You’ve finally decided to buy a 4K TV – those beautiful televisions that deliver four times the resolution of HD – and you’ve also narrowed down the brand you want, screen size, and if you should go curved or flat.
But wait. There’s one more thing you need to choose, and it’s a big one: panel technology.
Essentially, you’ve got three main choices today: LED TVs, OLED TV, and quantum dot TVs (now referred to as QLED TV by Samsung).
They sound the same, so it can be confusing. And so, here’s a plain English look at the differences between them.
LED
Let’s start with the oldest and least expensive technology out of the three.
As opposed to conventional LCD TVs, which use fluorescent tubes to illuminate the screen, LED-based LCD TVs use “light-emitting diodes” behind the liquid crystals. The advantages to a back- or edge-lit LED TV are:
While older technology than OLED and quantum dot, LED TVs will be the least expensive (starting at $429 for a 55-inch 4K model from Toshiba) and have the greatest selection in size (from 24-inches), and brand.
OLED
Newer OLED TVs (“organic” light-emitting diodes) are made from carbon-based materials that emit light when electricity is applied through them. Many different consumer electronics devices utilize OLED panels because of the advantages they bring:
OLED TVs are only available in large sizes: 55 inches and bigger. LG has the most OLED televisions, but recently joined by Sony.
As you might imagine, new OLED televisions are priced at a premium. Using a 55-inch television as an example, LG’s 4K OLED TVs start at about $2,000 for a 2016 model, or up to $4500 for its top-of-the-line 2017 OLED television.
QLED/Quantum dot
Instead of embracing OLED, Samsung has gone all-in on TVs powered by “quantum dot” technology. Quantum dots are teeny “nano” crystals — microscopic dots as small as one billionth of a meter – which are a fraction of the width of a human hair. We’ll cover QLED momentarily, but some advantages to quantum dot:
While not as thin as OLED TVs, quantum dot televisions are generally less expensive, starting at about $1300 for a 55-inch 2016 model.
So, what’s the deal with QLED? These are Samsung’s recently unveiled next-generation quantum dot TVs.
Starting at $2,799 for its flagship 55-inch television, QLED utilizes a new and advanced metal alloy quantum dot material to achieve improved color accuracy, a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and wider viewing angles (thanks to a new pixel structure).
With over 20 years of industry experience, Marc Saltzman (@marc_saltzman) is one of the most recognized and trusted technology evangelists in North America. Marc is a freelance columnist for more than 40 publications (including a syndicated column with USA TODAY), a prolific (16-time) author, radio + television personality, public speaker, and host of “Gear Guide” on Cineplex movie screens nationwide.
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