DTS, the U.S.-based audio technology company, has introduced a new solution that can enhance viewing and help consumers become more emotionally affected by the content they see on smart electronic products.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the company’s senior vice president Geir Skaaden unveiled the “Neo2:5,” an audio solution embedded in Samsung Electronics’ premium smart TVs that can convert any two-channel audio to 5.1 surround sound, equivalent to what movie theaters offer.

This system is in Samsung’s 2012 LED 7000 and 8000 Series Smart TVs, and will be in all of the tech giant’s TV models next year, said Jea Yoo, vice president of DTS Korea.

No other audio tech, such as Dolby, offer such a distinctive solution to boost product features and optimize the home theater experience, DTS noted.

It is, simply put, a “smart sound processing that automatically takes place all in the TV,” Skaaden said.

Samsung’s TV competitors such as LG Electronics have also shown interest in using this technology in their products, Yoo added.

However, the company noted that it can only maintain a quality 5.1 audio conversion as long as the original sound sources are good.

Also, given that home theater surround-sound system setups are expensive and rare in Korea compared to in the U.S. where they are commonplace, DTS will most likely encourage consumers to use its technology via smart TV sound bars.

Sound bars, which are less expensive than surround-sound audio systems, can be equally as effective in delivering movie theater-quality sound, Yoo said.

DTS was first used in the 1993 blockbuster movie “Jurassic Park” directed by Steven Spielberg and distributed by Universal Pictures, both of which earlier invested in the audio company for the development of high-tech cinema surround sound.

More than 85 percent of Blu-ray Disc movies are in DTS high-definition sound format. Korea, with its leading display and mobile phone makers, is DTS’ second-largest market, accounting for more than 20 percent of its total revenue, after Japan, according to Yoo.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)