Chapter 3

Name decoder

Two ways in: type a name from a box or a website and see what is actually inside, or pick a technology and see what every brand calls it.

Every name, A to Z by brand

The full reference. Names describe series, so within one series a bigger or smaller size can occasionally use a different panel — the spec sheet has the final word.

Every brand name in this guide and the technology behind it.
Brand	Name	Technology	Note
Samsung	Crystal UHD	Direct-lit LED Edge-lit LED	Plain LED LCD. "Crystal" refers to the processor and colour tuning, not the panel.
Samsung	QLED	QLED	Quantum-dot LCD. Cheaper QLED models may be edge-lit with no local dimming.
Samsung	The Frame	QLED	A QLED in a picture-frame design with a matte screen; the panel is the same family as Samsung's other QLEDs.
Samsung	Neo QLED	Mini-LED	"Quantum Mini LED" backlight — Samsung's name for mini-LED with quantum dots.
Samsung	Micro RGB	RGB Mini-LED Micro RGB	RGB backlight LCD. Not Micro-LED, which Samsung sells separately as a wall-sized product.
Samsung	OLED (S9 series)	QD-OLED W-OLED	Top models use Samsung Display's QD-OLED; some sizes in the mid-range OLED series use W-OLED panels instead. Check the panel type per size.
LG	UHD / UR series	Direct-lit LED	Plain direct-lit LED LCD.
LG	NanoCell	Direct-lit LED QLED	LCD with a nano-particle colour filter — a colour enhancement, not a backlight upgrade.
LG	QNED	QLED Mini-LED	Originally quantum dot + NanoCell; recent QNED ranges use LG's own "Dynamic QNED Color" layer, which may not use quantum dots. Only some QNED models have mini-LED backlights.
LG	QNED evo Mini-LED	Mini-LED	The QNED models that do carry a mini-LED backlight.
LG	Micro RGB evo	RGB Mini-LED	LG's name for an RGB-backlight LCD.
LG	OLED evo (B / C series)	W-OLED	"evo" marks the brighter generations of LG Display's W-OLED panel.
LG	OLED evo with Primary RGB Tandem (G / M series)	Tandem OLED	The four-stack Tandem OLED panel. "Primary RGB Tandem" is LG's brand name for it.
Sony	Bravia 3 / Bravia 5	Direct-lit LED Mini-LED	Lower numbers are direct-lit LED; the mid number introduces mini-LED. Check the backlight line.
Sony	Bravia 7 / Bravia 9	Mini-LED	Mini-LED with Sony's "XR Backlight Master Drive" zone control.
Sony	True RGB	RGB Mini-LED	Sony's name for an RGB-backlight LCD.
Sony	Bravia 8	W-OLED	W-OLED panel.
Sony	Bravia 8 II	QD-OLED	QD-OLED panel.
Sony	Triluminos	QLED QD-OLED	A colour-processing brand, not a panel type — it appears on LCD and OLED models alike.
TCL	S series	Direct-lit LED	Direct-lit LED LCD.
TCL	Q series (QLED)	QLED	Quantum-dot LCD; higher Q models add full-array local dimming.
TCL	QM series (QD-Mini LED)	Mini-LED	Mini-LED with quantum dots. TCL usually publishes zone counts, which makes comparison easier.
TCL	RGB Mini-LED	RGB Mini-LED	RGB-backlight LCD under the generic name.
TCL	X series (SQD-MiniLED)	SQD-MiniLED	"Super Quantum Dot" mini-LED — TCL's alternative to RGB backlights.
Hisense	A series	Direct-lit LED	Direct-lit LED LCD.
Hisense	QLED (Q / U6 series)	QLED Mini-LED	Quantum-dot LCD; newer U6 models have moved to mini-LED backlights.
Hisense	ULED (U7 series)	Mini-LED QLED	ULED is a bundle of picture features, not a panel. In this tier it usually means mini-LED with quantum dots.
Hisense	ULED X (U8 / U9 series)	Mini-LED	Hisense's high-zone-count mini-LED.
Hisense	RGB MiniLED (UX series)	RGB Mini-LED	RGB-backlight LCD; Hisense adds a fourth cyan emitter to the usual red, green and blue.
Panasonic	W series	QLED Mini-LED	LCD range; the top W models use mini-LED, lower ones quantum-dot or plain LED.
Panasonic	Z series (OLED)	W-OLED Tandem OLED	LG Display W-OLED panels; the flagship Z model uses the Tandem panel.
Roku	Roku Select	Direct-lit LED	Direct-lit LED LCD.
Roku	Roku Plus	QLED	Quantum-dot LCD with local dimming.
Roku	Roku Pro	Mini-LED	Mini-LED with quantum dots.
Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV 2-Series / 4-Series	Direct-lit LED	Direct-lit LED LCD.
Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV Omni QLED	QLED	Quantum-dot LCD with local dimming.
Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV Omni Mini-LED	Mini-LED	Mini-LED with quantum dots.
Vizio	V series	Direct-lit LED	Direct-lit LED LCD.
Vizio	Quantum	QLED	Quantum-dot LCD.
Vizio	Quantum Pro	Mini-LED	Mini-LED with quantum dots.

Every technology and its names

Every technology and what each brand calls it.
Technology	Brand	Their name for it
Edge-lit LED	Samsung	Crystal UHD
Direct-lit LED	Samsung	Crystal UHD
Direct-lit LED	LG	UHD / UR series · NanoCell
Direct-lit LED	Sony	Bravia 3 / Bravia 5
Direct-lit LED	TCL	S series
Direct-lit LED	Hisense	A series
Direct-lit LED	Roku	Roku Select
Direct-lit LED	Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV 2-Series / 4-Series
Direct-lit LED	Vizio	V series
QLED	Samsung	QLED · The Frame
QLED	LG	NanoCell · QNED
QLED	Sony	Triluminos
QLED	TCL	Q series (QLED)
QLED	Hisense	QLED (Q / U6 series) · ULED (U7 series)
QLED	Panasonic	W series
QLED	Roku	Roku Plus
QLED	Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV Omni QLED
QLED	Vizio	Quantum
Mini-LED	Samsung	Neo QLED
Mini-LED	LG	QNED · QNED evo Mini-LED
Mini-LED	Sony	Bravia 3 / Bravia 5 · Bravia 7 / Bravia 9
Mini-LED	TCL	QM series (QD-Mini LED)
Mini-LED	Hisense	QLED (Q / U6 series) · ULED (U7 series) · ULED X (U8 / U9 series)
Mini-LED	Panasonic	W series
Mini-LED	Roku	Roku Pro
Mini-LED	Amazon Fire TV	Fire TV Omni Mini-LED
Mini-LED	Vizio	Quantum Pro
RGB Mini-LED	Samsung	Micro RGB
RGB Mini-LED	LG	Micro RGB evo
RGB Mini-LED	Sony	True RGB
RGB Mini-LED	TCL	RGB Mini-LED
RGB Mini-LED	Hisense	RGB MiniLED (UX series)
Micro RGB	Samsung	Micro RGB
SQD-MiniLED	TCL	X series (SQD-MiniLED)
W-OLED	Samsung	OLED (S9 series)
W-OLED	LG	OLED evo (B / C series)
W-OLED	Sony	Bravia 8
W-OLED	Panasonic	Z series (OLED)
QD-OLED	Samsung	OLED (S9 series)
QD-OLED	Sony	Bravia 8 II · Triluminos
Tandem OLED	LG	OLED evo with Primary RGB Tandem (G / M series)
Tandem OLED	Panasonic	Z series (OLED)