What technology do I choose for my monitor or TV?
When we want buy a monitor or television we see in the market a series of acronym which have to do, among others, with the image quality offered. Specifically when we see a Samsung brand product (and other brands that include their panels) we will see that many of their televisions and some monitors are QLEDwhile in other brands we see TVs and Monitors OLED. Depending on the model we choose, it will have some advantages and disadvantages, in this guide We will tell you which is better OLED vs QLED and their differences.
The use to which we are going to give our TV or Monitor will determine what technology is the most suitable to this end. Just as we will not buy a gaming monitor to simply read web pages or check email. The more features they have, they are usually more expensive and it is worth the investment as long as extra technology will be used with which it counts.
Similarly a panel with QLED technology or an OLED panel are usually more expensiveso it will make sense if we are going to use the monitor or TV to view quality content. These technologies are associated with a better representation of images with higher quality and vivid colors in addition to offering more realistic blacks.
This is ideal if we want watch games in the highest possible quality or watch movies and series with truer colors and deeper blacks. The set of technologies to which a monitor and TV with these characteristics are associated will make it worthwhile as a whole.
but so much QLED and OLED offer us good resultsalthough the technologies are not the same, let’s see what differences there are between the two.
QLED, Samsung’s quantum dots
When we talk about technology QLED We are talking about a commercial name of Samsung that has given the quantum dot technology, QLED is short for Quantum Dots LED. This same technology is found in televisions and monitors. other brandsin LG they have called it Nano Cell, in Sony Trilumios Display, etc., all these are very similar technologies based on these quantum dots to generate more vivid and true colors. Let’s see what this technology consists of.
QLED technology uses the advantages of quantum dots to offer more realistic and better quality images. Thanks to the Quantum Dots, you can get about more vivid and true colors while enhancing darker scenes. brightness increases thanks to this technology and new backlighting systems, giving rise to images with high dynamic range content more commonly known as HDR. By increasing the brightness, the contrast is also higher.
Let’s delve a little more into how it works. Unlike the OLEDs that we will see later, the Quantum Dots are about semiconductor materials with a tiny size made of inorganic material. These points produce a color according to sizebeing a more bluish color when smaller (approximately 1 nanometer) and redder when larger (approximately 3 nanometers).
Within the same range of colors, for example, red, these are represented much more accurately thanks to quantum particle size tuning. With this accurate representation we can have a lot of higher quality of reds, greens and bluesin addition to being able to form the most real colors from these.
Quantum dots, being non-organic, are more durable and less prone to change or wear caused by other factors. Let’s say QLED televisions and monitors try to mimic the advantages of OLED panels without their drawbacks, but unfortunately they also have some drawbacks.
As each pixel does not have its own lighting, televisions with LCD panels and QLED technology need a light source to turn on and display these colors, this makes the black color is always seen with more grayish tones. Current lighting technologies divide the panel into many areas to illuminate only what is necessary and be able to represent black without lighting, but we find this in the most expensive models and it does not match the OLED where each point lights up independently.
Pure blacks thanks to OLED
OLEDthat comes from Organic Light Emitting Diodeis a type of panel with organic diodes that they are capable of emit its own light. To represent the color black, OLED panels turn off the pixel to have a pure and intense black color. Thanks to this, you get a infinite contrast which is often represented as 1,000,000:1.
But despite having infinite contrast, OLED panels cannot match the brightness of panels with Quantum Dots technologyeven so, peak brightness of 1,000 nits, a not insignificant number. Thanks to this lighting we can achieve HDR effects that, together with infinite contrast, result in very real images when there is a lot of contrast in scenes where a lot of lighting and dark parts are mixed.
These points are capable of illuminate themselves and do not need another light source to represent the color, this allows save space in the back building televisions and monitors much finer.
The OLED panels of televisions and monitors are panels with faster response time, just a fraction of 1 millisecond. This allows you to display the faster color changes, something essential with fast scenes such as action movies and series, car games, shooters, etc. They also get a energy savingthe pixels that do not light up do not consume anything, and the backlight part is saved.
One consideration to keep in mind of OLED panels is that are prone to image fixation over time. If we are watching a television channel where the logo is fixed in the same place, it is possible that over time that image may remain fixed on the panel. This is something that is being corrected but that is in the nature of OLED panels. In addition, also they are more sensitive in humid environments and to sudden changes in temperature.
Differences between QLED and OLED
We will review the main differences between these two concepts. To begin with, we will say that QLED is the commercial name offered by Samsung to its LCD panels with quantum dot technology. These are still LCD panels, but to which technology has been added to enhance images. The panels are usually IPS or VA type.
On the contrary, OLED is a type of panel with these organic light emitting diodes. The nature of these types of light emitters makes it possible to build much thinner panels than QLED (or LCD).
As we can see, the main difference between the two is that QLED refers to a technology added to TVs and monitors with LCD panels and OLED directly is a type of panel formed by pixels with organic type semiconductors, in which each time they have more presence on laptops and computer monitors.
QLED | OLED | |
---|---|---|
Brightness | 2,000+ nits | up to 1,000 nits |
Contrast | lower than OLED | infinite |
Nature | Quantum Dots | organic diodes |
Response time | greater than 1ms | 0.1ms |
Price | We can find cheaper models | Although costs are coming down, they are more expensive than some QLED models |
pros |
Useful in brightly lit environments
Lower price than OLEDs |
Very deep and real blacks
energy saving |
cons |
Lighting required for pixels
Lower response time |
Sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity
Long-term image fixation |
In this table you have Main differences between these two panel options.
So OLED or QLED?
Okay, this is a hard choicebut we will try to clarify a little this decision that you may have been asked at some time.
Also keep in mind that QLED is a trademark of Samsung and what is a technology applicable to LCD panels, so it will also depend on the quality of the panel that it includes. we can find models Very cheap QLEDs that do not even come close to the characteristics of an OLED. In order to find a QLED that can overshadow a television with an OLED panel, we have to go to a high-end.
Another aspect to take into account in QLED televisions is the lighting they use for pixelssince the OLEDs are capable of lighting each pixel separatelythis is one clear advantage When it comes to rendering scenes with higher color contrast, that’s why OLEDs have infinite contrast. In the QLEDs, the most advanced lighting systems are also found in the high range, with systems Full Array Local Dimming or also known as FALDto which they add more and more lighting points to create more independent areas, but they do not reach the quality of the OLED to illuminate each one separately.
Thus, OLEDs will be ideal when there are darker environments and when we want one excellent image quality in scenes with very high contrast. This type of situation occurs in series recorded with higher quality where all these advantages can be taken advantage of. Disadvantages such as the image fixationwhich rule it out as TV to watch channels where the logo is fixed for a long time, or inclement weather such as its greater sensitivity to humidity.
A panel with QLED technology is better when it will be seen in brightly lit environments (as long as we opt for a high range), also when we want to opt for a good image quality and we do not want to reach spend what an OLED panel costs. If, on the other hand, we prefer a QLED with similar characteristics, we will have to opt for a high range with HDR, Dolby Vision and FALD technology. These televisions already cost what an OLED or even above.
However, the QLED will never offer those blacks so characteristic of the OLED however expensive and advanced its technology and LCD panel may be.
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