As huge-screen TVs have become more popular, TCL has shown itself to be a leader in the area, not just in terms of sales, but in innovation and value at different budget levels. To learn more about how TCL achieved this, and what makes its approach unique, we spoke to Bob Zuo, Vice General Manager of TCL TV Business Unit.
In the last few years, TCL’s brand awareness has exploded, especially in the world of TVs. What would you say has helped to build the active online community that TCL now has?
Bob Zuo: First, the product is the foundation. TCL laid out its strategy in the Mini LED field early on, taking the lead in launching and mass-producing the world's first Mini LED 8K TV in 2019. Since then, instead of treating Mini LED as a short-term marketing label, we have continued to deeply cultivate underlying technologies such as panels, backlights, optical systems, and algorithms.
Take the TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TV as an example; it can achieve a maximum of 20,736 independent local dimming zones. This means that on the TV screen, there are over 20,000 micro ‘light valves’ that can be independently switched on and off to adjust brightness and darkness, providing a solid hardware foundation for the ‘black level depth’ and ‘dark scene details’ demanded by enthusiasts.
It is exactly this adherence to the technical route and dedication to product quality that allowed TCL to maintain its position as the world's No. 1 in Mini LED TV shipments in the first half of 2026 (Data source: Omdia).
Second, honest and open communication. The tech community is highly professional; they value engineering facts over broad marketing rhetoric. Therefore, we choose to transparently share the technical solutions adopted inside our products, the logic behind key design choices, and the real technical trade-offs involved. This fact-based communication approach helps build long-term trust with core users.
Third, connecting technology with passion. TCL has accurately captured the strong demand of global consumers, especially in overseas markets, for immersive large-screen audio-visual experiences. We deeply integrate product technology with this trend, and by becoming a Worldwide Olympic Partner and a Global Partner of FIBA, we bring the passion and speed of the sports arena into millions of households through large screens.
This elevates community discussions beyond technical parameters like refresh rate, motion performance, or screen size, extending them to the excitement, resonance, and passion experienced when watching games. This transition from technical recognition to emotional connection is a crucial reason why the TCL community remains active and continues to grow.
Huge-screen TVs have been one of the consistent areas of growth in the TV industry in the last few years, even when sales have wobbled in other areas. Why do you think people are engaging so strongly with buying very large panels?
Bob Zuo: Consumers are buying not just larger screen sizes, but a comprehensive upgrade to their home entertainment experience. Today's living room is evolving into a private cinema, a home sports arena, and a core space for friends and family to gather and connect. A larger field of view gives movies, gaming, and live sports a stronger sense of immersion and emotional impact.
We are able to align our technology with consumer demand, supported by a mature TV ecosystem built around product design, display engineering, manufacturing expertise and picture-quality tuning — delivering exceptional picture quality through Mini LED technology and large-screen capabilities.
By leveraging our robust production and supply chain efficiencies, we can accelerate the delivery of these massive screens to consumers. TCL’s ability to precisely capitalize on this trend stems from our long-term commitment and comprehensive strategic footprint in the ultra-large screen sector.
Our ultra-large portfolio includes 85-inch, 98-inch, and 115-inch displays, and TCL has ranked as the global No. 1 ultra-large TV brand for three consecutive years (Source: Omdia, 85-inch and above). Furthermore, we have built a comprehensive technology matrix encompassing QD-Mini LED, RGB-Mini LED, and SQD-Mini LED.
This spans a versatile Mini LED product lineup — from our flagship X11L series to our mid-to-premium C7L and C8L models (SQD-Mini LED), as well as standout models showcased at IFA such as the A400U (QD-Mini LED) and RM9L (RGB-Mini LED). Ultimately, this empowers consumers with the flexibility to choose the perfect combination of size and performance tailored to their specific needs.
A holistic user experience is equally essential. Our flagship models feature Audio by Bang & Olufsen sound systems, while select Google TV models integrate AI capabilities such as Gemini, making content discovery and user interaction significantly more natural and seamless. This year in Berlin, the concurrent timing of IFA and the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 will serve as the ultimate, real-world showcase for the true value of our ultra-large screens.
Prices have come down dramatically for these kinds of TVs — what’s changed to make that possible?
Bob Zuo: This is the result of three core factors working together: the precise selection of our technological roadmap, our mature TV ecosystem built around product design, display engineering and manufacturing expertise, and the continuous amplification of scale effects.
Mini LED achieves an outstanding balance of high brightness, precise local dimming, and extended lifespan in ultra-large formats, all while maintaining excellent large-scale manufacturing efficiency.
This equilibrium between performance, durability, and manufacturing viability has paved the way for flagship picture quality to reach a broader and more accessible price range. This ecosystem enables us to bring advanced display technologies and premium ultra-large screens to market at increasingly accessible prices, with exceptional picture quality.
Concurrently, our global manufacturing bases and service networks in Mexico, Vietnam, and Poland enable localized production and delivery, significantly boosting the price-to-performance ratio of our large-screen TVs.
The enhanced price-to-performance ratio delivered by this ecosystem approach attracts more consumers, which in turn expands our scale. This expanded scale further optimizes manufacturing costs, creating a virtuous cycle that accelerates the democratization of large-screen technology.
The scale effect amplifies these advantages even further: our position as the global No. 1 in Mini LED TV shipments enhances our manufacturing efficiency and supply chain planning capabilities. Ultimately, this delivers not just price competitiveness, but a tangible leap in product performance across every price tier.
What are the problems that TV makers need to overcome to make huge-screen sets that actually look good?
Bob Zuo: Ultra-large screens amplify every visual imperfection, including halos, uneven brightness, color distortion, and the loss of shadow detail. Therefore, the true challenge lies not in maxing out a single parameter, but in maintaining the delicate balance of the ‘picture quality trifecta’ — color, brightness, and contrast — on a much larger canvas.
First, regarding brightness: it needs to be exceptionally high, an area where Mini LED technology excels. Next is contrast: the precise local dimming of Mini LED delivers deep, refined contrast while maintaining outstanding peak brightness.
Finally, color: backlighting enhances the color gamut, RGB elevates backlight color, and SQD is the ultimate color enhancement from backlight to screen. When evaluating color, we cannot rely solely on peak gamut scores in monochromatic lab tests; we must ensure colors remain accurate, vibrant, and stable across real-world, complex, multi-colored scenes.
For brightness, while a high peak is crucial, stability is equally vital — highlights must deliver impact without causing washouts, overexposure, or color clipping. For contrast, the true metric is not the nominal number of dimming zones, but the effectiveness of the light control. Only by marrying the screen's native contrast with pinpoint backlight precision can we achieve blindingly bright highlights and true, inky blacks, all while preserving shadow details and virtually eliminating halos.
Ultimately, this requires a rigorous systems-engineering approach. The screen establishes the foundation of picture quality, the backlight and optical systems govern precise luminance control, and our proprietary algorithms ensure these hardware capabilities are fully unleashed in every frame. TCL’s SQD-Mini LED technology integrates the high-color-resist screen, super quantum dots, precision light control, and algorithms into one cohesive system.
Taking the X11L as an example, achieving up to 20,736 precise local dimming zones demands that the screen, light-emitting chips, optical architecture, and algorithms work in perfect harmony. It must be emphasized that this level of performance is only achievable through true hardware-level local dimming; software-based zoning simply cannot compete.
Our ultimate goal is not to engineer a TV that merely looks stunning in retail demo loops, but to guarantee that when consumers watch movies, live sports, or everyday content at home, they experience naturally stable colors, punchy and clear highlights, profound blacks, and immaculate shadow detail.
How much do people engage with the other ‘smart’ features of what TVs can do these days, such as smart home control and AI tools?
Bob Zuo: It is difficult to provide a singular engagement metric, as usage varies significantly across markets, models, and individual households. However, we consistently observe that when smart features address a definitive user need — rather than adding a layer of operational complexity — consumers actively embrace them. We see this delivering value in three main ways:
The first is "seamless optimization". AI can dynamically enhance super-resolution, tone mapping, motion processing, and environmental adaptation, granting users an instantly superior picture without the friction of manual calibration.
The second is conversational content discovery. On select Google TV models, Gemini empowers users to search for content naturally, ask contextual follow-up questions, and intuitively explore their interests through the largest screen in the home.
The third is synergistic control: the TV acts as the central command hub for the interconnected smart home ecosystem.This perfectly encapsulates the vision behind TCL’s ‘Screen Universe’. It is not simply about proliferating more screens; it is about establishing the premium large screen as the core gateway, seamlessly interacting with mobile devices, smart wearables, and the broader smart home environment.
What would you say makes TCL’s approach to large-screen TVs different to the competition?
Bob Zuo: At TCL, we focus on building and deepening the capabilities that set us apart over the long term. I see three main differences in our approach.
First is our long-term commitment to sustained technological leadership and the continuous enhancement of audio and picture quality, which cements our position as an industry pioneer and leader. Since taking the initiative to launch and mass-produce the world’s first Mini LED 8K TV in 2019, TCL has relentlessly iterated upon this technological roadmap. Our dominant position in global Mini LED TV shipments is a direct testament to this enduring commitment.
We are fundamentally user-oriented; we fuse cutting-edge technology with actual user scenarios to drive superior product definition. Technology exists to serve the consumer experience and enrich daily life.
Exceptional technology requires compelling application scenarios, and it is the brand's responsibility to ignite and uncover these moments. Through strategic IP sponsorships, TCL ensures consumers authentically experience the immense audio-visual benefits of our large screens and Mini LED technology while watching their favorite films and sports matches.
Second, a complete approach built on system-level engineering. Our large-screen portfolio spans 85-inch, 98-inch and 115-inch TVs, while our Mini LED technology portfolio includes QD-Mini LED, RGB-Mini LED and SQD-Mini LED. We design around the viewing experience by integrating the backlight, panel, optical system, algorithms, audio and AI as one complete system, rather than chasing a single headline specification in isolation.
Third, we want technology to connect with people at an emotional level. Through global sports platforms such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games and FIBA, we can bring the benefits of large screens and Mini LED into moments people already care deeply about. Scale, motion handling, contrast and sound all become much more tangible when people are watching the events they love. That is how technology moves beyond specifications and creates real value in everyday life.
In short, what differentiates TCL is our long-term commitment to a clear technology path, the breadth and completeness of our product and technology portfolio, and our focus on improving the viewing experience in real home scenarios.
