Friends who often pay attention to the TV and technology circles should have frequently seen Mini LED recently. Many TV manufacturers such as Hisense, TCL, and Xiaomi have begun to layout Mini LED products, and on the PC side, display manufacturers have also started to launch monitors equipped with Mini LED technology. Meanwhile, there have been numerous reports about Apple’s new iPad Pro adopting Mini LED technology. It can be said that Mini LED is likely to become the protagonist of the display industry in 2021.
So what is so special about Mini LED that has led many manufacturers to invest in it? What improvements can it bring to traditional LCD TVs? Can it bring LCD TVs back to the high-end market and allow supporters to shout “LCD will never be a slave”? Today we will delve into Mini LED technology.
Why Mini LED is Related to LCD
Those who are not familiar with Mini LED may find it puzzling. Isn’t Mini LED a new display technology? What does it have to do with traditional LCD TVs?
Indeed, many people think of MicroLED, which is known as the best 2D display technology, when they hear Mini LED. Moreover, since Mini LED has always been referred to as a transitional technology before MicroLED, it is natural to assume that Mini LED and MicroLED are both pixel-level self-emitting display technologies. In fact, Mini LED can be used as a self-emitting display technology, but it can also serve as a backlight for LCD TVs. However, since the size of Mini LED chips is mostly around 200μm, this size is already very small compared to traditional LED chips, but compared to the 1-10μm size of MicroLED chips, it still seems too large. This means that the current Mini LED self-emitting display technology cannot be directly used in TVs, tablets, and other devices, though it is still suitable for outdoor large LED billboards.
Therefore, Mini LED technology is primarily used as a backlight source for LCD panels in the consumer field, and it should be referred to as Mini LED backlight technology. We all know that traditional LCD TVs do not emit light on their own, so they require a backlight source to illuminate the LCD panel. Common backlight sources include CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) and LED backlights, while Mini LED backlight essentially miniaturizes traditional LED backlights.
Advantages of Mini LED Backlight Technology
Brighter Screen Brightness
We mentioned earlier that Mini LED backlight essentially miniaturizes traditional LED backlight, and smaller LED chips mean that more chips can be accommodated in the same size. For example, the currently popular TCL Thunder 75R635C and Xiaomi TV Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition, the Thunder 75R635C has 3840 Mini LED chips packed into its 75-inch size, while the Xiaomi Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition has an astonishing 15360 Mini LED chips.
The first advantage of having more chips is higher picture brightness. The Thunder 75R635C has a peak brightness of 1100nit, while the Xiaomi Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition reaches an astonishing peak brightness of 2000nit. Higher brightness means a wider dynamic range. Currently, HDR TVs require a maximum brightness of at least 1000nit. Of course, in addition to a brighter picture, Mini LED also provides a more uniform picture brightness.
More Backlight Zones
To achieve purer blacks and higher contrast, LCD TVs need to rely on zoned backlighting to control the on/off state of the backlight source when displaying black images. The more zones there are, the higher the light control accuracy and the higher the achievable contrast. This is why more and more LCD TVs have started to use chessboard-style multi-zone backlighting in recent years.
The second advantage of having more LED chips is that it can easily achieve thousands of backlight zones. The Xiaomi Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition has achieved 960 backlight zones. For reference, the more expensive Sony KD-85Z9G has only 720 backlight zones.
Although with the support of Mini LED backlight technology, LCD TVs can achieve thousands of backlight zones, there is still a certain gap compared to pixel-level light control of OLED. However, this gap is already quite small. If you are not watching large areas of black with small areas of white (such as the rolling credits after a movie), it is almost impossible to notice a significant difference.
Current Disadvantages of Mini LED TVs
Of course, Mini LED technology is not perfect. Currently, TVs using Mini LED technology still have some issues. The first is the power consumption problem. The two Mini LED TVs mentioned earlier divide 16 chips into one zone, controlled by one control IC. This means that 960 backlight zones require 960 control ICs, and with tens of thousands of chips, the most direct impact is power consumption. Therefore, we can see that the Xiaomi Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition has a power consumption of 700W, and even the Thunder 75R635C, with only 240 backlight zones and 3840 chips, requires 480W of power.
Having thousands of chips brings not only high power consumption but also heat generation. For example, the Pro Display XDR launched by Apple in 2019 had only 576 chips, yet it generated a high amount of heat, leading to numerous heat dissipation holes on the back of the display. Now, TVs using Mini LED backlight technology have even more chips, which implies a significant amount of heat generation.
Of course, the biggest issue with current Mini LED backlight technology may still be the tuning of the Mini LED backlight. The large number of chips and backlight zones puts a significant strain on the algorithms and chip computing power of various manufacturers. Some reviews of the Xiaomi Master 82″ Supreme Memorial Edition pointed out that when displaying fast-moving objects, edge shaking occurs. It should be noted that the response time of Mini LED is in the nanosecond range, so the problem is likely with the control algorithm, as it is necessary to control over ten thousand chips and a total of 960 zones simultaneously. Therefore, in the future, the tuning of Mini LED backlight may become a dividing line between different products.
Can LCD with Mini LED Challenge OLED?
OLED TVs, as a high-end display technology, possess advantages such as self-emission, pixel-level light control, wide viewing angles, high color gamut, fast dynamic response, and infinite contrast. The flexibility and transparency of OLED make curved screens and under-screen fingerprint recognition possible, which is why OLED has shone in the mobile phone market. However, compared to this, OLED has not performed well in the TV market, mainly due to the burn-in and brightness issues, which are further amplified in TVs.
First, let’s talk about the well-known OLED burn-in issue. Burn-in occurs due to different luminous times of each pixel, leading to inconsistent aging times, which is a side effect of pixel-level light control in OLED. Although manufacturers are working hard to solve the burn-in problem, it is clear that the issue remains unresolved. Pixel shifting, automatic brightness limiting, and accelerated screen aging through “screen scrolling” cannot effectively solve the burn-in phenomenon.
The reason why the burn-in problem is more pronounced in TVs is that mobile phones have a shorter lifespan and upgrade cycle, usually around 3 years, while TVs are often kept for much longer. How many people still have TVs that are 10 years old? The more expensive OLED TVs have a shorter lifespan than cheaper LCD TVs, which is something consumers cannot accept.
As for the brightness issue, OLED TVs have always lagged behind LCD TVs with their own backlight sources. The light-emitting points of OLED are very fragile, and the brighter they are, the faster they age. Although some OLED TVs can now reach peak brightness above 800 nits, their overall brightness is still abysmal compared to LCD TVs, especially Mini LED backlit LCD TVs. Of course, since mobile phones are usually used closer to the eyes, the brightness requirements are lower.
Moreover, not only brightness but OLED also has an issue of unstable voltage at low brightness, causing some OLED TVs to perform worse in dark detail than high-end LCD TVs.
In contrast, Mini LED does not have to worry about lifespan and brightness. The thousands of backlight zones have narrowed the gap with OLED. Mini LED is said to be a transitional technology before MicroLED, but currently, it seems that Mini LED is a technology capable of replacing OLED as a high-end television display technology. I believe this is also why Apple has consistently adhered to LCD and vigorously promoted Mini LED in large-size products.
Mini LED May Be a Good Opportunity for Domestic Manufacturers
In the past, foreign manufacturers have always been in a leading and dominant position in LCD and OLED technologies, while domestic manufacturers have been in a catch-up position. Although with Samsung and LG announcing the cessation of LCD production, LCD is now the domain of domestic manufacturers, it is still a technology that others have played with and has reached its ceiling. This is why domestic panel companies like JD and others no longer add investments in LCD panels. Meanwhile, high-end OLED technology is still led by LG and Samsung.
However, the fatal flaws of OLED have remained difficult to overcome, leading manufacturers to focus on other new display technologies in recent years, such as MicroLED and QLED. This also means that domestic manufacturers have a chance to overtake on a curve, as everyone is on the same starting line with new technologies.
Therefore, we can see that in recent years, domestic display manufacturers have made significant investments in new display technologies like MicroLED. As the most advanced backlight technology in the display field, Mini LED has naturally become a key area for global home appliance manufacturers. Domestic manufacturer TCL can be said to be the earliest to layout Mini LED and is the first to achieve mass production of Mini LED TVs. The most affordable Mini LED TV, the Thunder 75R635C, also comes from TCL. In addition, Hisense, Xiaomi, and Skyworth are also actively investing in Mini LED, indicating that in the promotion of Mini LED commercialization, domestic manufacturers are currently in a leading position.
Is Mini LED Worth Buying at This Stage?
I personally have high hopes for Mini LED TVs. If I had to choose between Mini LED TVs and OLED TVs, although I am an LCD supporter, I would unhesitatingly choose Mini LED TVs.
However, even though I am optimistic about Mini LED TVs, I do not recommend everyone to buy them at this stage. After all, the entire Mini LED industry is just beginning, and the current products still have certain technical shortcomings and prices have room to drop further. So I suggest everyone wait and see the Mini LED products launched by various manufacturers this year. For example, Hisense has confirmed that its U7 series will adopt Mini LED technology this year, and Skyworth will also launch Mini LED TV products this year. Of course, if you want to experience it first-hand and can tolerate some current imperfections of the new technology, the TCL Thunder 75R635C priced at 7999 yuan may be a cost-effective choice.
In short, 2021 may be a year of Mini LED technology, and the TV industry in 2021 should be quite exciting and worth looking forward to.
Source: Pacific Computer Network
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