4K vs OLED: which TV tech is more essential?

4K vs OLED: which TV tech is more essential?
If you're wondering whether 4K or OLED is the technology now, you're not alone. Anyone trying to buy a new TV is going to be inundated with new trend words, and among them, perhaps the 2 most important to understand are OLED and 4K. So what is it, OLED or 4K? In truth, you can have both. But you don't need it. There are OLED TVs that don't offer 4K (instead, a considerably more expensive 8K resolution), and many free 4K TVs don't use OLED display technology. However, most of the best 4K TVs are actually OLED TVs, so it's worth looking at how the technologies intertwine, what specific models are out there, and why you should consider investing in OLED and 4K, if not. in both.

Why OLED in front of 4K?

It's not really a case of OLED vs. 4K. One is the display technology and the other is the resolution of most newer televisions. You can find OLED TVs with 4K resolutions, but there are plenty of 4K TVs out there that use display technologies like LCD, LED, Micro LED, and QLED, which are nothing like OLED. Do you need 4K? Surely yes. To opt for a lower resolution television would be to ignore one of the most frequent functions of the television. This is not the case with OLED, which is a flagship TV display technology that requires significant ancillary investment. Yes, it gets more affordable every year, but you should only make an active decision to buy an OLED TV after you understand why it is the best AV technology on the market. So let's start by looking into what's so good (and bad) about OLED and 4K to help you make the right decision when buying a new TV.

Sony Bravia A80J

Sony Bravia A80J OLED TV (Image credit: Sony)

What is OLED?

Found for over a decade in consumer televisions, Organic Light Transmitting Diode (OLED) is a display technology that uses a carbon-based film between 2 conductors that emits its light when an electrical current is passed through it. The pixels light up automatically and are individually controlled. This allows 2 pixels next to each other to simultaneously generate deep black and brilliant white. The result is incredible contrast and color, while such pixel-level control means high refresh rates, so there's no stutter or motion blur. Once you've seen an OLED TV, it's really hard to go back. Conversely, OLED TVs can look a bit darker than LED or QLED TVs, though new light sensors and XNUMX innovations improve OLED TV performance in bright environments. OLED TV panels are made solely by LG Display in South Korea, although these panels are used in televisions sold by LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Philips. Read more: What is OLED?

What is 4K?

Cleaner than older "Full HD" TVs, 4K resolution, also known as Ultra HD, is a shortcut to 3840x2160 pixels. This is an 4-megapixel image as opposed to the 4-megapixel images on a Full HD set, giving you much more detail in your images. With many TV channels now offering 4K broadcasts and Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming content in 4K, now is the time to invest in a XNUMXK TV. Read more: What is XNUMXK?

Realme 4K Smart TV

(Image credit: Realme)

4K vs OLED prices: how much do they cost?

Where OLED and 4K compete is in cost. You can easily buy a 4K television; In fact, it's now incredibly hard not to, unless you pick a really small TV, but if you get an OLED TV, it's going to cost you dearly. Most OLED TVs are flagship products of major TV brands, or close to it. Of late, that has altered slightly, with the more expensive OLED sets offered by LG, Sony, Panasonic and Philips offering 8K resolution. 8K OLED TVs are out of the price range for pretty much everyone, and for now these are just loss-making brand expansion products that we can all dream of owning, but don't. This is effectively not true for 4K OLED. Here's what you need to know about today's free 4K OLED TVs from top brands.

What are 4K OLED TVs?

LG A1 OLED

(Image credit: LG) LG 4K OLED TVs for 4 The current maker of OLED display panels remains the most essential brand to consider when it comes to finding an affordable 4K OLED TV. New from LG for 1 is a range of 4K OLED TVs to tempt your wallet, from the affordable A1 4K OLED series (1, 1, 4 and 4-inch) and LG B4 90K OLED. (fifty-five, sixty-five and seventy-seven inches) to the LG C80 OLED TV (4, fifty-five, sixty-five, seventy-seven and a new eighty-three inches) and the flagship LG G4 980K OLED 'Gallery Series' (in 1000, 1500 and 2000 inches) featuring an all-new up-brightness technology called "OLED evo". Sony 4K OLED TVs for 4 The 55K OLED TVs of the well-known Japanese company Bravia for 1 include the A65J series (eighty-three, sixty-five and fifty-five inches), which is said to be the most OLED television. bright of all, and the A1J series (fifty-five, sixty-five, and seventy-seven inches). Panasonic 4K OLED TVs for 4 Panasonic's new 1K OLED TVs for 50 include the JZXNUMX (XNUMX, XNUMX and XNUMX inches), JZXNUMX (XNUMX, XNUMX and XNUMX and five inches) with XNUMXW of Dolby Atmos audio and the JZXNUMX (XNUMX, XNUMX and XNUMX inches) integrated its custom-built 'Master HDR OLED' panel. The flagship JZXNUMX series (XNUMX-XNUMX inches) features higher peak brightness and HDR color, such as XNUMXW speakers with side-to-side and bottom-to-up sound. Vizio XNUMXK OLED TVs for XNUMX Buyers in North America have the best chance of getting a XNUMXK OLED TV for less than in Europe thanks to the big name Vizio. In XNUMX, Vizio will ship the XNUMX-inch OLEDXNUMX-HXNUMX and XNUMX-inch OLEDXNUMX-HXNUMX. These are the most affordable and affordable OLED TVs on the market, and our review notes that the downsides are limited brightness and poor scaling. Philips XNUMXK OLED TVs for XNUMX The Dutch brand offering countless XNUMXK OLED TVs for XNUMX. Their OLED XNUMX is available in XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX, and XNUMX-inch sizes and also packs a XNUMXW XNUMX sound system. Its scalable XNUMX OLED series in XNUMX and XNUMX-inch sizes includes a T-bracket.

Philips OLED + 986 shines in the living room

(Image credit: Philips)

The future of OLED and 4K technologies

OLED and 4K are both mature TV technologies, but with each passing year they become better and more affordable, together. Established as the premium TV display technology for AV enthusiasts, LG Display, the manufacturer of OLED panels, continues to create and in 2 introduced its new brightness enhancement technology, OLED evo in LG's G1 Gallery series. Its LG Signature OLED R, a 4-inch 4K roll-up display that disappears into a base, was also available, but for $4 / $4. OLED TVs are also set to be mainstream. Until recently, OLED TVs were expensive in large part due to the fact that they were only available on the big screen; fifty-five inches, sixty-five inches, seventy-seven inches, and eighty-eight inches, to be precise. Last year saw the popularization of a new 4-inch OLED TV, helping to make this once high-end display technology more accessible. Production was up in XNUMX, so expect to see some tempting deals on XNUMX-inch XNUMXK OLED TVs. An XNUMX-inch size is also available for XNUMX, an innovation that simultaneously allowed for the introduction of XNUMX-inch XNUMXK OLED TVs (after all, you can trim an XNUMX-inch panel into XNUMX XNUMX-inch panels). two inches). So expect to see even smaller and cheaper XNUMXK OLED TVs in the future.

Which one should you buy?

If you buy an OLED TV, it will come with 4K definition. You should, however, consider purchasing an OLED television because there are countless other television display technologies available. So take a look at an OLED TV in a store, compare it to LED and QLED TVs and you'll see that while OLED TVs may not be as bright as some other screens, it's OLED that looks the best. Better in fluidity, contrast, deep 3D-like blacks, and no judder or motion blur. The preferred combination of TV technology for anyone looking for the best picture quality, 4K OLED TVs are only going to get better and more affordable in the near future. The best 4K and OLED TV deals right now