If you thought the 115-inch TCL QM89 was a big-screen TV, you haven't seen anything yet: TCL says that it is on the verge of producing 130-inch, 148-inch, and even 163-inch displays at its Gen 11 fabrication plant.
All the details around the new displays were unveiled at an event in Warsaw, Poland and was covered by FlatpanelsHD.
Despite the plant not being fully operational yet, TCL has already started to release 163-inch TVs in China — the X11H Max uses a Micro-LED panel in the same guise as the highly premium (and somewhat unobtainable) Samsung Micro-LED range, which just added three new models starting at $110,000.
Just how affordable will these new super-sized TVs be? Well, TCL's 2024 TV lineup flagship TV, the TCL QM8 Mini-LED, is just $1,500. That’s not to say these larger TVs will match the QM8 in price (the aforementioned 115-inch QM89 is currently $26,000) but we could potentially see prices drop as more panels come from TCL's new panel fabrication plant.
TCL TVs go gargantuan
TVs are getting bigger, sure, but what TCL says it can produce in the future are the biggest TVs we've ever seen outside of custom commercial displays used at sports stadiums. The introduction of its QM89 Mini-LED TV is one of exciting promise for those who enjoy such massive screen real estate, and TCL says it will go even bigger.
To make screens at this size, TCL CSOT (TCL's manufacturing arm) uses massive sheets of glass that serve as the top layer of an LED-LCD TV. It’s here where the firm aims to develop the next stage of best TCL TVs through the exploration of Mini-LED LCD panels at 130-inch. TCL CSOT can deliver on this promise by way of slicing one 11G mother glass in half to deliver two 130-inch panels.
But 130-inch might be a bit too small, don't you think? TCL agrees and it wants to bring to market a 148-inch Mini-LED TV, which would mark the largest 16:9 screen 11G mother glass can produce. Production costs would be significantly high for this model, which could make it one of TCL’s most expensive TVs if it ever officially launched.
TCL CSOT doesn’t just design panels for its in-house models. It also delivers 98-inch LCD panels to the likes of Sony, Samsung, and LG, which could mean we’ll soon see TVs at these larger sizes out of more premium brands.
As far as when you'll actually have a 148-inch Mini-LED TV in your home, however, is still unclear, but the TCL QM89 proves to be just the start of an ever-expanding TV size ratio. Just be prepared to pay a premium for them when they arrive.
