Some TCL QLED TVs Might Not Actually Have A QLED Panel, According To This Lawsuit

QLED panels have become popular on TV screens in recent years, competing against OLED. However, a new lawsuit in Germany could increase the pressure on TV manufacturers to ensure they're providing the most accurate information about the technology behind their products.

TCL, a popular budget brand, has come under fire for advertising certain TV panels as QLED. A lawsuit brought forward by Samsung, the leading brand in QLED tech, claims TCL is using the term too loosely. Samsung offered testing results over a year ago that appear to show a lack of the chemicals used in TCL's quantum dot TVs, which would prove they are not delivering on what's advertised.

While this feud between Samsung and TCL has been going on for a while now, the German court has ruled that TCL must halt advertising some of its TV sets as QLED immediately due to false advertising, according to The Korea Times.

Some experts believe that TCL may have been using phosphors in conjunction with quantum dots to help lower the amount of expensive material needed to deliver QLED-quality image, thus lowering the cost to make these panels. That's the same claim in the lawsuit, which was now decided in favor of Samsung and notes that TCL displays are missing chemicals, like cadmium and indium, used in quantum dot technology. This would make it inaccurate to define them as QLED. 

TCL, however, continues to say otherwise, noting that it uses quantum dot particles on diffusion plates. This is an essential part of the way QLED TVs work, as they utilize blue light as the backlight, and then push that through a panel of quantum dot film designed to enhance color fidelity.

Experts don't believe there's a scheme to create fake films without quantum dots, because that would be just as expensive as making real ones — especially in a world where smart TV prices are already expected to jump drastically. 

This entire ordeal is especially interesting because there has been an ongoing conspiracy about whether QLED TVs from brands other than Samsung are actually using quantum dot technology. While Samsung has been the major player pushing these lawsuits, other independent experts have been digging into the matter, with reports from Ars Technica detailing the findings Samsung released over a year ago. What's especially troubling about this kind of problem, though, is it can shake consumer confidence in the brands consumers have come to trust. This is especially troubling for TCL, which has become a well-known TV brand for punching above its price point.

Right now, this means TCL has been banned from marketing the affected models as QLED in Germany alone. However, considering Samsung already has other lawsuits opened in other countries, including the United States, and that this ruling opens up a new precedent, we could see changes in how TCL markets its televisions in other regions.