Sony is not announcing new TVs at CES 2024 but the company gave FlatpanelsHD a unique preview of its next-generation miniLED technology planned for an upcoming flagship LCD TV.Update: Article has been updated with two videos, shot by FlatpanelsHD, of Sony's new miniLED LCD technology.
With TCL moving to 5000 miniLED dimming zones in its latest LCD TVs, Sony is gearing up to counter with upgraded miniLED LCD technology aimed at improving picture quality and reducing power consumption. During an event last year in Tokyo, Japan, attended by FlatpanelsHD, Sony's display engineers showcased and discussed the technology for the first time. Unfortunately, we are not yet able to share information on the actual product or sizes. However, we can share some video of the new technology, information and thoughts ahead of the official announcement. While Sony did not specifically say that it is coming in 2024, there were enough indications that we fully expect it to happen this year.Sony's next-gen miniLED LCD tech
Sony's display engineers argued that effective local dimming, miniLED or otherwise, in an LCD TV is primarily determined by 3 components:Sony believes it masters these disciplines better than any other, even if its LCD TVs do not always have the highest number of dimming zones among TV makers. In 2024, Sony will transition to a new 22-bit miniLED driver (10-bit current + 12-bit PWM, while the LCD panel remains 10-bit). The company claims that this driver is the world's smallest, enabling the incorporation of more dimming zones. The 2024 miniLED LCD TV will feature more dimming zones and while Sony is not disclosing the exact number of zones, it did say that each TV size will have more zones than the equivalent Z9D/ZD9, which significantly raised the standard for local dimming back in 2016. Of course, there have been advancements in the field since then.
- The TV processor, responsible for dividing the input signal into LCD and LED backlight data (sometimes referred to as the "dimming algorithm").
- The driver, tasked with converting the LED backlight data into analog signals.
- The (mini)LED backlight, which transforms the electrical signal into visible light (then regulated for light/color levels by the LCD panel).
Sony's 2024 miniLED LCD technology revealed. Read on. Photo: FlatpanelsHD
Sony compared its 2024 prototype to last year's X95L miniLED LCD model, saying that the 2024 model is 1.5x brighter as of the Tokyo demo but the final result will depend on tweaks. Despite this, overall power consumption is reduced by 10-15%, and in Eco mode there is a 30% reduction (2023's X95L is rated as G on EU's energy label, but Sony aims for a better energy class this year). This efficiency improvements are attributed to the new LED driver, which regulates the miniLED zones for every picture frame. As for the official name of the 2024 flagship TV, it is anyone's guess at this point (perhaps Z95M? Or X95M?).Two demonstrations
In Tokyo, Sony had two demonstrations of its 2024 miniLED LCD technology. The first demo had one half of the LCD panel removed, revealing the effect of the miniLED zone dimming backlight on the exposed section – something Sony had never publicly demonstrated before. We were not allowed to film this part of the demo. In this first demo, Sony's 2024 TV was compared to one of Samsung's flagship miniLED LCD models ("Neo QLED") – also with one half of the LCD panel removed – and a significant difference was observed in bright scenes. While the majority of Samsung's miniLED dimming zones were running at full steam in this very bright scene, Sony's miniLED zones carefully and gradually intensified and dimmed in sync with the picture content, which should translate to better light control in the picture you see at home.
2022 Sony X95K (right). Bloom around bright objects is one of the drawbacks of miniLED zone dimming. Blooming can be reduced by increasing the number of zones. Photo: FlatpanelsHD
In the second demo, Sony's 2024 TV was compared to the Sony X95L (2023 miniLED LCD) and Sony A80L (2023 WOLED). In part of the demo, the previous two only showed the dimming effect of the miniLED zone (no image from the LCD panel was displayed), and the OLED TV displayed the actual content for reference. In other words, we found that many miniLED zones were individually dimmed and boosted. Here, for the first time in a raw zone dimming system, the higher resolution of the 2024 miniLED system means more zones, so you can see the brightness details from a real image (displayed on an OLED TV for reference) for the first time. Now we can identify some. . For example, the bright white center Sony logo on a black background appeared simply as a white blob on the 2023 X95L, but when viewed with raw miniLED zone dimming on the 2024 model (center TV in the video) was legible to some extent. For example, imagine an LCD TV with 3000 dimming zones. In this example, the miniLED backlight has a resolution of approximately 40x74 (= 2,960 zones), which is much lower than the resolution of the 4K LCD panel in front of it (3,840x2,160 = 8,294,400), but at least good enough to reproduce. is expensive. It shows brightness details in their raw form and helps reduce blooming (or halos) in the actual displayed image. Check out two video demonstrations that FlatpanelsHD filmed during our demo in Tokyo.Left: Sony X95L (2023) showing miniLED zone dimming. Center: 2024 miniLED LCD technology (prototype) showing miniLED zone dimming. Right: Sony A80L OLED showing image content for reference. Video: Flat Panel HD
2024 Sony miniLED LCD technology (prototype) shows dimming miniLED zones on half of the screen. Video: Flat Panel HD
Another part of the demo looked at actual image content displayed on all three TVs, primarily HDR bright or high contrast scenes. The 2024 prototype showed a significant improvement in image quality compared to his 2023 X95L, and in very bright scenes he outperformed the A80L OLED. Also read: Published: How 5000 Zone miniLED Backlight Works (TCL X955)We also connected power meters to each of the three Sony TVs to see the impact on power consumption. This was done to demonstrate that the reduced power consumption of the 2024 model does not compromise the effectiveness of the miniLED backlight. By the way, if it's successful, Sony plans to announce some very cool related features in 2024.A big leap forward for Sony's miniLED LCD
The demo focused on dimming advances in the miniLED zone, making it difficult to assess the final image quality with mixed content. Nevertheless, our observations during the relatively short demo were encouraging and suggested a major step forward for Sony's mini-LED LCD. However, we are not convinced that this technology will upset the power balance or come close to the performance of the best OLED TVs on the market, such as Sony's own A95L QD-OLED. Also read: Review: Sony A95L (QD-OLED)FlatpanelsHD then had the opportunity to take a look at the final product and bring you all the details about the new TV, which is expected to be Sony's miniLED LCD flagship model in 2024, while last year's A95L QD-OLED will be available in 2024. will be taken over.
A first look at Sony’s next-generation mini-LED LCD TV technology – latest edition
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