TCL has filed a lawsuit against Samsung, alleging deceptive marketing practices regarding its M-series LCD televisions. TCL claims that Samsung incorrectly labels these budget models as Mini LED, despite them lacking the hardware-based Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) technology typically required for the classification.
According to the lawsuit, Samsung's M-series TVs use LEDs measuring 0.5 mm, which falls outside the industry-recognized range of 0.1–0.3 mm for Mini LED components. Furthermore, these models feature only a few dozen LEDs mounted on two aluminum strips, rather than the thousands of diodes found in true Mini LED matrices.
The dispute highlights the lack of a standardized definition for Mini LED, allowing manufacturers to interpret the term broadly. While Samsung uses the term 'Supreme Mini LED Dimming' for its M-series, the company notes in its specifications that this is a software-based solution rather than a hardware-based local dimming system.
Technical evaluations by RTINGS show that the M-series displays suffer from lower contrast ratios, measured at 6440:1, compared to 80,000:1 for Samsung's Neo QLED QN80H models. TCL argues that this discrepancy in hardware and performance misleads consumers who expect the benefits associated with genuine Mini LED technology.
