Happy New Year everyone, and welcome back to your regularly scheduled week in Playback. My name is Nick Boever for any newcomers, and I must say, it has been quite the week to return to.
CES 2026 wasted no time in ringing in the new year, and while it’s pretty heavy on the consumer products and speculative tech, recent years have seen a good number of developments that have either impacted or had the potential to affect our little corner of electronics (usually in the television category).
That’s no different this year with some of the most closely watched news coming out of CES being about those newfangled RGB LEDs. Of course, we all figured this would be the case. When Samsung dropped its Micro RGB TV right before CEDIA Expo 2025 as Sony was doing the press about its own RGB TV, we figured it was only a matter of time before the other major brands came to market with their products.
Interestingly though, out of all the TV manufacturers present at CES, Sony, being ever the patient one, still hasn’t released its RGB TV. Meanwhile, Hisense, LG and Samsung (again) had a slew of product lines sporting the RGB LEDs in question. The only other manufacturer absent in the fanfare is TCL, who, like Samsung when it first developed QLEDs, is betting that the company’s proprietary SQD-Mini LEDs will be able to stand strong against the competition’s Micro RGB offerings.
In a way, the excitement around RGB LED technology resembles the initial AI boom. With all the promises of performance being given to us by this new technology, it feels like it isn’t a matter of IF a manufacturer is going to pursue RGB tech, it’s a matter of WHEN. Even if TCL is going off with its own tech, the end goal is the same, with SQD-Mini LEDs aiming to produce the best color accuracy seen on a television to date. Color accuracy, regardless of the method to achieve it, seems to be the next arms race in home entertainment.
With that said, we should get moving with the Playback. As of right now, most of this is speculation until we (and our readers) get to see these products in action. Besides, there’s plenty of other news to look at. Displace just released a video wall that supposedly takes only 30 minutes to install while being completely wireless, Jetbuilt is expanding its AI design tool to auto generate floorplans off equipment lists and CE Pro is sitting down with some industry leaders to see what they’re looking forward to in 2026.
Buckle up everyone. Between CES and ISE, we’ve got a busy few months ahead of us, so let’s take it in, bit by bit, with the week in Playback.
The Week in Playback
- TCL’s X11L Targets Premium Home Theater Installs with New SQD-Mini LED Tech
- Hisense Expands Color Technology Across TVs, MicroLED, and Laser Projection at CES 2026
- Jetbuilt to Expand Jetbot Drawings at ISE 2026 with AI-Generated Schematics
- Displace Has a Fully Wireless 4K OLED Video Wall Now
- Azione’s Patrick McCarthy on What Will Define Success in 2026
TCL Sets Sights on SQD Tech as TVs Future
TCL stood as the lone TV manufacturer that broke from the pack of Mini RGB tech as the company positioned its SQD-Mini LED series as its flagship technology for 2026.
Unlike Micro RGB TVs, TCL’s SQD combines quantum dot technology alongside a proprietary color filter and “Color Purity Algorithm” to improve color accuracy.
Despite diverting from the path of most manufacturers today, TCL says the SQD technology is able to achieve full BT.2020 color reproduction, which would put it on par with Micro RGB TV models.
Additionally, the TVs are backed up by TCL’s Halo Control system, allowing for high-density, local-area dimming.
Hisense Announces New Micro RGB Flagship
Elsewhere at CES, Hisense revealed the latest in its RGB MiniLED technology with the 116UXS flagship TV.
The new model introduces what the company calls RGB MiniLED evo, a four-primary backlight system that adds cyan to the traditional reb, blue and green LED structure found in most Micro RGB TVs.
Additionally, the company unveiled the 163MX, standing as the industry’s first RGBY MicroLED display.
Hisense says the additional yellow primary improves color fidelity in the 500–600 nm range, enhancing warmth and tonal accuracy.
Jetbuilt Introduces Automated Schematics to Jetbot Drawings
Ahead of ISE 2026, Jetbuilt announced it would be expanding its Jetbot Drawings software to include AV floor plans and rack elevations as part of its design offerings.
The new features will leverage Jetbot— Jetbuilt’s proprietary AI model—to automatically draft and populate design plans based on equipment lists that can then be modified and transferred over to other project software.
According to Jetbuilt, the addition is meant to provide teams with clear views of space requirements while also speeding up the usually time-consuming process of drawing systems.
Displace Announces Its First Video Wall
Displace at CES 2026 announced it would soon be releasing a video wall that it claims could be installed as quickly as 30 minutes.
The Displace Wall, as it’s called, will come in 110- to 130-inch options, being comprised of four smaller Displace TVs, with one acting as a “host” TV for any external connections.
According to Displace, the company’s “active-loop suction technology” can affix the fully wireless TVs to a wall, eliminating virtually all hardware usually required in setting up traditional video walls.
What’s in Store for Integrators in 2026?
Kicking off CE Pro’s prediction series, Patrick McCarthy of Azione Unlimited offered his insights as to where the custom integration industry might be heading in 2026.
When asked about which category he saw as being poised for success in the New Year, McCarthy pointed to energy as being the next potential winner.
According to McCarthy, the shift in conversation from greener homes to reliable operations has transformed homeowner sentiment surrounding the new devices.
McCarthy later went on to talk about what he sees as being the tickets to success in 2026, as well as what pitfalls integrators should look out for.
