OLED or QLED
If you are reading this, then you may be considering whether you should buy an OLED TV or a QLED TV. If you are here out of curiosity, then welcome!
OLED and QLED are both capable of 4K and 8K resolution, but which one is better? The answer is not a simple as A or B. We at Duotone can tell you that the answer, like all solutions, will depend on your wants and needs. Hopefully after reading this blog, you will know a little more than you do now and be on the way to deciding yourself.
TVs have changed a lot over the last 20 years. Plasma dominated the market for years and then along came LCD (liquid crystal display) and ‘ping’ the affordable flat screen widescreen TV was born. The next revolution was LED (Light Emitting Diode) and in that last few years, out of nowhere has sprung OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and QLED (Quantum dot Light Emitting Diode). As these technologies advanced, they have gotten smaller which means that they cost less, take up less space and are more malleable. This is true up until QLED …
QLED is essentially a reinvented version of LCD technology with an additional quantum dot layer, in other words, LCD with extra layers.
OLED emits colour via each individual pixel which means it can show better colour contrast compared to other technologies. QLED uses Quantum dots (microscopic molecules) that, when hit by light, emit their own, differently coloured light.
Since QLED is comprised of LCD technology, it is a lot cheaper to manufacture compared to OLED. With the current trend moving more and more towards 55” and 65” screens, OLED is more expensive. QLED TVs can also be brighter than OLED due to the built-in backlit technology, so they work better in brighter spaces.
OLED does have another advantage over QLED which is image burn. You might be thinking image burn is a thing of the past since Plasma TVs are gone, but unfortunately, that is not the case. OLED is more susceptible to image burn if an image is left on the screen for hours. For TV viewing or App watching purposes this is not really an issue. QLED TVs tend to have screen savers that kick in if Netflix hasn’t moved in some time for example. That said if you are using your TV for PC gaming, then be careful; PCs may not go into standby and the TV’s screen saver will not kick as the PC does not give the same feedback as a built-in tv app. If you are a PC gamer, then you might be safer going with a QLED solution. This may happen with other hdmi devices, so just be careful not to leave a fixed image on the screen for hours at a time.
OLED is produced by the likes of LG, Panasonic, Sony, and Hisense. QLED is primarily produced by Samsung, although they are working with other brands and manufacturers to grow its popularity due to the low cost of production.
OLED has a couple more pros versus the QLED. OLEDs fantastic colour means that it has more convincing blacks and amazing contrast. OLED technology also has a faster refresh rate.
For the best picture quality, OLED is the way to go, but if you have a limited budget or you are a PC gamer and you want the bigger screen, then QLED is your best bet.
