In theory, the production of mini-LED backlight TVs should be more expensive than typical low-zone or edge-lit TVs given the number of additional LEDs, the increased difficulty in production (also size and quantity related) and the additional cost of TFT complexity and structure. As volumes increase and process improves those costs should decrease, but in the interim TV set designers and manufacturers will adjust a number of parameters to bring set costs to what marketing believes the consumer will find attractive. The primary way this can be done, other than building the devices in-house (which does not always mean cheaper), is to vary the number of LEDs and zones.
In typical backlight systems, a number of LEDs are connected together as a ‘string’, which means they operate as one. They all dim to the same amount and can be driven by a single driver circuit. His allows for an amount of control over dark and light areas on the display, but if an image has a sharp demarcation between light and dark that happens in the middle of the ‘string’, the system will have to decide what level to dim, which will affect one part of the image positively and one part negatively. By adding more and smaller LEDs, the control over such image conflicts can be increased further, allowing the image processor to dim individual LEDs or smaller strings, giving the image higher contrast and less light ‘bleed’.
The problem is that there is also a cost balance that needs to be maintained, and set manufactures are in an envious position at the moment in that they are not required to give information about how many LEDs or zones are in mini-LED TVs. Some do give hints and even specifics, but even disclosing the number of zones or ‘strings’ gives little information as to the size of the LEDs or how many are used, all of which are essential when comparing set performance and price. This allows TV set brands to use the term ‘mini-LED’ backlighting as a generic term, and adjust the backlight BOM to suit marketing.
Chinese TV manufacturers, particularly TCL (000100.CH) have not surprisingly, offered mini-LED backlit TV sets at low prices, potentially absorbing some of the additional cost of the mini-LED systems in lower margins, while other (Samsung) are pricing their mini-LED TV sets at premium levels and promoting them as such. That said, while we are able to discern pricing for their new mini-LED TV line, the specifications as to the mini-LED backlighting has not been revealed, and the odd variations in the new set pricing seems to indicate that Samsung is adjusting the mini-LED backlight configurations to price, rather than increasing specs as the set features increase. While this is our assumption based on what we have been able to find out about pricing, when (or if) Samsung gives detailed specifications when the sets become available over the next two months, we will be able to confirm.
In typical backlight systems, a number of LEDs are connected together as a ‘string’, which means they operate as one. They all dim to the same amount and can be driven by a single driver circuit. His allows for an amount of control over dark and light areas on the display, but if an image has a sharp demarcation between light and dark that happens in the middle of the ‘string’, the system will have to decide what level to dim, which will affect one part of the image positively and one part negatively. By adding more and smaller LEDs, the control over such image conflicts can be increased further, allowing the image processor to dim individual LEDs or smaller strings, giving the image higher contrast and less light ‘bleed’.
The problem is that there is also a cost balance that needs to be maintained, and set manufactures are in an envious position at the moment in that they are not required to give information about how many LEDs or zones are in mini-LED TVs. Some do give hints and even specifics, but even disclosing the number of zones or ‘strings’ gives little information as to the size of the LEDs or how many are used, all of which are essential when comparing set performance and price. This allows TV set brands to use the term ‘mini-LED’ backlighting as a generic term, and adjust the backlight BOM to suit marketing.
Chinese TV manufacturers, particularly TCL (000100.CH) have not surprisingly, offered mini-LED backlit TV sets at low prices, potentially absorbing some of the additional cost of the mini-LED systems in lower margins, while other (Samsung) are pricing their mini-LED TV sets at premium levels and promoting them as such. That said, while we are able to discern pricing for their new mini-LED TV line, the specifications as to the mini-LED backlighting has not been revealed, and the odd variations in the new set pricing seems to indicate that Samsung is adjusting the mini-LED backlight configurations to price, rather than increasing specs as the set features increase. While this is our assumption based on what we have been able to find out about pricing, when (or if) Samsung gives detailed specifications when the sets become available over the next two months, we will be able to confirm.
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