TCL's new Mini-Led panels are likely to hit hard in their competition with Oled

Oled remains the market leader in terms of image quality on our televisions and monitors so far, and this is reflected in our comparison with a large majority of Oleds occupying the top of the ranking. The lines are moving quickly, however, with Mini-Led models getting better every year, pushed by TCL, Hisense and even Sony recently. THE Bravia 9 from the Japanese manufacturer has thus managed to get ahead of certain Oleds thanks to an exceptional light peak that the Oled models are currently incapable of reaching, and the TCL C89B much less expensive and offers excellent value for money.

W-HVA panels, the new Eldorado of Mini-Led TVs?

However, Mini-Led technology coupled with VA panels still suffers from some shortcomings compared to Oleds. In terms of contrast of course (OLED has the advantage of being able to turn off each pixel of the panel individually), but also in terms of blooming – halo effect that we observe around luminous objects on a dark background – and viewing angles which remain much more limited. The giant TCL seems to have an answer to these problems with the use of a new type of W-HVA panel which would benefit from the good contrasts of VA panels with the excellent viewing angles of IPS panels.

These new panels will be present on the manufacturer's top of the range, notably the C9 and C8 (found today under the references C955 and C89) with the added bonus of better power management. local dimming (local contrast management) and a new design of the backlighting system which offers a reduction in blooming to the image. Last but not least, these HWVA panels will also benefit from a matte coating to avoid reflections, which tickles LG and especially Samsung in this area.

Tempting promises and an arrival from 2025

The manufacturer's entry-level and mid-range televisions will also be equipped with these new panels, but in a less advanced version without anti-glare simply called HVA. On paper, Mini-Led would therefore seriously compete with Oled technology by catching up on the aspects mentioned, and by adding resistance to any burning phenomenon (burn-in) and above all much greater brightness, which remains significant in HDR. So many good points associated with an often very interesting quality-price ratio and we therefore look forward to verifying TCL's claims through complete tests in our labs as soon as possible. We will probably have to wait until spring to see the 2025 range arrive in France.