Why TCL’s Mini LED Technology Outshines Foreign OLED Innovations

For those who want to keep up with the latest trends in technology, perhaps they will pay attention to the annual CES exhibition (International Consumer Electronics Show), where major manufacturers “compete for attention”. Chinese brands have gradually emerged from being unknown to becoming highlights, refreshing many people’s perceptions.

One particularly outstanding domestic brand frequently appears in foreign bloggers’ explanation videos due to its strong capabilities: TCL, a domestic technology brand with a history of 40 years.

Recently,TCL launched a new product, the TCL X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen, which has once again stirred up a storm in the smart screen field. The Mini LED technology it employs has received unanimous recognition from the industry, and the excellent user experience meets people’s expectations for TCL smart screens.

What is Mini LED?

For ordinary users, the last time Mini LED gained widespread attention was at this year’s Apple Spring Conference, where Apple announced the new generation product iPad Pro, which uses a Mini LED screen with higher contrast and brightness, presenting images that are more vivid, making it the most eye-catching product at the Apple launch event.

Apple’s use of Mini LED in the high-end line seems to confirm that Mini LED is becoming a hot technology in the display industry. In addition to Apple, many manufacturers have also been focusing on Mini LED, with TCL being one of the earliest to research Mini LED, gaining recognition for its strength and achievements globally.

So what exactly is Mini LED? Why is it so sought after by so many manufacturers? What makes it superior to other screens?

About 20 years ago, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens emerged and were widely used in TVs, computers, and mobile phones. However, over time, their shortcomings gradually became apparent.

The structure of an LCD screen is like a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two pieces of glass, requiring a backlight. As a result, devices using LCD screens tend to be thicker, and LCD has always struggled to solve its low contrast (dark state) issue, while people’s demands for screens have become increasingly high, requiring them to be thin with good picture quality. Clearly, LCD technology was unable to meet these demands.

Meanwhile, OLED screens began to emerge and shone in the market.

OLED, also known as Organic Light Emitting Diode, can emit light on its own without needing a backlight, allowing the screen to be thinner. Each pixel can emit light independently, providing high brightness, good emission rates, and the ability to display pure black. It can also be curved, making it suitable for curved screens, quickly becoming the darling of the display industry.

However, while OLED has many advantages, it also has significant drawbacks.

Different colored pixel materials in OLED have varying lifespans, and it is also prone to the “burn-in” phenomenon. Burn-in occurs when a TV continuously displays a program with a logo for a long time, as the fixed logo position can cause pixel burning, resulting in ghosting, which severely affects visual experience.

Due to the short development time of OLED technology, the problem of extending its lifespan has not been resolved. It is acceptable for use in mobile phones, but not the best choice for large-screen TVs for manufacturers and consumers.

As a result, another display technology has emerged to address this situation: Mini LED technology.

Mini LED backlight technology refers to a technology that uses an array of LED chips with a size of about 100 micrometers as the backlight for LCD displays, employing local dimming design, which allows for adjustable regional brightness, high color accuracy, and higher contrast, achieving 8K display effects.

Compared to OLED, its advantages are quite clear:

Longer lifespan, no burn-in or ghosting;

Higher brightness, easily achieving over 1000 nits, with peak brightness reaching 3000 nits, which OLED currently cannot achieve;

Higher color gamut, with Mini LED color gamut reaching 157%, while OLED only reaches 130%, allowing for richer color reproduction.

Mini LED backlight technology not only significantly improves LCD performance and extends screen lifespan but also has cost and mass production advantages. Major manufacturers are entering the market, for example, Apple’s Pro Display XDR high-end monitor released in 2019 uses Mini LED technology. Additionally, brands like Hisense, Skyworth, Samsung, Konka, Lenovo, and Xiaomi have also released products using Mini LED technology.

It can be said that the future of the high-end display field is inseparable from Mini LED technology, which has become an industry consensus, and the earliest to layout this technology is our domestic brand TCL.

TCL – Leading the Mini LED Industry

TCL was established in 1981 and is a smart technology company.

TCL began laying out new semiconductor display technologies, processes, and materials early on. In 2009, it invested in Huaxing Optoelectronics, establishing China’s first high-generation panel line, breaking the long-standing monopoly of Japanese and Korean companies in semiconductor panel manufacturing. To date, TCL has established R&D centers, joint laboratories, and manufacturing bases globally, providing strong guarantees for product research and development and production.

This is why we often see TCL at exhibitions like CES, competing with manufacturers like Samsung and LG in well-known bloggers’ reviews.

Returning to the Mini LED field, TCL is also the first to enter the market and achieve mass production. It has the most comprehensive product lineup and the strongest supply chain.

At the 2018 IFA Exhibition (Berlin International Consumer Electronics Show), TCL showcased the world’s first Mini LED backlight TV. In January 2019, it showcased multiple Mini LED backlight TVs at CES, and by May 2019, it had achieved mass production of the 75 X10.

Meanwhile,TCL‘s latest release, the X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen, has once again achieved industry leadership in the Mini LED field.

The X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen is the world’s only OD Zero product, and the Mini LED chips it uses are also the smallest globally.

OD Zero refers to a mixing distance of 0mm, which is currently the direction of efforts for most manufacturers in Mini LED because the smaller the mixing distance, the thinner the screen can be. The thickness of the X12 screen is only 9.9mm.

The TCL X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen uses 96,000 micron-level Mini LED light sources, has 1920 zones, and is globally controlled by 24 neural network chips. Combined with current pulse technology, it can achieve peak brightness of 3000 nits; through multi-zone, high-density Mini LED backlight sources, and matching light shape algorithms and precise driving control technology, the X12 can achieve an ultra-high contrast ratio of 10 million:1.

Although many products in the same price range on the market also use Mini LED technology, the Mini LED used in the X12 is clearly superior in technology, with higher brightness, wider color gamut, and longer lifespan, achieving precise color reproduction.

X12 – Ultimate Sensory Experience

In recent years, major manufacturers have emphasized immersive experiences. What kind of smart screen can provide a better immersive feeling? In my opinion, a large screen, thin body, narrow or even borderless frame is a basic requirement, and in terms of auditory experience, it must also be extreme, making people feel as if they are there when they hear the sound.

The TCL X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen’s size and thinness need not be elaborated upon, with an 85-inch screen and a 9.9mm body, it is large enough and thin enough. In terms of auditory experience, it uses Onkyo’s 5.1.2 Hi-Fi audio system, a professional audio brand that provides users with a higher quality immersive sound experience.

The Onkyo 5.1.2 Hi-Fi audio system features the industry’s most channels with 25 sound units, combined with a large screen, making watching television at home feel like being in a cinema.

Imagine, when you sit at home and turn on TCL’s X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen to watch a Hollywood apocalyptic movie, giant waves come crashing in, seemingly right in front of you, and the sound of waves crashing is heard, approaching from afar, conveyed very realistically. This excellent audiovisual experience is something other televisions cannot provide.

In addition to the audiovisual experience, the X12 is also equipped with a 48-megapixel 3D ToF camera, making photos and video calls with friends and family incredibly clear. Coupled with this camera, the X12 also supports gesture control, such as raising a finger to pause, or making a peace sign to take a photo, allowing you to play and pause television anytime, anywhere without needing a remote control, which is quite convenient.

Those who have experienced the TCL X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen understand what it means to have an ultimate sensory experience.

Currently, in the industry, Mini LED is mainly used in high-end products. As the industry leader, TCL’s representative work, the X12 8K Mini LED Smart Screen, is exceptional. If you happen to have high picture quality requirements, value quality of life, or are a pure technology enthusiast, owning the X12 will not disappoint you.

Over the years, we seem to have formed a stereotype: foreign technology is more advanced, and only by buying foreign technology products can one achieve a higher quality of life. However, in reality, while we mock domestic brands for lacking innovation, many brands have been silently working hard, just like TCL in the display field over the years, which even impresses foreigners. So do not underestimate domestic products; time will ultimately prove everything.