[Closed] OLED or QLED

IIRC QLED is OLED, Samsung license the OLED tech from LG.

They’re 2 competing (and different) technologies. OLED has better blacks which would probably swing it for me.

Whats the difference?

They're different. QLED is essentially the same tech as other LCD TVs with an extra layer that improves colour and brightness. It's more how Samsung market their high end TVs rather than something new.

OLED is different in that pixels can emit different levels of light, meaning you get true blacks in dark scenes and excellent contrast.

Go into Curry's (to look) or Richer Sounds (if you want advice) and check some out. Personally I prefer OLED but Samsung's QLEDs do manage higher max brightness which might matter depending on your room. There's also the issue of burn in on OLEDs which would be a concern for sports and gaming especially, as its more likely to happen with fixed graphics regularly on screen.

I looked at both and ultimately ended up with a much cheaper TV, but around the £1000 mark the OLED TVs were the clear winner in image quality. At the real top end it was harder to tell the difference, at least in a well lit store.

I recently went through this and decided on an OLED. However, we don't use it for gaming. We chose it for the better blacks and wider viewing angle. Our screen will never get direct sunlight so doesn't need the extra brightness of a QLED.

Having said that, if I was gaming, or watching channels with fixed logos or ticker tape scrolls on them, I might be more concerned about burn-in and go QLED.

There’s not much between them LD OLED get the better reviews.

We bought an LG 65 OLED, and it is very nice.

95% of the time the picture is stunning, however it does still struggle with blacks at times and pixelate them and turn them gray.

QLED are supposed to be brighter but we have the screen pixel brightness turned down quite a lot on ours. We have never found overall brightness an issue.

You need to watch everything in HD or higher quality. SD TV is pretty horrible to watch.

We started looking at 55. In the end got 65 for same money. It’s big and does look too big in the room at times, but boy it’s impressive watching something on 65.

LG 65" OLED here used for everything inc. many, many hours of PS4 & PC gaming. Is sublime and have never, ever regretted the eyewatering cost. OS and remote about the best I've used too.

Samsung's deal with McAfee to put 'security' software (I don't think it has anything to do with security) on everything, including their TVs means I'll never buy another Samsung anything.

Have a look at the HDTVTest channel on YouTube, very knowledgeable guy. From what I gather OLED has a better overall picture, QLED is brighter and has a really good anti glare coating.

Depends a bit on the budget but for gaming/sports I'd probably go with QLED as you're not really making the most of an OLED, even more so if the budget meant you could get a 65" QLED instead of a 55" OLED. Unless you're sitting right next to the screen then a 65" makes a huge difference, especially with 4k content.

I have an OLED myself and it's great (although I don't game on it) but I watch a lot of 4k films and HDR content where you get more benefit from the blacks and contrast etc.

Go into Curry’s (to look) or Richer Sounds (if you want advice)

FFS don't go to Richer Sounds for advice!

Find a Sevenoaks Sound and Vision or somewhere similar (Crampton and Moore) that has their sets set up somewhat decently and compare them yourself, and get decent advice.

I don't think either of them are quite as good as a Plasma at motion.

If you are gaming a lot or watching news channels or someone is using a music service like Apple Music and leaving the picture on them you will feel happier with the QLED, and the other area where Samsung are leading is in the screen filter - but that might be only on the top sets where it is better.

For me the winner at the moment is the Sony OLEDs as they have some very good processing to remove the banding effect from low quality/mismatched picture sources - it is even on the BluRay of The Martian.

This banding/posterisation can be bloody annoying, particularly if you have just bought an expensive TV.

It's pretty much why I've still got my Panasonic Plasma - and I actually had a good upgrade to my picture quality when I moved from my Amazon Fire Box to an Apple 4k TV box, and if I run it 4k into my Oppo and then downscale to the TV I get even better results.

Watch HDTVTest as suggested.

The top Samsung competes pretty well with OLED but still has issues like crushing detail out of dark scenes -

Don't forget to look at the Panasonic OLED - it has very accurate colors straight out of the box and decent prices can be found.

Thanks guys.
I get the difference between Qled and Oled in terms of the basic tech with oled switching individual pixels on and off for the better black. I know that Qled is a better version of led.
The Samsung I was looking at is a 2019 model and gets pretty good reviews. The LG one is a OLED and 2018 I think. The latest/cheapest LG oled 2019 is £2499 gulp.
So the 2018 LG one is 55c8p about £1200
I did start out looking an the Panasonic 802B but that seems to get quite a few bad reviews regarding motion blur.
I'd hate to spend that sort of money and end up with something that can't cope with the motion.
Other thing is is that we rarely watch movies. We are more series watchers than movie watchers.
@Turnerguy whats wrong with Richersounds?

Have a look at Vincent Teo's reviews (above); I found them really helpful.This is my understanding:

1. Ambient room light and reflections - brighter better (LCD) plus antireflective coating. This might be more important than you think.
2. Motion handling - dependent on companies motion processing hardware and software rather than OLED v LCD - Sony traditionally very good.
3. Blacks in dark scenes - OLED can switch off each pixel, so has more control of black. On LCD a full array screen has zones that can be controlled independently. Many LCDs are not full array; they are lit from the side so have less control.
4. TV software platform: some better than others but may not matter if you use a 3rd party like Apple TV.
5. Size matters - I bought a smaller set two years ago (55") and realised it was too small for the room.

The reviews will give you a good idea of what people are talking about when they compare sets and whether these things will matter to you. We ended up with a full array LCD from Sony and its simply stunning. Our room has a lot of glass so quite a bright environment. The android app is quite poor it has to be said, not unusable though. We use Apple TV most of the time and get BT sport, Sky sport - it all looks great, motion very good. Have also watched GOT which has its fair share of dark scenes and was surprised how good that was too.
Movies like Free Solo and the Dawn Wall are incredible.

OLED tends to do a much better job with motion than LCD, in my opinion. Personal feeling is that when you see the two of them side by side there's no comparison.

If you can get an OLED for your price point, do it.

I don't think that's true - if you look through the Teo reviews he runs motion testcards so you can begin to appreciate which sets handle motion well. I seem to remember that reviews tended to highlight motion control as a relative weak point of the LG OLEDs that I was considering.

I have a 10 year old Panasonic plasma at home and it handles motion (sport) far better than my father's 2 year old LG OLED. Before purchase you need to get a good test using the type of source material that you use at home.

If I was forced to buy a new TV now I would buy OLED but I'm sticking with the plasma as long as I can!

I just replaced a Panasonic Plasma with a Samsung non-OLED LED and the picture is just as good as the Plasma - Fast movement isn't as well rendered, I admit, but as far as colour, blacks, whites whatever, I have no regrets in spending £500odd instead of £££KKKK for Q/OLED. For one thing, it's only TV, for another, the picture is superb as it is.

@RSVtoddy Yeah the Panny has been great struggles a bit in bright light but is now starting to get a bit glitch. switching itself off and on the other night next day lost a pixel line. Both faults have now stopped.
Burn in seems to be a big hang up with OLED but I think looking at the reviews that seems to be blown a little out of proportion.
Think it's time I went and had a good look at whats out there.

@DezB It's only a TV yes and I would be happy to spend a lot less but I don't want to be watching the football and cricket or playing COD and be suffering headaches and eye strain. That really would be a waste of money.

Motion is probably the most subjective part of image quality. There's a lot of factors that affect it, panel type, refresh rate, response time, source, motion processing hardware and software.

For some people its impossible to ignore, others barely notice it.

My son says Fortnite was worse on the Plasma than the old Sony he has at his mum's house.
Where have you heard non OLED screens give eye-strain?? As I said, the picture is just as good, if not better than my Plasma, just slightly different.
But, hey, it's your money, I'm just giving my experience.

@DezB I've not heard that it gives eye stain/headaches I have an LG 4k job we got for 250 when we joined Sky it's a nice set but I struggle to watch sport and game on it because of the motion blur and have swapped it back to the old plasma which works far better for our viewing needs. So I would rather just use my money wisely. Thanks for sharing your experience. I wasn't devaluing it or having a dig.

It's difficult to choose without seeing them in the "real world" - we had a wander round Currys and all the OLEDs were massive and prominently displayed - the samples being displayed were quite clearly (and why wouldn't they be?) designed to highlight the better aspects of the display and were all UltraHD. They're the one's they want you to buy of course. There was a good demo on a Sony TV, and I asked the sales fella if he could display the same thing on a Samsung and he gave some excuse why he couldn't... the Sony was £200 more than the Samsung... anyway, I took a punt on the Samsung and I couldn't be happier with it. A second or less of a rugby player going very slightly blurry really doesn't spoil it. I'm sure an OLED would be awesome, if you have the spare readies 🙂

One thing definitely better on LED than Plasma is the display of SD images.

@DezB yep need to see them. Been spoilt by the plasma. I really suffer when it comes to the motion blur thing. I only think that Oled is going to be nearest thing to the plasma in terms of the speed the image refreshes I could be wrong. If there is an LED out there that will do the job i would certainly consider it.

@Turnerguy whats wrong with Richersounds?

what's right with them ?

They are just a box shifter with mediocre staff and advice - you might get lucky but they are just going to push whatever they have in store.

I was getting my hair cut one day and this old guy came inm, sat next to me, and was describing his new £80 hdmi lead that was going to improve his TV picture massively - or so the guy at Richer Sounds had told him...

If you are sensitive to motion then that narrows down the field to basically only Sony 🙂

And also remove LG from consideration 🙂 And maybe anything that is not top-end Samsung.

Lastly, a lot of the top end Samsung sets from last year were returned because of bad panel consistency.

and was describing his new £80 hdmi lead that was going to improve his TV picture massively

I will say, I've watched a stupid amount of sport (rugby and boxing) on my Samsung and I think I've seen the motion blur about 3 times and only on distance shots of rugby.

What’s the problem? I’ve got one of them, best bang for your buck upgrade by far

hmmm...

the hdmi standard is so tight that any cable is sufficient if it complies to the particular standard you are requiring. There's been loads of tests showing this as well.

Maybe you were using a cable for a standard lower than you were trying to target ?

And which way round do you plug it in ??

And which way round do you plug it in ??

I think he was being funny. I do hope so anyway.

We've got directional HDMI cables that cost a couple of hundred each, luckily its written on them which end is which.

OLED by a country mile for many, many reasons including but not limited to;

- QLED = LED + marketing
- QLED = Samsung - no, no, no a thousand times no for many reasons
- Samsung = No Dolby Vision - so that's the vast majority of Netflix HDR content, some Amazon and all iTunes HDR content out of the window - and believe me - HDR makes far, far greater difference to image quality than 4K.

My 2017 LG OLED is just amazing, one of my best purchases ever. I waited 10 years to upgrade from a plasma as LED/LCD was not an option having seen them in other people's houses.

HDR makes far, far greater difference to image quality than 4K.

That’s exactly what my brother said. He was for the BBC in production/camera tech etc.

He has an LG OLED as do most of his colleagues apparently it’s the most future proof in terms of HDR standards

– QLED = Samsung – no, no, no a thousand times no for many reasons

Not tied to Samsung. You can still buy a Sony LCD, get great motion, full array screen, Dolby vision etc. XF9005 takes some beating IMO and is a good price too for 65or 75".

I have LG OLED. Picture quality is fantastic, but make sure you get an extended warranty. These TV are susceptible to screen burn. High proportion affected around 18 months to 2 year mark. I was very careful with mine, previous 10 year plasma with no issues, but I got screen burn just after LG warranty ran out. LG class screen burn as user error and will not help. I had a currys 5 year warranty. Currys replaced the screen straight away ( 1500 repair), but many are getting stung. Loads of threads on AV forums about screen burn on these TV's if you want to look into it further.

So I've bumped this still undecided but I think that I'm going OLED also sticking with Panasonic. The five year manufacturer warranty is worth having and we got good service from them when the Plasma had a fault.
Looked at a couple yesterday and LG with the cricket on was terrible.
So Have 3 choices. the 802 the biggest issue with this is no dolby vision. We this actually cause me a problem though?
The gz950b The set I would like but the cost. Advantage dolby, some more protection against burn in and retention. Cons cost
Other option tx952b I have is the this just seems to be a 802 with a sound bar. I can get this for 1299 but as I have a surround sound doesn't seem worth paying 125 more than the 802.
Are the benefits of the gz950b worth the extra cost?

Haven't read the thread. OLED is genuinely different tech. Qled is a bullshit Samsung marketing term.

Think it's now more a which OLED thread than Oled v Qled.

I don't know the spec of the TV your are considering.. but Dolby vision is by far the best picture quality I have viewed on OLED. Beats 4k hands down imo. Netflix looks way better than sky Q as a result.
Not all OLEDs offer Dolby vision.

Pana is probably a good choice, get the dolby vision one...

I wouldn't buy anything from a company whose first name is Lucky, even if they tried to hide it by change the words of their abbreviated name...

No Dolby Vision – so that’s the vast majority of Netflix HDR content, some Amazon and all iTunes HDR content out of the window – and believe me – HDR makes far, far greater difference to image quality than 4K.

I run a Philipps Momentum 42 HDR monitor for gaming - it's display HDR1000, it streams all of the netflix HDR content in HDR10 including the Dolby Vision titles.

bumping this for one of my lads, hes after a 65" tv mainly to be used for xbox duties. he says the current tv suffers from blurring and lagging.

his question to me was dad, what should i buy, OLED, QLED or 4k? no idea lad but i know some people who will.....

had a quick read through this and looks like im getting 'dont buy samsung', and 'go for OLED'. and HDR? (none of this makes any sense to me, never looked into tv technology)

any current makes/models to recommend him? he says hed be prepared to pay a grand for something superduper, but would be happier around the £600/700 mark. im an tight old fart and would love to tell him that he can get similar for £300 😉

thanks

bumping this for one of my lads, hes after a 65″ tv mainly to be used for xbox duties. he says the current tv suffers from blurring and lagging.

No idea about OLED, QLED, nextLED, whateverLED but many modern TVs have a gaming display mode that turns off all the gubbins that introduces lag. Have you tried that first?

any current makes/models to recommend him? he says hed be prepared to pay a grand for something superduper,

If he has a decent amp/sound system already you can get the cheapest model in each range which will have the same quality panel but more basic speakers. Worth doing a bit of research! Lots of chat/armchair experts etc in the comments on the HUKD threads, lots of useful info there too if you can be bothered to wade through them!

I think LG are probably the best combination of quality & value, Panasonic best outright quality.

Obviously you can get a decent non-OLED telly for a lot less, may well be fine for gaming, I think if he's going to be using it a lot & can afford it might as well go for the best though.

many modern TVs have a gaming display mode that turns off all the gubbins that introduces lag. Have you tried that first?

he says hes tried that, no joy. his current tv is over 10 years old bog standard samsung apparently.

get on HUKD & set up an alert. A grand will get you a very decent latest LG or Panasonic 55″ OLED (if on offer!), going to have to pay more or get an older model if he wants 65″.

info passed on but i fear the worst, he's got an itchy wallet and is talking about looking in asdas and currys today :-/ so why ask me then boy?? 😀

is talking about looking in asdas and currys

Whatever he does, don't get a supermarket special from a brand you've never heard of.

Have a look on Richer Sounds or John Lewis.

Have had an LG 55 OLED since December and every now and again think "this is a great picture!", especially Netflix.

LG make the OLED panels for Panasonic, I believe.

LG make the OLED panels for Panasonic, I believe.

And Sony, Phillips, Toshiba and a load more. I think I heard that at one point I think they were the only OLED manufacturer but not sure if that's still true.

We have an LG 55" OLED, and it is amazing. But whether it's worth it depends on budget I guess. If it's mainly for gaming, it's worth looking at reviews for input lag and other gaming-specific things. This site has a lot of detailed reviews: https://www.rtings.com/

LG make OLED panels for everyone!

Look for a TV with HDMI 2.1 and Variable Refresh Rate.

AV Forums is the STW equivalent for audio visual heads - a wealth of advice and opinions!

OLED carries a risk of screen burn in. This is usually excluded from warranties or insurance cover.

If you are likely to have static content on screen for a while, e.g. gaming HUD or Sky Sports News logo, I'd think twice.

I bought a Samsung Q85R (QLED) and I'm happy with it. QLED outperforms OLED in bright rooms i.e. in most living room environments. OLED is great for dark home cinema rooms.

If you are likely to have static content on screen for a while, e.g. gaming HUD or Sky Sports News logo, I’d think twice.

The main issue people have with Samsung QLED is they were marketing it as though it was some next gen OLED type tech, rather than just a minor improvement on LED tech. From reviews I've read QLEDs do very well (although you generally want to go with one of the top couple of models within their range for a particular size as the processing power drops significantly in the cheaper models ).

I don't game on mine so I can't say if an OLED would work well (although I've watched family members playing Battlefront on a PS4 on a 55" OLED and it looked fine to me but might be different if your actually playing.

I would have thought a decent LED panel would be what he wants (whether that's a QLED or standard LED from LG/Panasonic/Sony etc. though I don't know). Look for low ms response times (1ms ideally).

As for the post above - OLED is perfectly fine in normally lit rooms IME, it certainly doesn't need a dark room which I know isn't actually what you're saying but might be the implication some people get from it.

well he's actually listened to us 😀

hes now ordered.....
john lewis telly
also listened to his mams advice to pay £80 for an accidental breakage insurance (nipper on the way)

he wants to wall mount it, will any old wall mount do as long as it says 'for 65 inch', or are there some makes better and sturdier than others? he'll need to get this right as itll be a big old unit 😀

thanks