In 2019, Samsung unveiled The Wall Home Theater system. Essentially, this is not a traditional TV, but a premium modular video wall. The cost of such a system ranges from $15,000 to $1,000,000, which immediately makes it a product not intended for the average consumer. By 2026, the price of such a TV had dropped to $220,000. This was due to poor sales; consumers were not willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for such video systems.
The main reason for the high price is the use of Micro LED technology. This is a new direction in display development that is still in its early stages. The Wall’s unique feature is its modular design: the screen is assembled from individual panels, and the more modules used, the larger the screen size becomes. In the maximum configuration, up to 64 modules are used.
Technical specifications of The Wall modules
A single module has a diagonal of 36.4 inches, a width of 80.6 cm, and a height of 45.3 cm. However, the resolution in the first models was only 960×540 pixels, which seems rather modest by today’s standards. The pixel size reaches 0.84 mm, which is noticeably larger than that of conventional TVs. By 2021, The Wall received new modules, and the TVs achieved 2K and 4K resolution when using a full set of modules.
Using just one or even four modules makes little sense. For example, a four-module configuration provides a screen of about 75 inches with Full HD resolution, but the cost is approximately $60,000. By comparison, a standard Samsung TV with a similar screen size and 4K resolution costs around $3,000.
Generations of The Wall
There were a total of 5 generations of The Wall
First generation: The Wall IW008J — 2019, a modular panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The Wall IW008R — 2019, a modular panel with a refresh rate of 100/120 Hz. These were the first video walls with low resolution and were very expensive.
Second generation: The Wall Luxury (2019–2020) — premium panels for corporate and home use.
Third generation: The Wall 2020 (MicroLED 2020 Series) — updated MicroLED panels with 4K and 8K support, improved color reproduction, and HDR.
Fourth generation: The Wall 2021 (IW002 / IW006 / IW012) — modular panels with various screen sizes, 2K–8K, and different configurations based on the number of modules.
Fifth generation: The Wall Professional 2022–2023 — panels for commercial and professional installations, including extra-large 8K video walls.
The difference between the 008J and 008R models as a panel, the 008R modification supports a frame rate of 100/120 per second. 008J only 60 frames per second
Table of Samsung The Wall models
| Model | Release Year | Screen Size (Diagonal) | Resolution | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IW008J | 2019 | 36.4-inch module (up to 146–292 inches) | 960×540 per module | 60 Hz refresh rate, modular design |
| IW008R | 2019 | 36.4-inch module (up to 146–292 inches) | 960×540 per module | 100–120 Hz, improved motion handling |
| The Wall Luxury | 2018–2020 | 146–292 inches (modular) | 4K–8K | Premium series, enhanced color performance |
| MicroLED 2020 Series | 2020 | 146–292 inches | 4K–8K | Updated MicroLED, HDR support |
| IW002 | 2021 | 73–146 inches | 2K–4K | Entry-level modular solution |
| IW006 | 2021 | 146–219 inches | 4K–6K | Mid-range configuration |
| IW012 | 2021 | 219–292 inches | 6K–8K | Large-scale professional setups |
| The Wall Professional | 2022–2023 | 146–292 inches | 4K–8K | Commercial installations, improved brightness and color |
The Home Theater Dimensions
Samsung offers to assemble The Wall home theaters from the following number of modules.
- 16 modules (4×4) – there will be a screen with a resolution of 4K, 146 inches, weight 184kg., Power consumption 2.4 kW
- 36 modules (6×6) – there will be a 6K resolution screen, 219 inches, weight 414 kg., Power consumption 5.4 kW
- 64 modules (8×8) – there will be a screen with a resolution of 8K 292 inches, weight 756kg., Power consumption 9.6 kW
How many color shades does The Wall have, color depth of The Wall
An interesting question, if we turn to the technical specifications on the panel, then Samsung indicates 16 bits, software processing 20 bits. But on a site in the US, the Samsung The Wall commercial displays section indicates the Bit Depth 18 Bit parameter and not a single mention of 20-bit software processing.
For televisions, it is customary to indicate the color depth in bits per channel (color), QLED televisions have a color depth per channel 10 bits. 3 colors blue, red, green. If in terms of the entire image in the QLED TV, the color depth is 30 bits.
And, what we have at The Wall is 16 or 18 bits, there can not be one channel, no display can show such a number of shades. Then, the color depth of 6 bits goes to three channels, it is also unlikely, 6 bits are very small. And what Samsung writes about the color of the image. Almost nothing, no specific information, only general phrases
Great color
True details come from true color shades. The microLED technology developed at Wall delivers inherent color quality, double the color clarity and wider color gamut than conventional LED displays, creating vibrant but natural colors for an impressive visual experience.
But there is no source information with which LED displays the image quality is compared. Compared with conventional LED TVs, they have a color depth of 8 bits per channel. The screen supports 24 bit color depth.
From all the information we can conclude that the color depth in The Wall is less than 10 bits. Most likely about 8 bits. But where does 16 bit come from? If you think about it, then modern processors process information of 32 bits or 64 bits. The Wall GPU of course uses a standard architecture. And since support for HDR is declared, it is necessary to provide video processing with HDR and a color depth of 10 bits. Otherwise, we may assume that the display does not support HDR.
To increase the speed of image processing and reduce the load on the processor, since it still needs to do scaling. It is more advisable to work with a bit rate multiple of 16. But the processor software only takes into account for example 8 bits or 10 bits. The remaining bits may not be counted.
Well, it turns out that The wall can process streaming video with 16 bits of color depth if necessary, only extra bits will be simply deleted. 16 bit is just how deep a color panel can receive streaming video. And the panel itself, visually can show colors on the screen is comparable with standard LED screens, but it can be a little better.
Color Mapping Example from The Wall Brochure
Advantages and disadvantages of Samsung The Wall
Advantages – panel dimensions, but the same Sharp has long been producing video walls using LED technology. The price of one 70 inch panel is about $ 8,000. The use of Micro LED is not yet an advantage. This is more marketing, microLED still needs to be finalized.
Disadvantages – the price, very few are willing to pay, hundreds of thousands of dollars for such a product. Again, compare the 146-inch The Wall video wall; it costs about $ 200,000; 16 modules are needed to create such a wall. . Sharp video wall assembled with four modules sized 70 inches, will have a size of 140 inches costs about $ 35,000
