Home Theater Geeks 514: CES 2026 Part 1

Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Host: Scott Wilkinson
Guest: Mike Heiss (industry journalist, consultant, CEDIA fellow)
Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

Scott Wilkinson, with guest Mike Heiss, kicks off a three-part series reporting from CES 2026, focusing on cutting-edge display technologies in home theater. This episode zeroes in on the newest advancements in RGB Mini and Micro LED backlights for LCD TVs, exploring what’s real, what’s hype, and what it means for the future of television displays.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

[00:28] CES 2026 — A Milestone and Changing Landscape

• Attendance & Venue Evolution:
  • CES is approaching its 60th anniversary.
  • Significant renovations; notable venue changes include Mirage Hotel being replaced and shifts in major exhibitor locations.
  • “It looked like it was busy, but it’s hard to tell… Next year might be a good time to, you know, we should all live and be well and we’ll meet there next year.” (Mike, 01:34)

[02:32] The Big Story: RGB Mini/Micro LED Backlights for LCD TVs

What Is It?

• Traditional LCD TVs evolved from bulky CCFL backlights to energy-efficient LEDs, further refined to Mini and Micro LEDs.
• Previous “LED TVs” used blue or white LEDs, sometimes coupled with quantum dot films for better color.
• New tech: RGB Mini/Micro LED backlights — instead of blue LEDs behind quantum dots, TVs now use direct red, green, and blue LEDs as the backlight, forming a “low-res” version of the intended image, analogous to CRT projectors with separate color guns.
• “Now we have this new technology called RGB Mini LED or RGB Micro LED, in which…you actually have red, green, and blue LEDs in the backlight forming what I would call a low-res version of the image that’s going to be on the screen.” (Scott, 06:17)
• Claimed advantages: better color, higher brightness, more precise dimming, reduced “halo” effects.

Historical Context & Brand Power Shifts

• Brand leadership has shifted over decades:
  • From legacy American brands (RCA, Zenith)
  • To dominating Japanese brands (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, etc.)
  • To Korean powerhouses (LG, Samsung)
  • Now, Chinese giants (Hisense, TCL) are on the rise and making major waves at CES 2026.
• Notable absence: Samsung moved off the main show floor (to the Wynn); TCL now boasts the largest show floor booth.

[12:14] Not a Unified Market — Tech Battles Continue

• Competing approaches likened to historic “Dolby vs. DTS” and “HDR10 vs. Dolby Vision” rivalries.
• “It was marketing fisticuffs because they were each staking out their place in the market and their technology.” (Mike, 11:19)

Notable Products & Features Highlighted

[12:14] Hisense: RGB Technology & Bigger Screens

• Flagship: 116 UXs RGB (actually RGBC – adds cyan as fourth subpixel) at 116 inches, with built-in audio by high-end brand Devialet.
• “If you can have three colors of RGBs, why isn’t four better? So they’ve added a cyan and it’s huge. It’s 116.” (Mike, 12:18)
• Lower-tier: UR9 (55–100") and UR8 — both RGB Mini LED, sans cyan.
• High-end audio trend continues: even “lower-end” models have Devialet audio.

[16:43] Hisense Micro LED Direct View ("DVLED")

• 163-inch monster with an added yellow subpixel, blurring the lines of classic RGB.
• Pricing “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” (Scott, 18:15)

[18:28] LG’s Micro RGB LED-Backlit LCD

• Not abandoning OLED, but expanding Micro LED-based sets for brightness and competitive reasons.
• Pushing specs like 330Hz “Motion Booster” and “100% of BT 2020 color gamut.”
• Scott calls out “100% of BT 2020” as misleading marketing: “This I believe is a deceptive marketing practice and we’re going to talk about that in a minute.” (Scott, 19:59)

[22:04] Samsung: R95H Micro RGB TV

• On display at the Wynn, the largest micro RGB LCD at CES, 130 inches.
• More ‘affordable’ (relative) screen sizes coming (down to 55"), but pricing info unreleased; last year’s 115" at $30,000.
• Commercial DVLED (“The Wall”) business ongoing but not a focus this year.

[26:54] Deconstructing the "100% BT 2020" Marketing Hype

• Expert input from Jeff Yurek (Nanosys):
  • “No LCD-based display can reach 100% BT.2020, only carefully tuned lasers can… the BT.2020 primaries are monochromatic.” (Scott, 27:14)
  • Current best: ~91–92% achievable; area-based measurements create misleading claims.
  • Visual aids explained: real-world TVs’ spectral width is much broader than the razor-thin lines required for true BT.2020 primaries.

Quote:

“Claims of 100% BT 2020 coverage are likely based on the area of the coverage triangle in the CIE chart. But that triangle doesn’t perfectly align with the BT 2020 triangle.”
— Scott quoting Jeff Yurek, 28:26

Technical Challenges & Artifacts

[31:48] RGB Mini/Micro LED Backlight Issues

• Color haloing: Instead of white, new tech can create colored halos (potentially more distracting).
• Color crosstalk: Bleeding of colors (e.g., green into blue); can cause hue shifts, especially in complex scenes like skin tones.
• Lack of real-world demo material: Most in-booth demos avoid complex human skin tones and diversity — “It was typical classic demo material.” (Mike, 33:04)

[34:51] Artifact Demo — Color Crosstalk Video

• Demo from LG (via Jeff Yurek), showing boundary color smearing and moving artifacts in mini LED vs. OLED. “Don’t take that…to think OLED is dead.” (Mike, 37:48)

Industry Trends & Market Notes

• Bigger is the Default: 43" is now considered “small,” with most new TVs exceeding 55".
• AI as a Theme: AI powers everything from pixel control to recommendation engines, but remains another layer of marketing as much as innovation.
  • “That all goes into the Cuisinart and you press the button and mix it and see how it comes out.” (Mike, 14:22)
• Intense Brand Rivalry: Each manufacturer aggressively promotes their technology as best for consumers.
• Marketing vs Reality: “At the end of the day, it’s up to the viewer…what you see, it’s literally in the eyes of the beholder.” (Mike, 31:12)
• OLED Remains: Despite all the Mini/Micro LED hype, LG and others are still betting big on OLED—and showing why, especially with artifact demos.

Memorable Quotes & Highlights (with Timestamps)

• On CES Attendance:

  “Oh, brother. What a fun filled six days in Las Vegas it was. I’ve lost track. I think this was like my 46th or 47th or 48th.”
  — Mike Heiss, 00:51

• On Marketing Battles:

  “It was marketing fisticuffs because they were each staking out their place in the market and their technology.”
  — Mike Heiss, 11:19

• On "Small" TVs:

  “There weren’t a small set to be seen. They still make them. But 43 is small.”
  — Mike Heiss, 15:03

• On Color Gamut Hype:

  “LG, Samsung, TCL and Hisense were all saying 110% of BT 2020, which is…physically impossible.”
  — Mike Heiss, 21:27

• Reality Check:

  “No LCD based display can reach BT 2020 100%. It can only be done with carefully tuned lasers…”
  — Scott Wilkinson, 27:15

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:28 — Start of CES 2026 discussion, venue/attendance notes
• 02:32 — Overview of RGB Mini/Micro LED backlight tech
• 08:43 — Brand/market landscape shifts, rise of Chinese brands
• 12:14 — New product overviews: Hisense, LG, Samsung
• 19:59 — Critiquing “100% BT 2020” marketing claims
• 26:54 — Technical discussion with input from Nanosys’s Jeff Yurek
• 31:48 — Discussion of Mini/Micro LED artifacts: color haloing, crosstalk
• 34:51 — Artifact demonstration (color crosstalk video) and OLED vs. Mini LED
• 38:54 — Closing thoughts and where to find more from Mike Heiss

Takeaway: The State of TV Tech After CES 2026

• Major leap in backlight technology: RGB Mini and Micro LED promise brighter, more colorful images, but challenges and marketing hype abound.
• Bigger screens, fancier audio, aggressive competition: The TV market is more competitive than ever, with each major brand staking a claim for primacy.
• Caveat emptor: Demos look impressive, but artifact challenges and unreliable marketing statistics mean consumers need to look past the hype.
• OLED far from dead: Even brands innovating with RGB Mini/Micro LEDs are hedging their bets with OLED.

Additional Information

• Where to find Mike Heiss:

  • Residential Tech Today (restechtoday.com)
  • Hidden Wires (hiddenwires.co.uk)
  • His personal site: michaelheiss.com

• Listener Participation:

  • Scott welcomes listener questions and submissions of interesting home theater setups:
    • Email: HTG@twit.tv

This concludes Part 1 of Home Theater Geeks’ CES 2026 coverage. Part 2 will address new OLED advances and more.