TV manufacturing technology is taking giant leaps with the introduction of OLED and QLED technologies to improve the overall performance levels and enhance visual experiences. By the end of 2021 and beyond, you will hear terms like ‘Mini LED and Micro LED’ frequently used in TV manufacturing technology. Let us comprehend what these technologies are and which of the two is the better option for your TV.
Before discussing Mini and Micro LED, let us skim through the LED basics to understand the concept better.
LED Basics
LEDs have become commonplace now, with vehicles coming fitted with LED lights to enhance visibility at night. While LEDs have tremendous usage possibilities, they remain simple in their operations. All that LEDs have is a specialized semiconductor that glows when you pass electricity through it. As the current flows through it, the LED glows. The moment you arrest the flow, it switches off and goes dark. This feature is extremely useful for manufacturing TV backlights, especially as you have advanced technology like organic LEDs that display bright colors and perfect blacks. Thus, you have OLEDs leading the way in TV display technology today.
However, things are poised to change with the introduction of Mini LED, and Micro LED technology that eliminates all the shortcomings of OLED to produce exquisite displays worth going miles to see.
Mini LED – Tiny but powerful enough to make a big difference
As the name suggests, Mini LEDs are smaller than the traditional LEDs, with the diodes measuring around 200 microns (approximately 0.008 inches). The advantage of having smaller LEDs is that it allows TV manufacturers to pack more of them in the same area. Thus, a full array backlit TV can have thousands of mini LEDs behind the LCD panel. While providing better illumination, it also offers the scope to have a hundred or more discrete dimming zones.
The conventional LED TVs have no more than a dozen or two dimming zones. The advantage of having more dimming zones is that it allows for controlling the backlight better. Thus, you have better whites, deeper blacks, and less of the halos caused by the dimming zones spilling over into the high contrast areas. Automatically, it ensures better HDR performance and brings the LCD-based Mini LED TVs much closer to OLEDs, currently the undisputed leader in TV display technology today.
The best part of it all is that incorporating mini LEDs in TVs costs considerably less than making the quantum leap to OLED TVs. So you can enjoy picture quality as close to OLED as possible but without breaking the bank.
Among the Mini LED TV manufacturers, you have TCL leading the pack with reasonably-priced models. However, Samsung is also gearing up to introduce mini LED TVs, and rumors are rife that LG might follow suit very soon.
Micro LED – Tinier than Mini LEDs. Hence, are they better?
Though micro LEDs are much smaller than mini LEDs, with sizes as small as 50 micros (0.002 inches), the TV display technology is vastly different. The minute size of micro LEDs makes them 1/100th the size of a conventional LED. Thus, it is just about equal in size to a single pixel in conventional TVs. That makes it interesting because it offers micro LEDs a chance to compete with OLED technology on a more even keel than mini LEDs.
Micro LEDs come clustered in triplets or RBG, where each cluster is a single pixel allowing it to be lit up for whichever color or brightness level you want. It is also possible to switch it off completely, similar to OLEDs. Micro LEDs differ from the conventional LCD-LED TVs in this aspect because they can offer true blacks and infinite contrast, an aspect not possible with the LCD-LED TVs, even the Mini LED TVs.
If you think that the micro LEDs can outsmart the mini LEDs, it can surprise you that they can do the same to OLEDs. Micro LEDs can achieve brightness levels up to 5000 nits, around five times the peak luminance levels attained by the premium OLED displays. As a result, micro LEDs address the primary and only nagging concern of OLEDs, screen burn-in.
Micro LEDs are inorganic particles and hence differ in composition from organic LEDs. They have different chemical and electro-luminescent properties. Micro LED pixels do not retain static images over time as OLEDs do. Therefore, they should last longer without color degradation, the primary bane of OLEDs.
Mini LED Vs. Micro LED – The Comparison
From the above discussion, micro LEDs are better than mini LEDs in almost every aspect. However, the available Micro LED TVs today have gigantic screens measuring 146 cm. The Samsung Wall is one such example. In addition, Sony, LG, and TCL have showcased similar gigantic models.
Samsung is tweaking the technology for manufacturing micro LEDs needed to fit the 4K resolution. As a result, Samsung has succeeded to an extent in reducing the screen size of the Wall from 146cm to 110cm. In the coming months, the technology could improve, paving the way for reducing the micro-LED TV screen size.
The Pricing Comparison – Which is more affordable?
As of date, Micro LED TVs are outside the reach of the average TV buyer. So instead of investing massive sums of money in a 4K Micro LED TV, people would prefer to go for better resolution like 8K TV sets in the 88 to 98-inches screen size.
Verdict
Micro LED is the technology for the future. Until the TV screen size reduces or the prices come down, Micro LED TVs would not have many domestic takers. On the other hand, Mini LED TVs are comparatively affordable. Though micro LED TVs are undoubtedly better, they are exorbitantly expensive. Besides, this technology is not yet entirely available on domestic TVs. The day these TVs become affordable, they will swamp the market like nothing else before it.