OLED vs LCD vs LED: Which TV technology should win a place in your living room?

OLED vs LCD vs LED: Which TV technology should win a place in your living room? Baffled by the technical terms of OLED, LCD, and LED? Wondering why OLED is so expensive? Or not sure about the benefits of LCD and LED TVs? Where do QLED TVs come from? If you're shopping for a TV and have questions like this on your mind, we're here to help. Let's face it, the most important part of any TV is picture quality. Today, most of smart TV platforms meet the same general requirementsAnd televisions generally don't vary much in shape or size, but the types of panels and image processors you'll find in your television can vary wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Here we will review the differences between OLED, QLED and LCD-LED- Competing technologies that offer a compromise between price and image quality, with their own strengths and weaknesses in the imaging department. All of these display technologies support the increasingly essential 4K resolution, as well as the associated 4K color accompaniment technologies such as HDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Some hosts can also distinguish different sets, such as 4K HDR Processor X1, Dynamic Range PRO and Triluminos Display (Sony), NanoCell and IPS 4K Quantum Display (LG), 4K SUHD and Ultra HD Premium HDR 1500/2000 (Samsung). These technologies certainly make a difference, but they are far from the ideal solution. When buying a television, we recommend that you don't worry so much about the marketing noise and the significant differences in image quality between OLED, QLED and LCD-LED. We will explain everything you need to know here. OLED is a self-emitting display technology (Image credit: Sony)

What is OLED?

Advantages and disadvantages of OLED

Advantages: Disadvantages: Seeing an OLED TV for the first time is truly a pure "whoah!" The images are so smooth, fluid, colorful and so contrasting that it is very difficult to go back to your old LCD or plasma TV.. Does this mean that OLED is the flat panel TV technology we've been hoping for? Almost as flat as wallpaper, the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a defining moment for televisions. Critically, it emits its own light, so the big backlight used by most TVs isn't there. In addition to being slim, on an OLED display, each pixel automatically lights up to let you control images at an individual pixel level. In an OLED panel, organic films are sandwiched between semiconductors and then fed with an electrical current, meaning each pixel can be turned on and off individually. This process simultaneously uses less energy to create more brightness and allows total blackness. Therefore, a video with extreme darkness and brightness, such as a starry sky, looks realistic. With unlimited contrast, it means the whitest whites and the darkest blacks, and everything in between. Expect vivid color, above all extremely fast response times. OLED also has drawbacks: It's very expensive, and no one really knows how long the boards will last. The manufacture of OLED panels is also more environmentally friendly than traditional panels. While LCD panels require the production of nitrogen trifluoride, a greenhouse gas, OLEDs do not. So if you want to save the planet and have better picture quality, you might want an OLED package. The basic technology of LCD TVs is rapidly disappearing from the market The core technology of LCD TVs is rapidly disappearing from the market (Image credit: Samsung)

What is LCD and LED?

LCD / LED Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages: Disadvantages: If you can't justify spending big on an OLED or QLED TV, the good news is that all the major TV brands still sell plenty of LCD TVs.. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) TVs are often thought of as competing concepts, but they actually refer to the same display technology. In an LCD television, the liquid crystals rotate the rotated polarized light, effectively acting as a light valve that illuminates all the pixels simultaneously. Instead of the pixel-for-pixel lighting of OLED TVs, in a standard LCD TV, all the light comes from a large, power-hungry backlight. The result is uniform brightness and relatively low contrast images. LCD is an obsolete technology, so much so that you can no longer easily buy basic LCD TVs, regardless of their size, at least not in the original configuration. That's where the LED backlight comes in: instead of having a one-piece backlight that limits contrast, LED TVs are lit by (you guessed it) LEDs. They are placed in groups behind the panel (full-array local dimming) or on the sides ("on-board" or "edge-lit" LED TVs). The latter is more common, largely because the resulting television is flatter. There are some downsides, namely that both techniques still get their light from an external source which increases the components and size of the finished TV. If you're looking in a completely black environment, you'll also notice smearing, uneven brightness across the panel, and a lack of shadow detail in dark areas of the screen. That being said, the pictures are often very bright and colourful, and you can buy an LED TV in whatever size you choose. They are of great value. Brands are still trying to shout about new innovations (like LG's recent discussions of Nano Cell technology), but they often only modify old technologies. LED-backlit LCD TVs provide the best value for television technology, and that won't change any time soon. This is the Samsung Q90 QLED - this may be our favorite TV of all time. Samsung Q90 QLED – This may be our favorite TV of all time. Image credit: Samsung

What is QLED?

QLED Pros and Cons

Advantages: Cons: Another high-end television technology, QLED (quantum dot light-emitting diode) is very different from OLED technology. QLED panels are not self-emitting, but are lit by LEDs along the edge (like a backlit LCD). The advantages of QLED TVs are that they use a quantum dot color filter and can achieve much higher brightness than OLED TVs. Gives vibrant colors, but slower response times than an OLED TV. However, the contrast and blacks are not as good as OLED TVs. So far, QLED has only seen modest success, but that could change. At CES 2018, Samsung announced that its 2018 QLED TVs would use direct-dimming backlights and offer even higher brightness. If black level and motion blur issues can be improved, Samsung could play a role. But only if they are cheaper than OLEDs, which are still the reference for the moment. Philips OLED Series 6 TVs are equipped with Ambilight Image Credit: Philips

Should I buy an OLED, QLED, LCD or LED TV?

Most of the TV brands sell the most popular TV technology. However, there is a schism in the market; as if no one really sold OLED and QLED (with the exception of Hisense, which is flirting with both quantum dot LED displays and its first OLED set). OLED panels are made only by LG and QLED panels by Samsung. Other brands use them under license and are trying to add their own secret sauce to give their models early length. What you decide to buy largely depends on the price. Future innovations could reverse this advice, but for now, if you have money to burn and want the best, go for an OLED, hands down. Do you want a brighter signal? Opt for a QLED. If you're more price conscious and don't need the darkest blacks, an LED-backlit LCD TV might be the one you want. They may not have the same level of contrast, but depending on the manufacturer's technology they could get very close. This may seem confusing at first, but Buying a TV isn't as complicated as you think, with a little understanding of the differences between OLED, QLED, LED, and LCD.        

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