CATrends: QLED TVs

Just in time for football season, a number of lawsuits are throwing the yellow flag on some televisions advertised as QLED TVs.

According to the complaints, several models of TCL and Hisense televisions marketed as QLED TVs are actually standard LED TVs and do not provide any additional benefits despite generally costing more.

Citing “industry tests,” the lawsuits allege that the purported QLED TVs either don’t have the touted quantum dot technology or the technology is present in such small amounts that it does not meaningfully contribute to the performance or display output of the TVs.

“TCL claims that it ‘introduced the world’s first big-screen QLED TV in 2014, pioneering quantum dot color technology,’” states a lawsuit filed against the television brand in New York federal court last month.

In TCL’s own words “QLED, or Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diode, represents a groundbreaking innovation in TV display technology. Powered by a Quantum Dot layer, QLED TVs improve brightness, color vividness, and overall vibrancy in ways that were previously unattainable. The technology works by using a backlight, which interacts with the quantum dots to provide purer and more dynamic colors than traditional LED models.”

However, according to the lawsuit, industry tests show that several models currently marketed by TCL as having quantum dot technology do not contain any traces of the primary elements used to create quantum dots.

The complaint is pending. Another lawsuit concerning TCL’s quantum technology claims, filed by the same law firm in California Superior Court in April, has been remanded back to state court.

Meanwhile, a second law firm is similarly challenging Hisense’s quantum technology claims for some of its QLED TVs, filing two complaints earlier this year in New York federal court and Illinois federal court. Both lawsuits are pending.

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