Demystifying TV Technologies (Part 2) – OLED vs QLED vs QNED.. What Are They?
[This article is part of a 2 part article series on televisions]
Following on from last week’s article in this 2 article series on televisions, we would now look to cover and explain in detail the backlight technologies available in the market today and how to distinguish the variations and its differences.
The modern consumer TV landscape is currently dominated by LED TVs and its many variations. Besides LED which has been a mainstay in TVs for the past decade and a half, there are also alternatives such as OLED, QLED, and QNED, with some being brand specific only.
With so many types on offer, things can quickly get confusing for consumers who are looking to understand the differences and benefits between them, especially the non tech savvy.
That being said, this article will dive deeper into explaining the variations, its benefits and differences to shed light and provide a better understanding on the topic.
Understanding LED
In order to understand the functions of the variations of LED TVs in the market today, it is important to first understand the origins of LED. LED, which stands for light emitting diode, dates back to nearly 100 years old when it was first invented. The first flat panel LED TVs was invented in 1977, and remained as a niche and expensive option until the late 2000s when it was made available to consumers en masse.
Essentially, an LED is a semiconductor device that emits light when electric current is flowed through it. An LED is available in different sizes, and is considered as a better lighting source as it consumes less power and lasts longer compared to other lighting types. These benefits are applied to TVs as well, where LED TVs not only provides better picture quality, but are also more efficient on power consumption, especially versus LCD and Plasma TVs.
Image Credit: TechHive
As it became clear that LED based TVs would be the future of televisions, companies started investing heavily into its research and development. Eventually, many advancements and variations of LED TVs were conceived, such as OLED, QLED, and QNED.
OLED, QLED, QNED Explained
Image Credit: Crutchfield
OLED, which stands for “Organic Light Emitting Diode”, differs from regular LED in that each pixel on an OLED panel is able to autonomously emit light on their own as opposed to a conventional LED which works by providing the backlight for the LCD, which then individually lights up the pixels. This provides many immediate benefits, including more accurate colour representation on the screen, as well as being more energy efficient. OLED first made its foray into the market in 2013 when Sony announced the first 4K TV with this technology.
QLED, or “Quantum dot LED”, can be defined as a contrast and colour booster for LED TVs. For this, a layer of nanoparticles (known as Quantum Dots) are placed between the backlight and LCD, which serves to provide more accurate colours. Regular LED TVs have a tendency to project white with a yellowish tint, and QLED serves to correct this issue and provide more accurate colours. Since being widely introduced in 2018, QLED TVs have sold well and are a mainstay in the TV space today.
QNED on the other hand, is known as “Quantum Nano-Emitting Diode”, and combines Quantum dot, mini LED, and LG’s Nanocell Technology for a claimed purer colour output and wider colour gamut. Additional benefits to QNED include less “blooming” at high levels of brightness, and more true dark tones. QNED TVs are popularised by LG and most of their TVs today are sold with this technology.
Mini and Micro LED Explained
Besides that, there are also Mini and Micro LEDs, which have been touted as the future technology of TV. Mini LEDs are about a fifth of the size of a regular LED, and its small size allows for more LEDs to be packed into a TV screen which in turn allows for a better overall picture quality due to more localised dimming and lighting zones. Mini LEDs have been in the market for a few years now, with some backlight types such as QLED adopting this in their system.
Micro LEDs on the other hand, are even smaller than Mini LEDs. They are about 1% the size of regular LEDs and are currently billed as a future technology with claimed benefits of better brightness and more vivid colours. At the moment, Micro LED TVs are available mostly on flagship or very large sized TVs, such as Samsung’s 110 inch offering.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the different variations of backlight technology available today serve different purposes and functions to enhance the viewing experience in their own unique ways. The prices of these technologies differ as well, with LED being cheapest, Micro LED the most expensive, and everything else in between.
For instance, Skyworth’s LED TVs are available around the RM600 price range, whilst prices for OLED, QLED and QNED TVs start anywhere between RM2,000 – RM4,000. Micro LEDs on the other hand, can go as high as six figures currently.
Choosing your preferred backlight technology also tends to come hand in hand with brand preference as well, as most consumers would already have a preference of brand, or the particular technology that they are familiar and comfortable with.
Hence, at the end of the day it is important to conduct your own research and ensure that you pick one that suits you best! If you find yourself not having any preference, rest assured that most of the TVs in the market today, regardless of backlight type, will do the job very well for the average consumer.
Should you need further insights and information as well as a quick comparison in products and prices of televisions (as well as cheaper prices!), head over to PriceShop’s TV section for the best deals around!
We hope that you have enjoyed reading our 2 part article series on televisions and hope that the information provided helped in making your next TV purchase a whole lot easier!
[This article is part of a 2 part article series on televisions]
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