Every time the televisions that reach our homes have a better visual quality. We are almost out of Full HD and the new standard is 4K. As with a large set of specifications that aim to bring cinema quality to our living room. One of the characteristics that is gradually approaching the average user is the well-known OLED that, sometimes due to its similarity in name, can be confused with QLED. And this is exactly what we are here to talk to you about today. We are going to show you the differences between OLED or QLED and, of course, we will show you the advantages and disadvantages of each .
What are the differences between OLED and QLED?
Although both technologies are similar in name as we mentioned, they have nothing to do with each other. To be clear, let’s see what each of them means:
- OLED : defines organic light-emitting diode technology, translation of organic light-emitting diode. It is a type of diode formed by organic components that react to a certain electrical stimulation, generating and emitting light by themselves . In other words, this set of organic diodes form the OLED panels that, after receiving an electrical impulse, are capable of emitting light by themselves.
- QLED : defines quantum dot Light emitting diode technology . In this case, it refers to a group of LCD panels that need an external source that emits light to later reproduce the image we see on our televisions. This light source is located behind the diode panel or on the sides as you can see in the following image. What then differentiates them from normal LED panels? Well, the precision with which they can activate the pixels in the case of QLEDs. This allows them to better handle characteristics such as contrast or color depth.
Therefore, despite their similarity in name, they are totally different technologies as we already mentioned. In a very simplified way, we could define QLEDs as vitaminized LED panels to achieve better image quality. But be careful, because they are not the only ones that have implemented improvements compared to their predecessors. There are other vitamin alternatives such as LG‘s Nano Cell technology or Sony‘s X-tended Dynamic Range PRO . But the most popular without a doubt within this type of panel are the QLED.
What brands use OLED or QLED?
These terms join the set of surnames that accompany the different models of screens that are sold in the market. And of course, seeing so many names of technologies with “strange” terminologies, you may end up somewhat confused. For that reason, we are going to quickly see in which brands you can find one or another technology .
- QLEDs are the easiest to identify, since you will usually find them on Samsung Smart TV panels. Although you can also see them in other manufacturers such as TCL, which also has some models with this technology in its catalog.
- In the case of OLED panels, they have been spread by several manufacturers, among which we can find LG, Sony, Panasonic or Philips among others.
But beware, this does not mean that all smart TVs of these brands have these technologies. These we usually see in the higher ranges of the panels of the mentioned manufacturers. So, knowing this, let’s now see what are the positive and negative points of each one.
Advantages of OLED vs QLED
Of course, each of these technologies has its positive and negative points. We will see below what advantages we can find in OLED panels compared to QLEDs :
- Pure blacks : one of the most obvious characteristics between both technologies is the dominance in the contrast section of the OLED panels. This is because they can completely turn off the pixels to represent absolute black since they do not need an external light source. However, despite the fact that QLEDs have improved characteristics in this section, they will never be able to achieve the same result as OLEDs.
- Thinner : the screens that can be achieved with this type of technology are thinner because they require fewer layers to reproduce the image.
- Lower consumption : referring again to the characteristic that allows them to generate light by themselves, they not only allow them to turn off the pixels for a higher contrast, but they also require less power consumption than the rest of the panels.
- Better viewing angle : screens with this technology offer a better viewing angle from any point compared to LCDs, despite the fact that they have improved this aspect a lot in recent years.
- Response time : in OLEDs this value reaches 0.002 milliseconds compared to 2 milliseconds for LEDs. This feature prevents the familiar ghosting effect from appearing when there is a lot of movement in action scenes. Therefore, this is a great plus for those who use these screens to play video games.
Disadvantages of OLED vs QLED
But of course, not everything was going to be good in televisions with OLED panels and they also have some disadvantages :
- Less bright : despite the fact that OLED technology does not leave us with screens that at first glance seem dull in terms of their brightness, it is true that QLED panels have a higher brightness. This ends up leaving images brighter and better seen in broad daylight.
- High manufacturing costs : the first OLED screens were launched in 2014 and, even today, they are not in many homes. This means that manufacturing costs are still high due to low demand. And although we can already find some OLEDs with prices close to 1,000 euros, there are QLED models of equal size with a price lower than this figure.
- Greater color volume : Samsung, like the rest of the manufacturers that use this type of panel, ensures that its screens are capable of reproducing the entire sRGB color spectrum, which leaves us with a greater variety of colors in the image.
OLED or QLED: which one should you buy?
Now that you have all the important information about both technologies, it is time to decide if you want to bet on one or the other. If the question you are asking yourself is which is better? We are sorry to tell you that both have characteristics that enhance it over the other.
If what you are looking for is an impressive image , both types of panel will surprise you if you decide to take them to your living room. But of course, if you want to enjoy pure blacks and a higher saturation you should opt for an OLED panel. However, if you care about the price but want to have a great audiovisual experience, there are many alternatives that have QLED screens.