oled vs qled: what's the difference?

Both of our main television brands offer advanced screens at the top of their range. LG produces the OLED screen, where Samsung focuses on QLED. The similarity of these names can lead to some confusion about these technologies: the name is similar but they’re very different screens with different goals and advantages.

Samsung’s QLED screen is effectively an enhanced version of a regular LCD screen. It operates under the same basic system, that being a liquid-crystal screen illuminated by LEDs behind it. However, the QLEDs adds extra layers in the screen composed of quantum dots. These quantum dots dramatically increase the vividness of the color, resulting in a bright, vibrant image. Samsung QLEDs also have enhanced backlights which can further enhance the color.

LG’s OLED screen is fundamentally different. It uses a single layer OLED or Organic Light Emitting Diode screen. Every pixel (roughly 8.3 million on a 4k TV) on this paper-thin screen technology lights itself, so it does not need backlighting systems of any kind. Each pixel simply turns on to whichever color is needed. More importantly, if any part of the image needs to be darker or even black, each pixel can adjust its brightness, all the way to completely black or off.

How do they compare? Samsung’s QLEDs are very good, offering vibrant colors and a lot of brightness. In a room with a lot of incoming light, that can make for a much better viewing experience in the middle of the day or with all the lights on. However, the OLED’s pixel-level color control means it has the best color accuracy ever seen on a TV. And since it can completely turn pixels off, the black levels and overall clarity are simply unmatched.

In the end, the only way to know for sure which one works for you is to see them for yourself, in person. Feel free to come in and see them side-by-side in our showroom!