What is Mini LED in TVs?
The manufacturers pose a particular challenge, using many names for this or that technology. QD-OLED, Micro LED, Mini LED, Full Array LED, and ULED—all concern the structure of the display and its backlighting.
In this article, we will understand a mini LED TV and its advantages to the user.
Screen Backlight Type
Mini LED screens have been on the radar lately, in particular. What is this technology?
When considering the Mini LED technology, it is impossible not to mention the type of screen backlighting.
Mini LED is a type of backlighting of the matrix in TV sets. It uses tiny LEDs located at the back of the screen.
This setting controls the playback display.
Mini LED is a type of backlight matrix. It exposes the user’s eyes to LEDs. Unlike Direct LED, this backlight uses much smaller diodes.
Direct LED, Edge LED, and OLED are the most commonly used types of TV displays. Let’s study them in more detail.
Edge LED
Edge LED is the most straightforward and affordable variant of matrix backlighting. Also called edge backlighting, this variant places LEDs at the edges of the screen.
The diodes are located at the edges of the matrix and shine on it from the side. When one area of the screen dims, adjacent areas also dim.
This solution directs the LEDs perpendicular to the user’s view. The diodes form one or more lines near the edges of the screen. They light up the back of the screen with hollow tube-light guides, which spread light from the edges to the whole surface.
Because of this approach, the user cannot achieve accurate local dimming, uniform brightness, or no backlighting.
This implementation provides sufficient brightness. However, the image may look worse because of backlighting at the edges of the screen. The light from the LEDs is most intense near the edges, which explains this effect. In addition, the weak point of the Edge LED is contrast.
In most TVs with this backlight, all its diodes shine simultaneously.
Inexpensive models feature zonal edge backlighting that highlights the perimeter of the screen. Independent control of the lights enhances contrast. However, this solution is still inferior to Direct LED due to its larger size and fewer backlight zones.
Nonetheless, Edge LED technology presents several significant benefits. Edge backlight uses less energy. Since no diodes are at the back of the screen, it helps make TVs thin and light. The benefits also include the affordable price of devices with such backlighting.
Direct LED
In Direct LED backlighting, manufacturers place the LEDs at the back of the screen. It is also called backlighting.
In this solution, LEDs face the user’s eyes. Technicians install diffusers to distribute light evenly across the matrix surface.
This backlight is brighter than Edge LED, with no noticeable edge highlights and a more uniform appearance.
However, the backlight consumes more energy.
TVs with rear LEDs are thicker and heavier than those with edge backlighting.
Diodes or groups of diodes create backlighting zones and control their brightness independently. This technique, called local dimming, makes bright areas of the picture more colorful and dark areas dimmer. It gives you a higher image contrast than Edge LED backlighting.
The price of models with such backlighting is generally higher than Edge LEDs but cheaper than OLED.
In ordinary Direct LED, the number of backlighting zones is small – a few dozen.
The advanced type of Direct LED can have screens with backlights like FALD (Full-Array Local Dimming) and Mini LED. These are also known as full-matrix.
The first type has one to two hundred zones, while the second type has several hundred to over a thousand.
How Mini LED Works
Mini LED technology is a logical development of Direct LED backlighting. It maintains the main idea of direct LED backlighting. Strategically positioning LEDs evenly behind the screen ensures optimal illumination.
Size is the key difference—Mini LEDs are smaller, so manufacturers can use more.
More LEDs equal more backlighting zones, and they are in the same area of the screen.
In practice, this adjustment will make the image much brighter and the backlight control more accurate. This adjustment will directly affect the settings of the local dimming feature.
A more significant number of dimming zones allows you to get a better “picture” of the output. The image showcases an impressive enhancement in contrast. The weak points of LED matrices, like light plumes in dark areas, are almost gone.
Many diodes comprise hundreds or thousands of image zones, resulting in bright highlights and dimmer dark areas. This screen offers excellent image contrast, surpassing Direct and Edge LED backlighting options.
This technology brings image quality closer to that of OLED devices. What about models with side-backlighting Edge LEDs?
The latter are inferior to Mini LED in brightness, contrast, and the display of black shades.
Mini LED is the most advanced technology of zonal LED backlighting used in TVs. Only OLED or Micro LED backlit displays can provide a higher contrast ratio. The former are prone to burn-in, while manufacturers have yet to use the latter in mass-produced devices.
The best mini-LED TVs of 2025 at techradar.com
OLED
OLED offers an alternative to LED panels, which manufacturers have produced for many years.
The main difference between the technologies is the matrix structure. The peculiarity of such matrices is the absence of backlighting because the pixels themselves shine. The technology uses organic LEDs, which do not need additional backlighting.
Each pixel glows independently and, if necessary, can be turned off completely.
The device offers users a wide range of benefits. It has no backlighting, a deep black color, high contrast, large viewing angles, and a thin body.
The downside is the high price and pixel burn-in.
Learn more about OLED technology.
Micro LED vs. Mini LED
The wide variety of acronyms with the prefix LED can easily confuse users. Therefore, it is not surprising that users often confuse Mini LED with Micro LED technology. In reality, they have many differences, and they are pretty significant.
Micro LED matrices operate on a fundamentally different principle. Their structure is much more similar to OLED matrices than conventional LED devices.
Micro LEDs use microscopic RGB LEDs based on gallium nitride. They do not require additional backlighting and light filters, as each pixel shines independently. The image on such a matrix is bright, contrasty, and perfect black.
The OLED matrix is similar, but with one nuance—it uses organic LEDs, which are more susceptible to burnout.
Micro LED technology is a more advanced version of OLED and should level out its weaknesses.
Mini LED technology will revive the rather old Direct LED variety of screen backlighting.
But as usual in TV technology, it’s all about price. The price of mini LEDs depends strongly on the number of LEDs in the backlight. If you use them many times, the price goes up a lot. But if you only use them a few dozen times, they cost about the same as other TV models.
Benefits of Mini LED Backlighting
The number of abbreviations with the prefix LED denoting a particular branded technology is simply staggering. It is no wonder that the average user can get confused and choose only a marketing “chip.”
This principle serves as the cornerstone of Mini LED technology. Although it resembles Micro LED, which could confuse buyers, the technologies differ significantly.
Mini LED technology is essentially a slightly improved form of direct LED lighting. With Mini LED, the LEDs are smaller, and there are more areas of localized dimming. The result is better black levels and overall image brightness.
Micro LED is one of the newest technologies that could theoretically replace OLED. Models with such backlighting have higher image quality than those with Mini LED.
