What’s the Difference Between OLED and Samsung’s QLED TVs?

Author: Michael Crider / Source: howtogeek.com

Organic light-emitting diodes, abbreviated as OLED, are all the rage for high-end HD televisions. The technology has jumped from phones and tablets to larger screens, and its vibrant colors and “perfect” black levels make for amazing picture quality. But it isn’t the only player in town.

At the moment, Sony and LG are pushing OLED technology hard on their top-tier televisions, but Samsung seems to be doubling down on improvements of conventional LED screens instead. (Which is an odd move, since Samsung is one of the biggest manufacturers of OLED screens for mobile devices.) Instead, Samsung says that its new “QLED” televisions, using a marketing abbreviation for “Quantum Dot LED,” are better than LG’s best OLED screens. But not only is that something of an apples-to-oranges comparison, it’s also a bit of intentional confusion on Samsung’s part.

What Makes OLED TVs So Special?

This Consumer Reports photo shows the dramatic difference in black levels between OLED (left) and LED (right).

The biggest difference between organic LEDs and more conventional designs is the backlight mechanism—or more precisely, the lack of one. Because of the molecular structure of the organic compounds involved in its fabrication, each individual OLED pixel is illuminated when electrical current is applied. Those pixels that have no current applied—for example, when a full black, 0-0-0 RGB value is called for by the display mechanism—simply don’t activate. This allows OLED screens to achieve “true black,” since the portions of the screen displaying full black are completely un-powered when showing a black image.

Conventional LCD or LED screens need some kind of powered backlight across the entire screen whenever they dispaly any image. As a result, the contrast ratios for OLED screens are incredible.

Without a backlight mechanism, OLED screens can also be made physically thinner and smaller than LED screens, and are easier to curve in the most premium designs. Drawbacks for OLED screens include much greater expense in manufacturing (at least at the moment) and a greater tendency towards a burn-in effect when used to display static images for hours at a time.