Sony announced today it has developed a new display system incorporating an independent drive RGB LED with a high-density LED backlight that can individually control three primary colours – R (red), G (green), and B (blue) [RGB], suitable for large screens. This panel allows each RGB colour to emit light independently, achieving high colour purity and a vibrant colour gamut. Equipped with Sony’s advanced backlight control technology, it reproduces delicate hues and subtle light gradations across the display. In cinematic works, the ability to convey narrative expression relies on colour subtleties and light gradation, with this system enhancing image quality to reflect the creator’s intent, making it ideal for film production and home viewing.
Sony has a history of supporting creators with professional monitors for video production, and plans to mass-produce a new display system in 2025 for use in consumer televisions and content creation.
<Key Features of the Newly Developed Display System>
Sony created the world’s first LCD television with a full-array RGB LED backlight in 2004, and has since focused on enhancing backlight control precision while understanding LED characteristics. Sony’s unique technology maximizes the panel’s performance.
- Wide Colour Gamut Performance Enabled by an Independent Drive RGB LED
Independent colour emission ensures high colour purity, covering over 99% of the DCI-P3 colour space and approximately 90% of the ITU-R BT.2020 standard.
- Unique High Picture Quality Achieved Through Newly Developed Backlight Control Technology
- Expanded colour Volume for More Natural Image Representation
By combining an independent drive RGB LED with proprietary backlight control technology, Sony has optimized the panel’s wide color gamut performance across the screen, delivering nuanced hues even on large displays.
The system allocates power to each RGB channel based on the scene, allowing for harmonious luminance adjustments rather than just boosting brightness on bright elements. This results in vibrant details in single-tone scenes, such as a deep blue sky or red autumn foliage.
Additionally, the system achieves peak brightness levels of over 4000 cd/m², setting a new benchmark for color volume in Sony display devices.
- Wide Dynamic Range and Precise Gradation Representation
The display system processes signal at high speed and precision with a bitrate of 96 bits, allowing for deep blacks and brilliant whites while delicately representing brightness differences in scenes with many intermediate colours. This new system achieves what existing OLED panels struggle with: expressing colours with moderate brightness and saturation. Additionally, high bit-rate signal processing enables a wide viewing angle through precise gradation control, minimising colour shift and brightness variation when viewed at an angle on a large screen.
Colour Volume
- Accurate Colour Reproduction by a Dedicated Control Processor
By controlling the brightness of RGB LEDs, bright areas can be vividly rendered without white clipping, while dark nuances are depicted delicately without black crushing. The display system offers roughly twice the processing power compared to conventional local dimming, enabling accurate and subtle color reproduction without shifts.
Sony collaborates with MediaTek Inc. on control processors and is also developing LED drive ICs with ROHM Co., Ltd., and LEDs with Sanan Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. These partnerships are crucial for advancing next-generation displays.
Sony aims to enhance visual expression through innovative technology, shaping the future of entertainment with creators.