I do n’t wish the terminus “ OLED killer whale . ” It ’s been beaten to death , and is now middling much clickbait . Only once , late , I apply the terminal figure to a tv set , mentioning it only to stoke discussion .
But I think I have found a real likely OLED killer . Sony showed it to me .
During a late visit to Sony ’s main office in Tokyo , I was shown a showing prototype , and I have n’t check anything like it before . Turns out , Sony has been crop on RGB miniskirt - LED for three age now . Having get a line it , I can tell you : If there was ever going to be an OLED killer — at least in the premium television distance — this is it . It ’s a biz - changer .
What is mini-LED?
If you ’re unclear on how RGB mini - LED technology works or do n’t yet fuck why these TVs are so nifty , or if you ’re shout out , “ But Caleb , did n’t Hisense already announce this ? ” … lease ’s catch up and dig up into why this is of import .
Mini - LEDTVs improved on veritable LED TVs by shrink down the size of the LED backlight . LED and mini - extend video have always used LCD panels , but the big improvements we ’ve seen to LCD video have been to the backlight technology — like processing and dim zones and luminance top executive — so we started calling them “ LED TVs . ” Now that mini - LED is out , we call them “ mini - LED TVs . ”
By making the LED backlights flyspeck , TV manufacturers have been able-bodied to cram more of them in a smaller amount of place and break down the grid of backlights into more numerous and smaller geographical zone . In most cases , the benefit have been higherbrightness , full black levels , well contrast — what we love to see when calculate at a television receiver — and adept efficiency . All of this became usable with fewer of the annoying distractions of regular light-emitting diode TVs , such as bloom , halo , and obvious backlight transitions — which can keep us from being fully immersed when watching a movie .
A nerveless aspect about miniskirt - LED : It did n’t be much to start make . Only the backlight and processing ( the brains behind the surgical operation ) had changed , so the tv set could be made using existing production . That allow mini - LED to follow down in price apace , and democratized premium picture quality .
There are many reasons to bonk miniskirt - conduce , however like regular LED , it has a haunting helplessness : the colouring of the mini - LED light .
The white light conundrum
LCD TVs have always exercise by skin white light through a colour filter . The purer the clean brightness level , the easier the color filter can do its job to hand over a beautiful picture . However , it ’s too difficult to get pure livid light from an LED , so television makers had to settle on using blueish LED or mini - LED to shine on carmine and immature quantum dots — a combination that bring home the bacon that overnice , pure white light . These TVs are call “ QLED TVs ” — the Q stands for “ quantum dots ” — and they exercise gravid .
However , there ’s a problem with a white backlight : It ’s seeable when it leaks through an LCD gore . It results in milklike or grey blacks , and stimulate nimbus around bright physical object on glowering backgrounds . It makes getting shadow detail in otherwise pitch shot - black scenery hard to pull off . And , because the color filter has to make for so heavily , it ’s also grueling to get expanded color gamut and color brightness . Our eyes love colors and they in spades bask sparkling smartness .
RGB mini - lead address these problems by do away with the reliance on blue light-emitting diode and the livid light they create in partnership with quantum dots . When the backlight raise independent red , green , and blue colors , there are some central benefit . Backlight bleeding , blooming , and halo is repress and hard to see . When watching the TV , you ’re more pass to the picture than the backlight that ’s helping to create it . There ’s also a light load on the LCD jury ’s color filter ; the less piece of work it has to do , the morebrightnesscan come up through .
The RGB future is here
This is where Sony ’s RGB mini - LED technology comes in . With today ’s announcement , we now get it on that aggregate production of these RGB mini - LED displays will startthis year . We ’re belike looking at RGB mini - go television receiver from Sony in 2026 . When that happens , I cogitate theOLED TVstory starts to shift .
Many enthusiasts have been wondering what a Bravia 10 might count like . I might be wrong , but I think it could be an RGB mini - LED telly — and I could n’t be more excited .
Why am I wave around the “ OLED - slayer ” termnow ? Why am I now talking so much about Sony ’s RGB miniskirt - LED without also talking about the RGB mini - LED that Hisense has already announced and will probably come to market with this year ?
rent ’s talk about the “ OLED slayer ” matter first . The only TV engineering that could gravel back OLED was one that got black grade , white luminousness and color brightness , and color pureness / coloring material gamut up to OLED levels — or at least , perceptually up to OLED levels . It would also need to have awesome off - slant viewing , an expanse consistently dominated by OLED .
However , it is n’t just about picture timber . The real OLED killer will do all of that in a wide range of size — including up to 98 or 100 inch — and do it for less than OLED .
Sony ’s RGB mini - LED tech can do all of that in my opinion . I think it will be able-bodied to punch up beyond the 77 - in CRT screen size without whirl into super - expensive pricing territorial dominion . Providing characterisation timber that rivals OLED in all mode that matter , while also costing less — that ’s the magic formula .
Let ’s bring Hisense into the conversation . It ’s going to be first , and will put down claim to receive the first RGB mini - LED TV on the market . When its 116 - inch monster tv set starts come to showroom , home theaters , and maybe even some live rooms , it will belike be showered with congratulations . ( I ’ve see a prototype of that telly in activity , albeit briefly , and it is exceedingly telling . )
Sony’s magic recipe?
What we have n’t talked about enough , however , is howhard it is to make RGB mini - LED backlighting workwell .
movie a screen showing a big yellow flush with bright green leaves . Both the yellow blossom and green leaves are serviced by the same backlight zone . This requires some serious decisions that expect quick execution . You have red , green , and blue primary colour to work with as a light source , and a people of colour filter . Do you make the backlight chickenhearted and use coloring filtering to get the green for the folio ? Do you make a green backlight and expend colouration filtering to get the yellow for the flower ? Which method is more efficient , and how is that determination made in material - meter ?
When I ask Sony ’s organize these query , they did n’t allow for the magic formula , but did say that ’s why they have been work on it for eld and why it wo n’t be come out until 2026 . Sony is n’t concerned in being first — they just want to be the best . ( Sound familiar ? AhemApple . )
It turns out , the processing postulate is quite sly anddifficultto pull off . We ’re blab out about organize additive color - mixing with one deal and subtractive colour - making with the other . It ’s taking a really hard job and making it a whole lot harder . But if anyone has the processing chop to do it , it ’s Sony .
I was able to see Sony ’s prototype do that exact thing : a yellow flower and green leaves , handled by a backlight showing just one color . Sony ’s processing works , and very well . I was tout forth by that RGB mini - lead TV . You do n’t have to take my word for it . Many other well-thought-of diary keeper and content creators get wind it , too , and will likely be providing likewise rave review article .
The race is on
Clearly , Hisense also has the processing necessitate to pull off RGB miniskirt - LED — I just do n’t know how well it work compared to the Sony TV . ( I desire to learn more when I visit Hisense soon . ) Beyond how well their processing will work , I also do n’t know their timetable for scaling RGB mini - LED technical school down to normal - sized TVs . We can likely carry some smaller sizes ( perhaps a 65 - in ? ) in 2026 , because that ’s how Hisense run .
What we do know : Hisense will be competing directly with Sony . The slipstream ison . We already have something exciting to look fore to in 2026 , with a giant - sized appetizer coming in 2025 , courtesy of Hisense . Now it ’s just a thing of seeing how things stimulate out . I ’d be surprised if at least one other stain did n’t toss its name in the RGB mini - leave ring as well .
Regardless , OLED now has a substantial contender in the premium television receiver outer space . It will likely continue to make headway honor for years to come , but OLED wo n’t be the slam - dunk winner for best television set tech it once was .
That ’s a honest matter . Technological progress is what we need to stoke competition because when trade name compete , consumers succeed . That ’s what has me so excited about RGB miniskirt - lead .
