2024-01-16 21:43:24
CES 2024 certainly had its fair share of interesting surprises, mainly transparent OLED devices and robot projectors, but a TV screen prototype from Sharp just might be the most impactful of the bunch.
First reported by Digital Trends, who were among the few to get access to the closed-door demo, Sharp’s dual QDEL TV prototypes (yes, 2 working versions) could spell the future of TVs.
These displays leverage the so-called Quantum Dot Electroluminescent (QDEL), which many in the industry claim is the crème de la crème of TV technology, far surpassing OLED devices through several improvements in the pain points of OLED screens, namely burn-in, color. Balance, clarity and more.
Sharp hasn’t given any further information on when or where its prototype displays will find their primary homes, although the company has hinted at smaller screens, such as smartwatches, computer monitors and phone screens, as the top priority right now.
A new (potentially cheaper) frontier for TVs
The amazing array of display technologies keeps growing, as the well-marketed terminology soon begins to fail itself. The TV industry is littered with acronyms like QNED, QLED, QD-OLED, ULED, and now, seemingly thanks to Sharp, QDEL displays.
Not to be confused, QD-OLED is a combination of Quantum Dot technology as seen in QLED TVs with OLED display technology, while QDEL is somewhat similar in the use of Quantum Dots, often even referred to as QD-LED (Quantum Dot Light). emitting diode) and even AMQLED. However, for ease of understanding, let’s stick to QDEL for now.
Unlike QD-OLEDs or even QLEDs, potential QDEL TVs will instead use quantum dots that are powered by electricity, allowing these displays to emit colors on their own without the help of an OLED or LED light source. In addition, the QDEL TVs will have blue quantum dots that can reach the same brightness levels as the existing red and green ones, a headache that plagued the industry and was seemingly put to rest thanks to those seen inside Sharp’s demo.
Many industry experts claim that QDEL technology is the “holy grail” of display technology due to the fact that it is essentially an OLED panel without all the nasty drawbacks. The problem is that this technology is still in its early stages, with the first iterations of QDEL screens starting in 2020 with BOE’s 55-inch AMQLED.
Regarding its prototypes, according to Digital Trends, Sharp makes it clear that this new frontier in display technology could spell a future of cheaper TVs. What makes the QDEL model so worthwhile, at least in terms of Sharp’s manufacturing process, is its similarity to the development of LED TVs, which require simpler techniques than the OLED process, which requires a number of exotic materials.
A sharp picture of the future
According to Digital Trends, Sharp had 2 QDEL displays signed up to look at, including individual 12-inch and 30-inch prototypes. The latter was banned from being shown to the public, which might just go to show how early these screens really were.
With this distinction in mind, it’s clear that the first few QDEL monitors to hit the market will likely be found in smaller form factors, and this is backed by Sharp itself. Smaller displays as seen in smartwatches, smartphones, laptops and even computer monitors will be some of the crucial displays to see the QDEL treatment, according to Sharp via Digital Trends.
The company has remained remarkably quiet on any mass production timelines, and while it apparently has a working 30-inch QDEL TV (which is good news for market scalability), we may still have quite a long wait before we see real QDEL displays out in the wild.
As this new display technology takes hold, it will be interesting to see where in the industry it heats up the most and who can become the market leader for QDEL TVs.
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