Is TCL's X95 the brightest TV ever?

The Digitec and Galaxus editorial team reports directly from Berlin from IFA 2023. You can find all the news and background information published so far in our overview:

When Chinese tech giant TCL - the world's second-largest TV manufacturer by its own account - unveiled Mini LED at the end of 2019, the industry took notice. The new backlight technology not only promises similarly good black levels for LCD televisions as OLED televisions. It also aims to retain all the advantages of conventional LEDs. In other words: good maximum brightness and no risk of burn-in.

At the beginning of the week, TCL presented the X95, the next evolutionary step in its mini-LED range, at this year's IFA. It should be able to do one thing above all: shine damn bright.

The brightest TV in the world?

Let's start with this: What is Mini LED anyway? I'd actually need a whole article to explain it properly. Good, I've written that one before. At this point, I'll try to be brief. Very briefly.

Mini LED means that thousands of closely spaced LEDs provide the backlight for your TV. And where there should be black, the LEDs dim down. This is called local dimming. The more dimming zones a television has, the more precise the dimming. This ensures better black levels - and therefore better contrasts. It also prevents annoying blooming, a kind of halo that occurs when bright edges are not precisely illuminated against a dark background.

The X95 is said to have over 5000 such dimming zones. As far as I know, there is no manufacturer that can create more such dimming zones. Not even Samsung or LG. The challenge is to make the LEDs small enough to fit as many of them as possible behind your TV. We're talking about sizes such as 0.152 millimetres per LED. Crazy, isn't it?

Almost more impressive, however, is the brightness of the X95: It is said to reach 5000 nit peak brightness. According to me, this is also a top value in the TV industry. At the trade fair stand, I was told that this brightness corresponds to the light reflections in real life. So when you see the sun glistening in the water on the TV, it should be just as bright as when you see the sun glistening in the water in real life.

If you're now imagining the TV burning your eyes out of your head, don't worry. The 5000 nit refers to the highest possible peak brightness, and this is only achieved in very small areas of the picture. Just the sparkle in the water. A lamp. Or the sun on the horizon. The rest of the image is bright, but not so bright that you can now only watch TV with sunglasses.

If you're thinking about buying one, you won't have to wait too much longer: The bright mini LED TV should be available from October in 85'' and 98'' inch sizes and cost around 6,000 francs.

Can it be smaller - and cheaper?

In case you were shocked when you read the price: In two years' time, the X95's technology should also be found in cheaper TVs. An example: TCL's OD Zero, which I was able to see in advance in Paris two years ago, advertised over 2000 dimming zones and a peak brightness of over 2000 nit. TCL is presenting precisely these figures in the C95 series, which will be launched this year. This will also be available in Switzerland from October in the sizes 65", 75", 85" and 98" from 2499 francs.