What’s Eclipsa Audio? I’m not too sure that I could really tell you.
Here’s what I do know about it. That it’s an immersive audio technology that will be available on all of Samsung’s TVs. Otherwise I’m a bit stumped.
Neither Google nor Samsung have done a job about explaining or promoting Eclipsa Audio and I’m flummoxed as to why. The press release was meagre in terms of supplying any details about it. There’s a dearth of information about a feature that you would assume could change the experience of listening to audio on TVs.
Although it’s just been announced, that’s the time when you would think it’s a good opportunity to explain not just what your technology is, but the benefits of it, and why people should pay attention to it.
I first heard about this technology back in 2023 when I first went to Korea to see Samsung’s 2024 products, but they had as much to say about it then as they do now. In 2024 when I asked them for any progress about this immersive audio format, it wasn’t part of the presentation that they put together, despite being given a preview of its 2025 products, Eclipsa Audio wasn’t even mentioned.
Eclipsa Audio is intended to be a rival to Dolby Atmos, but right now it seems to be about content creation on YouTube rather than having films and TV series in the format. It’s no surprise that Google-owned YouTube will be the place where you’ll be able to listen to tracks in the Eclipsa Audio format, but that’s the only place you’ll be able to hear it. Considering its supposed rivalry with Dolby, it’s odd to keep it to just one platform instead of pursuing many.
This will help content creators and it will help spread the use of immersive audio – or at least make it more accessible – but Eclipsa Audio has the whiff of a technology that might soon find itself in Google’s extensive graveyard because people haven’t heard of it and aren’t using it. And if that does happen, then Google and Samsung will only have themselves to blame for it. The announcement made ripples rather than tidal waves, and I’m not sure anyone has cause to be interested in it. For now at least.
