What is a ULED XD TV?

If you missed the news from this year's CES: Hisense are ditching OLED for ULED XD. Here’s a quick primer on why and everything else you need to know about ULED XD TVs.

What is ULED XD?

Also branded as Dual Cell TVs, Hisense's new ULED XD approach involves squeezing a second grayscale panel between the TV's 4K panel and the LED backlight. This second HD panel acts as a filter that allows for deeper blacks and sharper contrasts than would ordinarily be possible with a single 4K screen.

The results that ULED XD are so promising that Hisense are actually looking to abandon OLED as a result. The company claims this technique will let them offer the same kind deeper blacks and pixel-by-pixel backlighting found in OLED TVs at a reduced cost to consumers - a combination that naturally compliments Hisenses' value-driven positioning in the market.

What’s the difference between ULED XD and ULED?

Functionally, Hisenses’ older ULED TVs are more comparable to Samsung’s QLED TVs or traditional LCD-LED TVs than the company’s new ULED XD TVs.

Like Samsung's QLED range, Hisense's ULED TVs use quantum dots to deliver better results. Specifically, they’re able to offer support for HDR content through a wider colour gamut and sharper contrasts through local dimming.

Credit: Hisense

Quantum Dots are small nanoparticles that come integrated into a tradition LCD LED panel and work to convert light from Blue LEDs into brightly saturated primary colors. This allows manufacturers to crank the brightness up to a thousand nits and beyond – resulting in a significantly more color-rich image than is otherwise possible on an LCD LED display.

How much will ULED XD TVs cost?

While ULED XD TVs won’t come cheap, they’re expected to come in cheaper than the kind of premium OLED TVs that Sony and others are offering.

Since it first arrived on the scene, OLED has been positioned as a premium technology that sits at the top-end of the market. In 2020, that's beginning to change - so it'll be interesting to see where Hisenses' ULED offering ends up in terms of price.

Australian pricing and availability for Hisenses’ first ULED XD TV, the Series X ULED XD TVs, is to be announced.

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