What are the differences between LED, qLED and OLED TVs?

5 November 2019

Many users must have heard about the 3 types of TV.  The 3 have been around for quite sometime now.   Some might have owned them;  others might have regretted buying.  This article intends to explore the differences to help new users make up their minds.

What are differences between them?

The main differences are in the construction of the TV panel.  The LED and qLED panels are actually LCD panels powered by LED backlights.   The qLED has a special nanopartical layer sandwiched in between the layers.    OLED with an "O" that stands for "Organic" is by itself a special  tiny LED dot developed to emit color lights without the needs of any LED backlight.  

Apart from that differences,  OLED has better color rendering but qLED has better brightness level.   Also,  OLED has a very fast refresh rate,  making it better for gaming   Price wise,  OLED is not only more expensive but also has shorter life. 

The main differences are summarized as follows

	LED	qLED	OLED	Remarks
What it stands for	Ordinary LED	Quantum LED	Organic LED
In Layman's Term		A regular LED TV with a nanoparticles layer called “Quatum Dot” with purpose to improve the color and brightness	A special tiny LED with conductive and emissive coatings of  Hydrogen and carbon modules  to produce colour lights
Materials used of the screen		cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals	organic module of Hydrogen and carbon
Year Debut	1969	2017	2013
Size	19" to 100"	43” to 85”	55”to 77”
Resolution	4k and 8K	4K and 8K	4K and 8K
Price	Low	Medium	High
Brightness level	Medium	Medium to high	High	The higher the brightness,  the higher the electricity consumption.
Refresh Rates	2 to 8 mSeconds	2 to 8 mSeconds	0.1 mSeconds	Due to other restrictions, most TVs run around 120 Hz
Power Consumption (55”)	Low	Higher	Low to high,  varying widely with brightness level
Color  Contrast	Normal	Good	Excellence
Brightness (cd/m2)	200	500	450
Back Light Required	yes	yes	No
Type	edge-lit, direct-lit, and full array.	backlights enhanced with "quantum dots
Thickness	>=2.5mm	<=1.5mm	<=1.5 mm
Viewing Angle	54	54	84
Life	More than 10 years	More than 10 years	Less than 10 years	OLED has lesser life;   some said less than 5 years

Who Sells What in the Market ?

Almost every TV makers are selling LED TVs;  however,  the makers are divided when it comes to selling qLED and OLED TVs.    Samsung appears to sell mainly the qLEDs and  LG and Sony are the sellers for OLED TVs. 

The following compares the 55" specification with the important details highlighted

Doubleclick to Enlarge

Which Type is more popular and Which to buy?

LED and other  TVs are still having the lion share of the TV market in 2018 according to IHS Markit,  a leading source of information for businesses.  This is followed by qLED and OLED at 1.2% and 1.1% respectively as shown

Judging from the sale statistic,  it would not be hard to come up with a conclusion that most users will  choose to buy an LED TV,  not only because LED TV is much economical  but also there isn’t much cheaper and free 4K movies and medias  available to justify paying the additional cost.  

Moreover,  running the TVs at higher brightness level with brilliant colors will not only shorten the life but also requires more electricity.  At the moment,  the high end TV  is just not  just a "piece of cake"  for the common users.