September 28, 2023, 6:53 am | Read time: 6 minutes
When buying a TV, many people not only face the question of the optimal size but also the choice between OLED, LCD, or even QLED. All three display technologies have advantages and disadvantages—depending on the use. TECHBOOK reveals what you should pay attention to.
In the television industry, there are currently three dominant display technologies: the tried-and-true LED (light-emitting diode), OLED (organic light-emitting diode), and QLED. LED and the well-known LCD actually refer to the same thing. But which technology should you choose when buying a new TV? TECHBOOK explains the pros and cons of LCD, QLED, and OLED.
Overview
LCD/LED TVs are often cheaper
The abbreviation LCD stands for “Liquid Crystal Displays.” They are the classics among TV screens. Some call LCDs LED TVs, often meaning the same thing. Every LED TV is essentially an LCD panel with backlighting. In the past, fluorescent lamps were used for this, but today more efficient LEDs are preferred for lighting.
A “Liquid Crystal Display” consists, as the name suggests, of liquid crystals that are backlit to display colors. In principle, each pixel can reproduce the colors red, green, and blue, covering the RGB range. The color a pixel displays is determined by the electrical voltage.
A major advantage of an LCD TV is its price, with TVs available for just a few hundred euros. Additionally, thanks to the LEDs, the devices are very energy-efficient, durable, and often display a much brighter picture than OLED models. However, a downside is the generally somewhat poorer picture quality compared to QLED or OLED TVs. LCD TVs often have worse contrast and black levels and less vibrant colors. The reason for this is the backlighting. In LCD TVs, not every pixel is individually lit but rather illuminated by a large lighting area. The light thus always shines on the surrounding pixels, resulting in poorer black levels, for example.
If the LEDs are only placed at the edges of the screen (known as edge lighting), the illumination often results in spots. The edge appears brighter than the middle part of the TV. However, there are also LCD TVs with “LED Direct Lighting,” where the LED backlighting is arranged in multiple rows across the entire screen. This results in more even pixel illumination without spot formation. However, such devices have higher energy consumption and are more expensive than models with edge lighting.
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Samsung popularizes the QLED TV
QLED displays can be roughly described as the golden middle between LCD and OLED. Samsung introduced the first TVs with this display technology in 2017. Essentially, QLED is an improvement of LCD TVs with LED backlighting. In QLED technology, there is an additional film with nanoparticles, known as quantum dots, between the LED backlighting and the liquid crystals. This gives the QLED display its name.
The quantum dots individually react to the LED light beams behind them and are either colored in a strong red or green. Together with the blue component in the LED light, the individual colors of the liquid crystals are thus intensified. The result: colors become more intense and radiant. Additionally, a QLED panel shines very brightly, often surpassing even OLED TVs in brightness.
However, the technology also has a few drawbacks. Since QLED is based on LCD technology with its large-area backlighting, the direct contrast between individual pixels is generally weaker than with OLED. It should also be noted that QLED TVs usually have a narrower viewing angle due to the film. The best picture is only available from a frontal view.
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OLED–the top class among TV displays
OLED displays are considered the ultimate in the TV market and are therefore often found in high-end devices. Accordingly, buyers have to dig deeper into their pockets for these TVs. Current models with this display technology are rarely available for under 1,000 euros.
OLED stands for “Organic Light Emitting Diode.” Unlike LCD, LED, or QLED technology, OLED does not require large-area backlighting. Here, the organic light diodes emit light on their own. This has a decisive advantage: if a pixel is turned off, it remains pitch black. At the same time, illuminated pixels do not emit ambient light to adjacent pixels. This results in the deep black levels, clear colors, and high contrasts for which OLED TVs are known. Film fans, in particular, have created quite a hype around OLED technology.
Another advantage of the display technology: without the backlighting, OLED TVs are usually thinner than classic LCD TVs, and the viewing angle is extremely stable. The OLED technology is therefore particularly well-suited for large TVs.
However, there are also things to consider here. OLED TVs often display large images somewhat darker than, for example, QLED TVs. Additionally, the organic components in the panel are considered less durable. The burn-in effects from long static images, for which OLED TVs were long notorious, are now rare in current devices.
A question of brightness
If you have a sunny living room, windows behind you, or usually leave the lights on while watching TV and rarely watch movies in complete darkness, you might be better off with a new-generation LED TV or a QLED TV than with an OLED TV. In such cases, picture brightness is more important than perfect black. However, OLED TVs are also getting brighter.
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One of LG’s top models, the OLED G3, reaches a peak brightness of 1,800 nits (luminance), which is a very good value. To achieve this result, the manufacturer uses so-called microlenses, or “MLA” or “Micro Lens Array.” However, this brightness is only achieved on part of the screen. If the entire area is illuminated in white, the brightness drops to 235 nits.
Samsung has one of, if not the brightest TV on the market. The QN100B features a QLED panel with thousands of mini-LEDs as backlighting, divided into small dimming zones that can be individually controlled. This allows the brightness to be adjusted in 16,384 steps—or turned off completely. Overall, the Samsung QN100B reaches a brightness of 5,000 nits. For comparison, the popular QN95B achieves about 2,000 nits at its peak.