Samsung Debuts Jumbo And TV-Sized Versions Of The Wall Micro LED Display

January 7, 2019 by Dave Haynes

Samsung now has jumbo and small versions of The Wall – the micro LED display it introduced year ago at CES.

The Korean electronics giant’s First Look CES 2019 event today features a new 219″ display and a 75” version that’s in line with the form factor for large TVs in homes.

At last year’s CES, says a company press release, Samsung introduced MicroLED by unveiling The Wall, the critically acclaimed, award-winning 146” MicroLED display. Due to the technical advancements in the ultra-fine pitch semiconductor packaging process that narrow the gap between the microscopic LED chips, Samsung has been able to create a stunning 4K MicroLED display in a smaller, more home-friendly 75” form factor.

Micro LED is, as the name says, LED display modules tiled together to create large display surfaces. The LEDs are direct-view self-emissive red, green and blue microscopic chips set at a super-fine pitch.

“For decades, Samsung has led the way in next-generation display innovation,” says Jonghee Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics (in photo). “Our MicroLED technology is at the forefront of the next screen revolution with intelligent, customizable displays that excel in every performance category. Samsung MicroLED has no boundaries, only endless possibilities.”

MicroLED is Samsung’s version of what has a few names, including mini LED and COB (Chip On Board) LED. I suspect more terms will follow as companies spin what they’ve developed as being “THE way” to do this stuff. In effect, these are displays that are built using manufacturing processes that allow the density of LED light pixels to rival that of LCD displays.

Somebody’s going to have to develop a compelling argument – beyond the bragging rights of hedge fund guys and pro footballers – for why someone would need a 75-inch Micro LED TV when they can buy a QLED or OLED that would very probably cost less but look even better. The PR does not include price, but it will be well into “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it” territory. Samsung has referenced the target market as high net worth people, which rules out anyone reading this ;-]

It’s the ability to add MicroLED modules to expand a display to any size or shape desired that will have the attraction on the commercial end. Even when adding more modules, Samsung MicroLED displays can scale to increase the resolution — all while keeping the pixel density constant. Additionally, MicroLED can support everything from the standard 16:9 content, to 21:9 widescreen films, to unconventional aspect ratios like 32:9, or even 1:1 – without having to make any compromises in its picture quality.

Not at CES this week (will see the industry-relevant stuff in four weeks at ISE), so I can’t directly comment on how it looks. But Samsung will undoubtedly have The Wall in Amsterdam.

The PR doesn’t include any specs – and I’ve never really seen any – so if you are at CES, and specs exist – what’s the resolution of the 75? Brightness? Operating life? Price? Etc …

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