Micro LED TV what is it

Micro LED TVs, this is a new technology for the production of television displays or advertising panels. The very principle of displaying an image that is created by LEDs, of course, is not new. We have all seen advertising video walls made of LEDs. Previously they were far from perfect and were used only for advertising. If you look at such a screen at close range, you can see the individual LEDs.

The main developer of Micro LED technology for TVs, the company Samsung. Since Samsung once refused to develop large OLED displays, the corporation has directed the released scientific potential to the development of Micro LED and QLED displays.

What is the difference between Micro LED and LED and OLED

Briefly about the differences between LED, OLED and micro LED: You should know that micro LED technology does not yet allow for small displays. That’s why micro LED TVs have larger screens, usually 100 inches or more.

• LED –

classic displays, the screen consists of pixels (crystals that are installed in cells, when a certain voltage is applied they rotate), when they rotate, the polarization of the crystal changes, the light flux, which is created by the backlight on the back of the screen, passes through the pixels (red, blue, green) and so we see the image. Quite an old technology, developed in the 20th century, it became massively used in the early 21st century. You should know that 90% of TVs today are made using this technology.

• OLED –

Features of such displays are that the screen consists of organic LEDs the size of a pixel (also 3 colors, to increase the overall brightness also uses 4 pixels of white), organic LEDs emit light, the brightness varies depending on the amount of voltage applied to the LEDs. The peculiarity of these screens is that they do not need backlighting, so you can create a perfect black. But OLED has advantages and disadvantages, the advantages are very good image quality, above the level of LED displays. Of the disadvantages we can distinguish two factors low brightness, this is done specifically to extend the life of the display, the second drawback is the aging of organic LEDs, over time, the brightness decreases and LEDs age unevenly, so after some time you can see the shift in color shades. As a rule, the screen gets a red tint, this is due to the fact that the blue organic LEDs have the shortest service life.

• Micro LED – The pixel (pixels are also three colors) consists of several dozen micro LEDs, the LEDs are not organic. This is no longer screens made on a single sheet of glass, it is a display made with very densely placed LEDs. Because of the problems with density, it is not possible to create small televisions. There is not enough pixel density for a quality picture. Micro LED screen technology does not allow for viewing angles like OLED or LED. Viewing angles of Micro LED screens are 155 at 145 degrees, which is slightly worse than OLEDs. The second disadvantage is the depth of color shades, the manufacturers do not give how many tones are transmitted Micro LED screens, and this suggests that this parameter is much worse than that of OLED. Let us say this technology is still under development and only at the initial level of use, it will take 5 to 7 years to bring the technology to mass use.

How the micro LED display works

The principle of operation of a micro-LED is not different from that of an OLED display, but it is different from LED displays. Voltage is applied to the LEDs (micro), the value of the voltage changes the brightness of the LED. Micro-LEDs are grouped together, one pixel transmitted in the image is several dozens of micro-LEDs next to each other. Because of this layout, several brightness gradations are available, not only by applying voltage, but also by turning off some of the diodes in the pixel. The complete switching off of the pixels makes it possible to create black without any residual backlighting.

Why micro LEDs are used in TV displays

You may wonder why micro LEDs are used, because it is possible to make an LED the size of a pixel. But this is affected by several factors. One of the reliability factors if the LED fails (if it is the size of a pixel) on the screen will be a broken pixel. This fault cannot be fixed without replacing the screen. If micro LEDs are used, then the failure of even a few diodes will be virtually unnoticeable to the viewer. A large margin of fault tolerance is achieved. Service life of the micro LED screen is about 100,000 hours of operation, this is 12 years of continuous operation.

Why micro-LED screens are expensive

Although micro-LED technology is still under development, the cost of producing such screens is very high. There are difficulties in placing tens of millions of micro-LEDs on a screen matrix. It is also necessary to test the LEDs before installation, they must have the same brightness and the same color gamut

Problems in the production of micro-LED screens

So far, manufacturers have not managed to create an acceptable Micro LED screens in terms of the number of pixels, the pixel size is quite large and you can only create a large TV, for example, the smallest TV Samsung with a size of 146 inches and the price of such a TV is about $ 200,000. And as you understand, you have to watch it from a distance of 5-10 meters. Most buyers do not need such huge screens. Screens with a diagonal of 50-60 inches are more popular.

Is there a future for micro LED screens

With certain improvements (reducing the size of the pixel) and cheaper production, of course, these screens will create significant competition to OLED-screens. But according to experts in the field, and manufacturers themselves, finalization of Micro LED screens will take about 5 years. Other manufacturers of displays also do not stand still LG constantly improve OLED. For Micro LED TV to become a competitor to OLED, it is necessary to lower the price by several orders of magnitude. The decision to make micro LED TVs out of standard units, you buy standard units and make a TV out of them is a pretty interesting solution. I think micro LED is more of a segment of large advertising panels for industrial use than for home use.