OLED vs QLED TV: Which Is Better?

 TV has evolved from CRT to PDP and into LCD (LED). And current TV panels are divided into LEDs (QLEDs) and OLEDs. To decide what to buy, it is necessary to know the characteristics of each TVs, the pros and cons caused by these characteristics, and the propensity to innovations.

 LCD (Liquid-Crystal Display) generates light behind the panel, which is called backlight. If this backlight is LED, it is called LED (Light-Emitting Diode) TV, and QLED (Quantum-dot Lighting-Emitting Diode) TV is the addition of Quantum dot sheet to existing LCD (LED) backlight. In other words, LED TV is enhanced LCD TV, and QLED TV is enhanced LCD (LED) TV. (Therefore, it is said that LED (QLED) TVs are not true LED (QLED) TVs because they use backlight, but let's put the matter aside because the term is widespread.)

 OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) TV is different from LCD TV. OLED TV use self-glowing materials as TV panel instead of backlight. This difference creates differences in brightness, contrast ratio, etc. (Strictly, it is known that LG’s OLED TVs also use backlight, so it is said that LG’s OLED TVs are not true OLED TVs. But let’s put the matter aside, too. Because LG’s OLED TVs, nevertheless, show typical characteristics of OLED.)

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The pros and cons of OLED TV

Pros	Cons
Thinner screen (than QLED, the rest is omitted) Lighter Greater contrast ratio (a deeper black) Faster response time Better power efficiency in black	Expensive Lower brightness Decreasing brightness Burn-in Worse power efficiency in black

The pros and cons of QLED TV

Pros	Cons
Cheaper (than OLED, the rest is omitted) Higher brightness Constant brightness Longer lifespan (Burn-in free)	Thicker screen Heavier Lower contrast ratio Lower response time

 In addition, there are additional advantage of OLED such as ‘lower production costs in the future’, ‘can be made flexible display’, etc. However, these things are not considerations for consumers, but rather considerations for companies.

 If so, it is necessary to check whether the aforementioned pros and cons can be practical considerations. I will describe it in terms of OLED TV. 

Pros

Thinner screen

 Thinner screen itself has no practical advantage. Unlike CRT or PDP TV, the thickness of the QLED (LED) TV is also thin enough. Although the extremely thin thickness of OLED TV has a design advantage over QLED TV, the problem is that we rarely see the side of the TV. However, the following factor (lightness) caused by thickness may have advantages.

Lighter (Lightness)

 It can be different for different situations. If you change the location of your TV or move your house frequently, it will be a great advantage because it is easy to move. However, if you don’t move the TV after placing it, it also has no practical advantage.

Greater contrast ratio (a deeper black)

 This is the biggest advantage of OLED TV. When expressing black, OLED TV can produce pure black by turning off the individual diodes. There are many dark scenes in movies and games. So, if you watch movies often or play games on TV, OLED TV can be a good choice.

 The problem is when you use only one TV at home. When you compare TVs at the store or use multiple TVs at home, you can tell the difference in contrast ratio between OLED and QLED TV. However, when you use only one TV, it is difficult to tell the difference at home. So, if you use only one TV at home, you should consider how sensitive you are to contrast ratio.

Faster response time

 This is also one of the great advantages of OLED TV. If you play a game that requires a fast response speed (e.g. FPS) or watch sports often, OLED TV is much more advantageous than QLED TV.

Better power efficiency in black

 It is known that OLED has better power efficiency in black and not in white. But when we watch TV, we watch screens of varying states from bright to dark scenes. So, I think it is neither advantage or disadvantage.

Cons

Expensive

 This is one of the great disadvantages of OLED TV. Unlike LED TV, OLED TV is in the early stages of technology. Therefore, OLED TV is still more expensive than QLED TV of the same size, and this difference increases exponentially as the screen size of TV gets larger.

Lower brightness

 It can be different for different situations. If you prefer to lower the brightness of your TV and use it, I think this is not a fatal drawback. When you watch TVs displayed in electronics stores, the TVs are always on at full brightness (Incidentally, this is the reason why it is not recommended purchasing the TV displayed in the store. They are displayed at full brightness all day.).

 So, you can easily tell the difference in brightness between OLED and QLED TV at stores. However, it's different when you use only one TV at home. As in the case of ‘Greater contrast ratio’ topic, if you use only one TV at home, unlike at the store, it is not easy to tell the difference in brightness. And the maximum brightness of a TV is usually too bright for home use.

 However, if you prefer to increase the brightness of your TV and use it, it can be another drawback. The maximum brightness of OLED TVs is much lower than QLED TVs. Therefore, OLED TV may look dark compared with your TV that was used before. Moreover, in combination with the issue to be described next, this problem can be larger.

Decreasing brightness

 This is the one of the biggest disadvantages of OLED TV. Because the life span of the diodes is limited, the brightness of TV gradually decreases as you use it for a long time. And this problem can accelerate as you use your OLED TV brighter.

Burn-in

 This is another of the biggest drawbacks of OLED TV. Burn-in occurs when the fixed scene (like a channel logo, a scoreboard, a HP bar in RPG games, etc.) is continuously exposed on the screen. Therefore, if there are many fixed scenes in your main TV use, OLED TVs may not be suitable for your use. A MP bar in RPG games is especially lethal for OLED TVs because the life span of blue LEDs is the shortest among OLED diodes.

 When put together, the replacement cycle of OLED TVs is shorter than that of QLED TVs, which incurs additional costs. 

This work, “4”, is a derivative of "Sharingan Triple.svg", “Mangekyō SharinganMadara.svg”, “Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke.svg”, “Mangekyō SharinganMadara (Eternal).svg”, and “Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke (Eternal).svg” by ShounenSuki, used under CC BY. “4” is licensed under CC BY by Amaruak.

 In short, the relationship between OLED and QLED TVs can be compared to the Mangekyō Sharingan (万華鏡写輪眼, Literally meaning "Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye") and the Sharingan (写輪眼, Literally meaning “Copy Wheel Eye”) in the animation (or cartoon) Naruto. Compared to the Sharingan (QLED TV), the Mangekyō Sharingan (OLED TV) has additional abilities such as Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu (greater contrast ratio, faster response time than QLED TV). However, the Mangekyō Sharingan is hard to acquire (expensive), and if the Mangekyō Sharingan is overused, the user’s eyesight is worsened (decreasing brightness, burn-in).

 The user’s eyesight can be restored by acquiring the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. OLED TVs are similar. If these problems of OLED TVs are technically complemented, future OLED TVs will be able to completely replace LCD (LED) TVs.

 This is the diffusion of innovations according to Rogers (1962). Where you belong on this graph also will help you choose between OLED and QLED TV. If you belong to ‘Innovators’ or ‘Early Adopters’, I recommend considering OLED TV. If you belong to ‘Early Majority’, then I recommend considering QLED TV. Then what about ‘Late Majority’ or ‘Laggards’? I recommend normal LED TV to these groups.

 Then, how can I know where I belong? You can estimate that from appliances you use, especially a cellular phone. If you are using the latest cellphone despite the high price and change it frequently, Chances are you belong to ‘Innovators’ or ‘Early Adopters’. In a similar way, if you’re using a previous generation smartphone, perhaps you belong to ‘Early Majority’ or ‘Late Majority’ depending on the degree.

 I think it's a transitional period for TV panels now. In a transitional period, it is difficult to choose between mature and emerging technologies. I hope to consider many factors and choose a TV that suits your preference.

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