Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology explained: what is it, how it works, and its benefits

• By G.S Vasan -
Published On: March 19, 2024

Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology is here to enhance the OLED experience in terms of improved brightness, viewing angles, and colours. It is available on select TVs and its main competitor is QD-OLED. While Samsung makes the latter, MLA is being propagated by LG and it has chosen to release the technology under different names like Brightness Booster Max and META. Let's understand this naming convention, how the Microlens Array tech works and its various benefits.

What is Micro Lens Array technology?

Micro Lens Array (MLA) refers to the use of micro-lenses to counter the light scatter issue in OLED TVs, resulting in brighter displays. This means the various aspects of a video on display like HDR highlights, reflections and colours could all appear closer to reality. 

It is exclusive to select TV models now and if you go to the market to buy a MLA OLED TV, you should know it comes under different names like META, Brightness Booster Max, etc.

LG Display is the one making Micro Lens Array for OLED panels and instead of sticking with the technical name, the brand decided to call it META. It showcased META 1.0 at CES 2023 and the META 2.0 at CES 2024.

Adding more confusion to the mix, its sister concern, LG Electronics (which sells LG TVs) has chosen to name the tech — Brightness Booster Max. Meanwhile, Panasonic (which sources OLED panels from LG Display) has stuck with the original name, i.e., MLA.

Here are the various TVs with this feature:

Micro Lens Array-supported TVs

• LG G4
• LG G3
• Panasonic MZ2000
• Panasonic Z95A
• Panasonic Z93
• Philips OLED+959
• Philips OLED908

Now that you know what is it and which TVs have it, let's see how it works.

How Micro Lens Array works

As per LG Display, MLA technology works in a two-fold approach:

• Hardware: The MLA display consists of a film of convex microlenses arranged on top of the WOLED layer similar to a dragonfly's eye structure. For example, in a 77-inch 4K LG OLED display, there will be around 42.4 billion microlenses or about 5,117 lenses per pixel.
  
  These lenses channel and direct light (coming from the self-emissive pixels beneath them) properly to the viewer's eyes, which otherwise would have gone lost due to internal reflection between different layers of the OLED display.
• Software: The hardware is complemented by a META Booster algorithm which analyses the video on screen frame by frame and then enhances its brightness, dynamic range, colours, and clarity.  

Together they render a more efficient and brighter OLED display. Here are all the perks of this tech:

Micro Lens Array benefits and cost

• Higher brightness: Since it prevents loss of light and channels the same to the user, the visuals appear brighter. LG claims the first-gen MLA tech could achieve 2100 nits of brightness and the MLA or META 2.0 is capable of 3,000 nits. 

• Better visuals: It presents brighter or more vibrant colours, better dynamic range and less colour distortion.
• Eco-friendly: The loss of light or energy that MLA prevents is indirectly used to light up the display brighter. So, it is a power-efficient way to improve display brightness.
• Wider field of view: It is said to offer a 360-degree viewing or in other words, improved off-angle viewing.

Micro Lens Array offers higher brightness, better visuals, wider field of view, and is also power efficient compared to non-MLA TVs.

Although the increased brightness isn't at the cost of more burn-in risk, there is still some burn-in possibility since it is OLED at the end of the day. Speaking of cost, the tech is new and hence you can expect a higher price tag for MLA TVs. The LG G3 65" 2023 launched at $3,299 (about Rs 2,73,500) while the LG G2 2022 had hit the market at $3,000 (around Rs 2,49,000). The LG G4 2024 has come at $3,399 (approx Rs 2,82,000). So, among other factors, MLA could also be a reason for this price uptick. 

But, should you buy Micro Lens Array TVs or pay for the competition? Let's see.

MLA OLED vs QD-OLED comparison

• Price: MLA OLED's rival is QD-OLED. Samsung S95D 65" with QD-OLED is priced at $3,299 (about Rs 2,73,500) which is lower compared to the LG G4 65" with MLA OLED. 
• Brightness: Just like LG's META 2.0, the QD-OLED 3.0 in Samsung's 2024 TV lineup also sports up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. 
• Reflections: Samsung has added a glare-free layer that mitigates unwanted reflections on the screen. We are yet to learn if LG G4 with MLA OLED has any such feature. 
• Colours: QD-OLED is generally known to boost colours. But a side-by-side comparison will be required to know which shows colours better. 

FAQs

What are the other applications of Microlens Array?

Microlens Array is also used in Miniaturized Imaging Systems, 3D Image Acquisition Systems, Colour Imaging and Fingerprint Identification Systems.

How small are MLA lenses?

Microlens Array lenses are so tiny that you may have to use a microscope to see them. Some of them can be as small as the width of the human hair. Their size is measured in micrometres or microns (one-millionth of a meter) to a fraction of a millimetre.