OLED TV simply explained: “Of course” better than QLED? Not in all areas

TELEVISION & SMART TVS

Apr 25, 2023 at 11:41 am

Should you rather go for the OLED TV or the QLED TV in retail? OLED TVs are superior in many areas. However, it is not only the technology that is decisive.

1. What is an OLED TV?
2. How does an OLED TV work?
3. What are the advantages of an OLED TV?

4. Compared to QLEDs

5. What is the difference between QLED and OLED?
6. Which manufacturers offer OLED TVs?

7. Buy OLED TV: You have to reckon with these prices

TV manufacturers really don’t skimp on cryptic abbreviations. Samsung, Philips and other companies want to convince you of their products with new names such as OLED, QLED, NanoCell or MikroLED. Who is supposed to see through that? In this article we will tell you everything you need to know about OLED TVs.

What is an OLED TV?

In addition to QLED models, they are now among the most common Smart TVs. OLED televisions owe their name to the OLED technology that is built into the screens of the devices (panels).

The term OLED contains the word LED, which means the lighting by light-emitting diodes in the screen. The O stands for the English term “organic”. Organic refers to the chemical technology and thus to the carbonaceous film in front of the glass of the television.

How does an OLED TV work?

In contrast to mini-LED televisions, which are just a modification of conventional LCD televisions with LED lighting, OLED is a display technology in its own right. The LED in the name is a bit irritating for many, since OLED devices do not have classic LEDs in the form of backlighting, as is the case with QLED devices, for example. It is the pixels themselves that light up on the OLED television.

Because they don’t have a backlight, OLED TVs tend to be very thin. But how exactly can a television picture be produced in such a small space? Imagine the technical structure on the screen as several layers.

There are several luminous, organic semiconductor layers between two electrodes. If direct current now flows through the device, the organic layers light up independently in order to generate the television picture. Of course, the complete technical processes behind it are much more complex, but we will spare you the physics lesson at this point.

The most important features of OLED TVs that you should take away from this explanation:

• They do without backlighting in the form of classic LEDs.
• They create an image using organic, carbon-containing layers of pixels.
• These light up in specific patterns when current flows through the device, creating an image.

What are the advantages of an OLED TV?

The special panel technology offers you many advantages. In several respects, OLED TVs are superior to QLED and other models, and not only because they do not require an additional light source for illumination. As mentioned, OLED televisions are significantly narrower and therefore often lighter than Smart TVs of the same size with separate background lighting.

The even lighting ensures that brightness and black tones are displayed better. Ultimately, this is expressed in the form of better image contrasts. Compared to QLED and Co., OLED technology can also score with “natural” arguments. Since OLED devices do not require a backlight, they consume correspondingly less energy. Anyone who uses OLED technology at home can therefore save on electricity costs. The low power consumption in turn benefits the environment.

The faster response time of the image is also a great advantage, especially for gamers. Especially with video games, it is important that the image is displayed as smoothly and smoothly as possible, but action-packed series and films also benefit from the better response time. Many other types of smart TVs are clearly at a disadvantage here.

Compared to QLEDs

What is the difference between QLED and OLED?

So how exactly do these benefits compare to QLED TVs? Again and again this question is hotly debated in various internet forums. Basically, an OLED television surpasses an otherwise structurally identical QLED television in many of the points mentioned above. It’s more energy efficient, lighter and slimmer, and more responsive when it comes to imaging.

But that doesn’t mean that OLED TVs are superior to QLED models in every respect. OLED televisions tend to break down more quickly than OLED televisions and often show the first signs of wear and tear in the technology after just a few years. That’s because the organic matter in the OLED models, like all natural matter, is subject to constant degradation.

Lifespan issue

Now that sounds worse than it is. On average, OLED televisions still last around 20,000 operating hours. Nevertheless, QLED TVs have a significantly longer service life, which can be up to 100,000 operating hours depending on the model. You don’t have to worry about the signs of aging of OLED televisions (burn-in effects), in which picture elements become permanently fixed on the screen over time, with QLED.

In return, OLED televisions offer a higher tolerance for the viewing angle. You can still clearly see all the important details of the image from a lateral position. QLEDs and similar TVs do not have this scope, primarily due to the built-in background LEDs, which are primarily designed for you to look at the screen from the front.

Contrasts and coloring only with small differences

In terms of brightness (including black values ​​and contrasts) and color volume, the differences between OLED and QLED are rather small. With daylight-resistant Quantum Dot technology, QLED screens are a step ahead here. The color volume also benefits from the technology, so that the QLED television also delivers better results in this area. However, these minimal differences should not significantly influence your purchase decision.

Which manufacturers offer OLED TVs?

In contrast to QLED or MicroLED, OLED technology can be found in significantly more Smart TVs from a wide variety of manufacturers. In addition to Samsung, Philips and LG, Panasonic, Sony and Xiaomi also offer OLED televisions in various sizes, to name just a few manufacturers.

Buy OLED TV: You have to reckon with these prices

In terms of price, OLEDs are slightly more expensive than regular LCD TVs with LED lighting, but are about as expensive as QLED TVs. You can get small OLED models from around 45 inches from around 500 dollars. Depending on the equipment and with increasing size, the price can also rise to up to 3,000 dollars. Particularly large models bring even higher prices.

Luckily, there are a few simple tricks you can use to save when you buy a new TV. All you have to do is keep a look at the current TV deals. In the linked article, we show you every week which TVs you are currently getting big discounts on. OLED models are often included.