It’s a question that sounds like it should have a simple answer. But it’s now at the center of a lawsuit between two of the biggest names in TVs, with TCL accusing its longtime competitor Samsung of falsely advertising budget LCD-LED TVs as Mini LED sets. Samsung’s M-series TVs, which range from $300 for a 43-inch model to $2,300 for a 100-inch model, do raise some legitimate questions about what should qualify as Mini LED.
More broadly, though, the dispute highlights a problem for shoppers: Without agreed-upon standards for what “Mini LED” actually means, manufacturers have plenty of room to define the technology for themselves. In a lawsuit (PDF) filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California in late August, TCL accused Samsung of resorting to “fraud” to compete with TCL’s QM-series of Mini LED TVs. Samsung’s M70H, M80H, and M90H are “merely recycled… pre-existing, low-end, standard LED televisions, [which are Samsung’s entry-level] Crystal UHD line… re-labelled… as ‘Mini LED,’” TCL’s suit says.
Samsung didn’t respond to questions I sent about specific claims in TCL’s lawsuit. Instead, a spokesperson shared a statement noting that it intends to vigorously defend against the lawsuit. TCL argues that M-series TVs don’t have backlights capable of true full array local dimming, or FALD, the most advanced type of backlighting technology available in LCD-LED displays.
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