sounds like Dolby Atmos to you, that’s what I’m guessing Samsung and Google are trying to replicate here. And if that’s the case, if Samsung really wants its own compelling audio standard, there’s a backstory here that’s worth revisiting. In 2023 Samsung and Google first discovered their spatial audio ambitions. At the time, Samsung said its research division was working on 3D audio from 2020. and the first fruits of the collaboration are the Open Source Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF) adopted by the Alliance for Open Media (AOM) in October 2023. .

There’s also the fact that Samsung doesn’t offer Dolby Vision on its TVs. Instead, the company uses HDR10+, an open source and fee-free platform for encoding HDR metadata. And in this audio message from 2023. Samsung Research’s WooHyun Nam explained that 3D sound technology should also be open to everyone. “Providing a comprehensive open source framework for 3D audio, from creation to delivery and playback, will enable even more diverse audio content experiences in the future,” he said.

Samsung currently supports Dolby Atmos on its soundbars, including its flagship Q990 series and the recently announced QS700F. It seems that the company no longer wants to pay to license Atmos from Dolby. And to continue offering immersive 3D audio on its products, this collaboration with Google aims to build the alternative. It’s worth noting that AOM includes Amazon, Apple, and Netflix among its members, in addition to Google, Samsung, and others. The band’s AV1 video format was introduced in 2018. and is now used on Netflix, YouTube, Twitch and other sites.

The strange thing about all this is that no one at Samsung wants to talk about Eclipsa Audio. I attended multiple events and product demos the company is holding this week and the response when I asked about it was either “we haven’t been told anything” or “let me see if I can find someone who can talk about it.” The latter, of course, never manifested “someone” or follow-up. I even asked for a representative to tell me if the company wasn’t willing to discuss specifics and never heard back about it.

The most detailed explanation I’ve seen this week came from Armwho is apparently also working on the development of Eclipsa Audio alongside Samsung and Google. The chip designer said that Eclipsa is a multi-channel audio surround sound format that is built on top of IMAF. Vertical and horizontal channels will create immersive sound to make movies, music and TV shows more immersive in your living room. Again, that’s exactly what Dolby Atmos already does.

Arm further explained that Eclipsa Audio can automatically adjust the sound based on the scene and that there will be a degree of customization for users. The bitstream can contain up to 28 input channels, which can be fixed (instruments or microphones) or dynamic (vehicles in movie scenes), with support for LPCM, AAC, FLAC and Opus codecs. Binaural imaging is also available for headphones and earphones, and the new technology will be available to content creators using consumer devices in their workflow.

So far, Samsung and Google have only listed YouTube as the platform or service where Eclipsa Audio content will be available. If the duo really wants to compete with Dolby Atmos, that list needs to expand quickly. Plus, Dolby already has the brand recognition and widespread adoption in both the audio and home theater categories for Atmos. It’s even available in cars.

Samsung said in its pre-CES announcement that it and Google will work with the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) to develop a program to certify devices that support Eclipsa Audio. So, it looks like a solid foundation has been laid for bringing this technology to devices, starting with Samsung’s own TVs and soundbars from 2025. But, as we saw with Sony 360 Reality Audio and the early days of Dolby Atmos Music, it can take time to build a compelling library of content. That means Samsung will probably have to keep reminding us that Eclipsa Audio is a thing, even when it has nothing more to say.