TV

A couple of months ago we reported that Korean QD developer Hansol Chemical commissioned SGS and Intertek to test some of TCL's QLED TVs, finding that these do not in fact contain any Cadmium or Indium. Hansol  has now filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in the US against TCL, saying that it falsely advertised its TVs as QD-LED TVs.

In its FTC complaint, Hansol mentioned three TCL TV models: C755, C655 and C655 PRO. This will be interesting to watch.

During CES 2024, several device makers announced new TVs and monitors based on Samsung Display's QD-OLED panels. It seems as if market acceptance for SDC's high-end QD panels is on the rise:

• Samsung Odyssey 2024 gaming monitors (27" 1440p 360Hz / 32" 4K 240Hz / 49" 5120x1440 240Hz QD-OLED
• Samsung S95D, S90D, S85D (QD-OLED and WOLED TVs)
• Gigabyte AORUS 2024 QD-OLED monitors (27", 31.5", 34" QD-OLEDs)
• HP Omen Transcend 32 gaming monitor (32" 240Hz 4K QD-OLED)
• Dell Alienware AW2725DF / AW3225QF monitors (27", 32" QD-OLEDs)

TCL announced what it says is the world's largest miniLED backlit QD display - the QM8 (Model 115QM89). This 115" TV offers 20,000 local dimming zones, TCL's AIPQ Ultra processor,  a 6.2.2 channel speaker system, and the company's High Brightness Ultimate LED backlighting, which can produce up to 5,000 nits of peak brightness.

TCL did not yet disclose the price or availability of the 115" QM8.

Value Electronics hosted their annual TV shootout, checking several high-end TVs to see which model provides the best images.

There were six TVs tested in the 4K TV category, two QD-OLEDs, one OLED, and three mini-LED LCDs. The best TV was Sony's A95L QD-OLED TV. The runner-ups were Samsung's S95C (another QD-OLED TV) and LG's G3 OLED (with an LGD WOLED Panel).

TCL announced a new flagship QLED 4K TV, the X955 - a miniLED backlit TV, that offers over 5,000 local dimming zones, and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits - probably the brightest consumer TV ever.

The X955 is powered by TCL's AIPQ 3.0 processor, and is available in either 85-inch or 95-inch in size. TCL did not yet reveal the expected price.

Samsung Display demonstrated its latest QD-OLED displays, in TV format (77-inch) and also in monitor formats. SDC's QD-OLED panel display won the SID Display of the Year award, and is indeed an impressive display. The company's latest QD-OLED panels offer new OLED materials, new optimized algorithms, and a maximum brightness of over 2,000 nits.

Besides the 77-inch TV, Samsung also showed 34-inch QD-OLED monitors, and 49-inch QD-OLED monitors with a ultra-wide aspect ratio (32:9).

DSCC says that QD displays (QD-OLED and QD-LCD) will continue to grow, with area growth of nearly 15% in 2023. The largest application for QD displays by far is TV, with 15.6 million QD-enhanced TVs to ship in 2023.

Regarding QD-OLED panels, DSCC notes that the only producer today is Samsung Display, that has a converted LCD line with plans to reach a capacity of 45,000 8.5-Gen substrates per month by 2025. The company did not yet commit to further investments. QD-OLED production, by area, will reach 1.7 million square meters in 2025. QD-LCD panel area will reach 23 million square meters in the same year.