Sony has unveiled a technology for TVs of the future – RGB LED, which is better than mini-LED and OLED

Sony has introduced a new type of LCD TV display — with RGB LED backlighting. It uses individual tiny red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs to illuminate the LCD pixels. In fact, the new system combines the best qualities of mini-LED and OLED technologies.

Image source: Sony

Sony has given the new technology a cumbersome name: General RGB LED Backlight. In general, it is similar to mini-LED, since it involves the use of an array of LEDs located across the entire panel. Conventional LED or mini-LED backlight TVs use LEDs that emit blue light, and various filters are installed on top of them, which allows for the formation of a color image.

The structure of a conventional panel with mini-LED backlighting

Sony’s RGB LED technology uses backlight modules made up of red, green, and blue LEDs. The light from these is directed directly to the pixels of the LCD panel without passing through additional layers of color filters. This provides higher brightness, as well as more precise control of brightness and color. Sony’s specifications list a peak brightness of 4,000 cd/m², which is about twice as high as most mini-LED TVs. It also covers 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color space and 90 percent of the BT.2020 color space.

Sony RGB LED panel device

Of course, all this array of multi-colored LEDs needs to be controlled. This is done using a modified XR Backlight Master Drive technology. In the flagship Sony Bravia 9 TV, this technology is based on a 22-bit LED driver, which allows for more precise brightness control — regular mini-LED TVs use 10- or 12-bit drivers. In Sony’s new RGB LED technology, the bit depth of the backlight control driver has been increased to 66 bits (22 bits each for red, green, and blue).

The new technology also improves color volume — the number of colors a TV can display at different brightness levels. Sony says its RGB LED panel delivers four times the color volume of standard QLEDs. This benefit can be seen not only in bright colors, but also in darker shades.

Along with increased brightness, color space coverage, and color volume, Sony’s new RGB LED technology promises to expand the display’s viewing angle—a traditional limitation of LCD TVs. The presence of filters in LED and mini-LED TVs leads to blurring and color distortion when viewing images at an angle to the TV’s plane.

Sony’s new RGB LED technology directs the red, green, and blue components of the backlight to the appropriate pixels on the LCD panel with high precision. There is still potential for color distortion, but color shift is minimized, ensuring that colors remain pure from any viewing angle.

Another advantage of Sony’s technology is that it has no limit on display size. OLED TVs come in sizes up to 97 inches, but models larger than 83 inches are unprofitable. That’s why prices jump sharply: from about $5,000 for an 83-inch OLED (like the LG G4) to about $20,000 for a 97-inch version.

Sony claims that LCD TVs using the new RGB LED technology will be able to scale to super-large sizes more economically than OLED TVs, allowing for displays larger than 100 inches diagonally. And unlike OLED, they will be able to compete on price with mini-LED models.

Sony also invited a number of journalists to its Tokyo headquarters to demonstrate the new technology in person, although it did not allow photography or video shooting. The prototype RGB LED TV was compared to the flagship Bravia 9 TV. TechRadar journalist Al Griffin shared the following impressions:

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The prototype TV’s picture quality from an angle was equally impressive. Colors looked equally uniform and vibrant even when viewed from extreme angles, and contrast levels were maintained. This level of contrast is usually only seen on OLED TVs, especially QD-OLED models, so seeing it on an LED TV was a completely new experience for me.

Another aspect of the demo that impressed me was the anti-reflective coating used on the Sony prototype TV. The X-Anti Reflection layer on the Bravia 9 was very effective at reducing glare from overhead lights when I tested it, but the prototype TV next to the Bravia 9 in Sony’s brightly lit demo room was even more effective at eliminating glare.”

Finally, it should be noted that the idea of ​​RGB LED is not new. Sony itself developed LCD TVs with RGB LEDs back in 2004, and at CES 2025, Samsung and TCL demonstrated prototypes of mini-LED TVs with RGB backlighting. In addition, Hisense demonstrated a “true RGB model” that it plans to release later this year.

The company says the new technology is being developed for both consumer TVs and professional displays, with mass production expected to begin in 2025. At the same time, reporters at the demonstration were told that it was a “2026 technology,” so actual products using it would likely hit the market in 2027.