Despite having only a different letter in their names, QLED and OLED, these technologies are very different. See what is the major difference and which one is better?
Currently, two technologies compete to take honors to the best image quality in televisions: OLED and QLED. But what does each one consist off? How do they work? What are the differences? These questions will guide the present paper that seeks to clarify the doubts between the two so that the consumer makes a more informed decision about which technology is best according to their needs.
Although there is only one different letter between them, the OLED technology is entirely different from the QLED. At the moment, Samsung, number one manufacturer of televisions, is the one that has pushed the term QLED and has introduced it in its televisions. On the other hand, LG, the number 2 manufacturer of televisions, has decided to bet on OLED technology. Other manufacturers, such as Philips, Panasonic, and Sony, are selling OLED televisions as well, but all those panels are produced by LG.
QLED
QLED is a term that comes from Samsung’s marketing team. Which describes a technology that has been tuning in over the years. It uses LEDs to illuminate a film of quantum dots that glow to specific wavelengths in red, green and blue to create colors.
Quantum dots are tiny molecules that, when reached by light, emit their own light of different color. On Samsung QLED TVs of 2017, the spots are in a film and the light that Lanza is provided by a back panel of LED lights. This light travels through other layers inside the television. Including a layer of liquid crystal (LCD). The light coming from the LEDs is transmitted through the layers to the surface of the screen. That is why this technology classifies as “transmissive.”
So what’s the difference between an LCD TV and a QLED? The main advance of this technology is that it allows to turn on individual LEDs and to different intensities, a reason why can generate a more contrasting illumination in the back panel. In this way, we could consider QLED as an updated version -corrected and augmented- of LCD technology.
OLED
OLED is an acronym for Organic Light-Emitting Diode (organic light emitting diode). This technology only needs electricity to activate each diode, so it generates individual lights and colors. When a diode is off, it creates a “pure” or perfect black. Each diode behind the screen represents a pixel, which betters the quality and clarity of the image. In this way, the technology of individual diodes allows each diode to emit its own light. That is why OLED technology is classified as “emissive.”
Differences
The biggest difference between the two technologies is their way of emitting light. QLED technology uses a backlight panel. So the image that the viewer ends up viewing passes through a layer compilation. In this way, the original light coming out of the board made with LEDs is entirely different from the light that the user appreciates in the final image. OLED technology, however, uses a large number of individual diodes that when combined create a single image. It is so that the original light coming out of the LED diodes is the same view that the user appreciates in the final image.
The main advantage of OLED technology is that it can turn off specific points on the screen, creating perfect blacks. In contrast, QLED technology decreases the intensity of the rear panel to generate blacks on the screen. However, they are not “pure” or perfect blacks, but still, need a light to create the black color in the quantum dot film.
QLED Advantages
The biggest advantage of QLED technology today is the intensity of its LED panel. As it is not the light that ends up seeing the viewer. It can include more powerful diodes that result in brighter images. So the more powerful the diodes of the backlighting panel, the better the quantum dots film. Which produces images with more eye-catching colors for the human eye. OLED technology, on the other hand, can not use any diode. So being limited to diodes that are not as powerful as those used in QLED technology. But those that emit a red, green or blue light, because they are the three colors that mix configuration to create your images. Even so, LED technology continues to advance and there are increasingly more powerful diodes for both applications,
That is another advantage that favors OLED technology. So being able to produce pure blacks, its different capacity is greater than that including QLED technology. Therefore, OLED does not need large amounts of brightness to create very different images.
The last downside of QLED technology is its developing state. As Samsung is the pioneer in this proposal, there is currently no other brand that has adopted this technology for its products in the market. However, the future suggests that eventually, the other companies will also apply this technology to their screens.
Applications
At the moment, QLED technology is only found on televisions. It comes, particularly to Samsung.
In contrast, OLED technology is applied in several products: televisions, high-end smartphones. Such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 (and possibly the next iPhone). Wearables such as the LG Watch Sport and laptops like the Alienware 13 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga.
conclusion
In conclusion, it now appears that OLED technology remains the highest quality offered to consumers, regarding contrast, brightness levels, and colors. Even regarding applications and screen sizes. However, if you are looking for extremely bright images or the environment in which you are placing your display requires it, the option is QLED.
Generally speaking, OLED technology is still the market queen. We will see what the future says about Samsung’s commitment to QLED technology.