Earlier this year, LG Display’s latest innovative ‘META Technology 2.0’ captured the attention of many visitors and audiences worldwide. Just over a year after the company’s ‘META Technology 1.0’ achieved the highest brightness at the time with 2,100-nit peak brightness, ‘META Technology 2.0’ has eclipsed its predecessor with a new peak brightness of 3,000 nits. How does this technology actually maximize OLED’s potential? Let’s find out!
Hardware and AI algorithms mark a new era of viewing experiences
META Technology 2.0 offers the ultimate image quality by upgrading the core technologies of MLA and META Booster from META Technology 1.0 to ‘MLA+’ and ‘META Multi Booster’ along with adding the new ‘Detail Enhancer’ technology to realize natural and realistic picture quality that pursue the company’s ultimate vision of ‘Natural Reality.’
If MLA represents an upgrade in hardware, both ‘META Multi Booster’ and ‘Detail Enhancer’ can be seen as software enhancements. While hardware plays an integral part in the overall performance of displays, factors such as color brightness, color reproduction, and detailed expressions are difficult to address solely through a hardware-based design. This is why LG Display incorporated algorithms with ‘cognitive’ functions into its OLED panels, as these functions can distinguish and adjust settings in real time to produce perceived brightness and the best possible picture for viewers.
Hardware and software complement each other in their roles to complete META Technology 2.0 – while MLA+ itself can enhance peak brightness by up to 2,300 nits, the incorporation of META Multi Booster further boosts OLED’s peak brightness by up to 3,000 nits, while also increasing the color brightness by 114% up to 1,500 nits.
Trio of MLA+, META Multi Booster, and Detail Enhancer Help Complete the Pinnacle of High-definition
First, let’s examine the fundamental technology of META 2.0, which is ‘MLA (Micro Lens Array).’ MLA is a lens pattern consisting of 42.4 billion micro lenses based on 77-inch 4K OLED display that maximizes light emissions from within the panel, therefore achieving remarkable levels of brightness. Depositing this bubble wrap-like lens pattern on to the OLED panel in uniform size and curvature is an extremely tough task, but LG Display’s decade-long expertise in OLED technology has enabled them to turn the seemingly impossible into reality.
Micro Lens Array Plus (MLA+) represents a further advancement in technology, using the big data accumulated from MLA to optimize the angles of the micro lens pattern to emit even the slightest amount of light that was lost due to internal reflections, further maximizing brightness. This increased brightness allows for greater contrast in images, which in turn results in a more vivid and realistic picture quality that can express the depth of cascading waterfalls or the glimmer of water droplets. Moreover, this enhancement in brightness is more energy efficient than ever, as it uses less energy under the same brightness as conventional OLEDs.
An impressive feat in its own right, the hardware-upgraded MLA+ is complimented by the multidimensional brightness-optimizing algorithm ‘META Multi Booster’ and the full-range brightness detail enhancing algorithm ‘Detail Enhancer’ to complete ‘META Technology 2.0’.
Another component of META Technology 2.0 is the ‘META Multi Booster,’ an exclusive brightness-optimizing algorithm that elevates not only peak brightness, a fundamental strength of LG Display’s OLED panels, but also color brightness for more refined and optimized picture quality. Utilizing both MLA+ and META Multi Booster, META Technology 2.0 offers enhanced color brightness of up to 1,500 nits, 114% higher than conventional OLEDs. This essentially allows the panel to express brighter areas as appearing brighter and darker areas as appearing darker.
For example, picture the scene where there is a bonfire inside a dark cave. META Multi Booster can recognize the dark surroundings to further accentuate the cave’s depth and gloominess, while simultaneously enhancing the peak and color brightness of the bonfire. As a result, viewers can experience the scene in a more immersive, realistic setting.
Meanwhile, ‘Detail Enhancer’ ensures consistent and accurate color representation by incorporating OLED pixel dimming. This technology adds new data processing techniques to OLED pixel dimming, which controls each of the 33 million pixels (based on 8K OLED). Pixel dimming allows for precise expression by adjusting the brightness of each individual pixel. When applied, Detail Enhancer can reproduce distinct colors and details of a tropical fish in a dark underwater environment.
META Technology 2.0 – The latest solution for creating differentiated customer values
During the development phase of META Technology 2.0, LG Display mainly focused on the user-friendliness of the technology and whether it met the needs of customers. As a result, META Technology 2.0 has met the needs of set makers and manufacturers that want to release better products on the market and the needs of everyday consumers looking for the most immersive screen to enjoy content, all while minimizing harm to the human body.
While maintaining the user-friendly values of its existing OLED TV panels across ultra-large size, high definition, perfect blacks, low blue light, and flicker-free status, LG Display expanded its portfolio to offer more premium products tailored to customer needs by attaining 3,000-nits peak brightness.
Through META Technology 2.0, LG Display has placed forth the closest thing to replicating the dynamic visual experience of the human eye. Taking yet another step towards ‘Natural Reality’, the future is bright as LG Display continues its relentless pursuit of innovation that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible!
