TCL has launched its Vidrian Mini-LED TV panel technology at CES 2020 which is set to power its latest range of 8K TVs.
Vidrian Mini-LED fuses tens of thousands of backlighting LEDs and circuitry directly into the glass substrate of the panel. It boosts the possibilities of local dimming beyond ordinary LED TVs and should allow for more subtle shading and a better sense of depth to the image. TCL says their Vidrian panels also improve contrast, luminance and create longer lasting performance.
These 8K Mini-LED TVs will come in 65in and 75in panel sizes in the US and certain other markets globally with no prices available at present. The company has also promised the first 8K Roku TVs on the market some time this year.
At the same time, TCL has renewed its commitment to QLED TVs with the launch of three new series for 2020. Top of the line are the 65in and 75in 8K TCL X915 sets which support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos through built-in Onkyo speakers. They’re based on Android TV, feature automatically retracting cameras and are IMAX Enhanced-certified. They’ll be available in the US, Australia and Europe in Q2 2020.
If 4K is all you need, then the step down are the TCL C815 and C715 QLED TVs. The main difference between the two is that the C715 doesn’t feature Onkyo speakers. Both ranges support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and launch in Q2 2020 in the same regions as above. The C815 comes in 75in, 65in and 55in sizes while the TCL C715 has 65in, 55in and 50in options.
Key to TCL’s TV offering in 2020 is the charge to meet the next generation of gaming with many of its sets supporting 120Hz frame rates at 4K resolution. They can also perform with variable refresh rates to optimize the content on-the-fly to make sure both cutscenes and gameplay are rendered as native. Look out for the THX Certified Game Mode standard on certain models.
On the home cinema side, the TCL Alto 9+ was also launched. It’s a 3.1 channel soundbar certified as Roku TV Ready. Just plug your Roku device into the HDMI port and it will automatically configure and allow you to control your whole set-up with a single remote.
There’s also good news for current TCL TV owners too. Over-the-air updates in 2020 will improve Roku TVs with HDMI 2.1 features such as better eARC control.
Lastly, there was a quick slide at the TCL press conference showing off two of the company's pet projects which included a glance at a 5G foldable screen mobile phone. It looks the perfect, pocketable size for a little on-the-go movie watching. Let's hope it sees the light of day.
