Best Samsung TVs in 2023

Which TV technology is better: OLED or QLED?

QLED and OLED are two panel and lighting combinations for contemporary TV displays that win over the competition. While the latter has been a notable display type for LG, one of the go-to producers of OLED panels for several manufacturers, including Sony, Philips, and Panasonic, the former is promoted by companies like Samsung, Hisense, and TCL. Is there a superior alternative between the two technologies in terms of how your TV is lit, how nice its colors and contrast are, and what you can anticipate paying for?

The origins of these rival display technologies, how they vary from one another, and what each one excels at will all be covered in this in-depth overview of QLED vs. OLED (and not so well). We’ll also reveal the one we believe will make the majority of people the most satisfied.

What is QLED?

QLED stands for quantum light-emitting diode. That means a QLED TV is similar to a standard LED TV, except that it employs small nanoparticles known as quantum dots to boost its brightness and color. Sony first presented the technology in 2013, but soon after that, Samsung started selling its QLED TVs and formed a license agreement with other producers. As a result, QLED TVs are now available from Vizio, Hisense, TCL, and several other minor companies in addition to Samsung. Despite the coolness of quantum dots, a QLED TV nevertheless generates light like a standard LED TV: by employing a backlight placed behind a conventional LCD screen and composed of hundreds (or, in some instances, thousands) of LEDs. The names LED and QLED is derived from these LEDs.

The color filters work in tandem with the LCD screen, which is made up of millions of tiny shutters that open and close too rapidly to be seen, to produce the image you see by allowing the proper amount of light and color to escape and reach your eyes. It’s a brilliant technology, but it sometimes fails to generate true on-screen blacks since it depends on reducing the LED backlights and employing the shutters to block the remaining light.

What is OLED?

OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode. Surprisingly, there is no connection between the “Light Emitting-Diode” portion of that term and an LED backlight. Rather, it alludes to the fact that every single pixel in an OLED display is likewise a minuscule LED light, although one that is exceedingly thin and capable of producing both light and color in a single element. As a result of each OLED pixel producing its own light, OLED TVs do not need a backlight. Use the technical names for these displays, such as emissive or self-emissive, to wow your guests. Even though this design has several benefits, most people agree that the superior black level you can reach with OLED TVs is a major benefit. An OLED TV disables the pixel, unlike a QLED or LED TV, which must reduce its illumination and block what is left for gloomy scenarios. It is just as dark when the TV is off when the pixel is turned off since it produces no light or color.

Let’s compare QLED vs. OLED in the areas that matter most when choosing a TV now that you know what each of those letters stands for and what they imply in terms of display technology: When you’re spending a lot of money on a new TV, brightness, contrast, viewing angles, and other key performance aspects like reaction speed and longevity are all critical elements to consider.

• Power consumption: OLED screens don’t need a bright backlight. Because of how much electricity those backlights need, OLED TVs are intrinsically more energy-efficient. Compared to QLED TVs, they also produce less heat.
• Lifespan: For LG’s OLED TVs to lose 50% of their brightness, you would have to watch them five hours a day for 54 years. It remains to be seen whether it is accurate, given that OLED TVs have been widely available since 2013. Even though QLED is a more recent technology, its backlighting source, LED, has a long and successful history. We will give this category to QLED for that reason and only for that reason.
• Viewing angle: The ideal viewing angle for QLED displays is straight ahead, and the more you go side to side or up and down, the worse the image quality is in terms of brightness, color, and contrast. Even though TV manufacturers attempt to fix the problem, it still exists, even though the intensity varies across models. In contrast, OLED panels can be seen up to 84 degrees from the screen without any brightness reduction. OLED has a distinct edge; however, certain QLED TVs have improved viewing angles because of anti-reflective coatings. An OLED TV is your best option if you want to organize family screenings of your favorite movies and ensure that no one has a terrible seat at home.
• Color space: According to Samsung, a wider range of better-saturated colors at extreme brightness levels is an advantage. OLED once blew all the competition in this category out of the water. However, using quantum dots in QLED TVs has allowed it to inch forward in terms of color accuracy, color brightness, and volume. While there’s no doubt that these quantum dot TVs produce amazing colors, we haven’t yet seen better-saturated colors at high brightness levels provide a genuine benefit in typical viewing settings, so we’ll call it a draw. Before we can call QLED the winner, we’ll need to see some concrete proof.
• Price: Unlike OLED TVs, there is a wide variety in image quality with QLED TVs, so if you’re browsing and come across affordable ones, keep that in mind. The design, picture-processing, and construction of QLED TVs have many more variables. In terms of visual quality, only the best QLED TVs can compete with OLED.

How to take care of your TV

Servicing a television can help to keep maintenance and replacement costs down and, most importantly, will increase the lifespan of your flat-screen TV. Sometimes, people overlook basic tasks, like turning off the TV before bed. Your power supply’s voltage may sometimes go out of control, causing energy to surge and harming the internal circuits. Dust is the number one enemy of any electronic device since it may cause short circuits, which might result in irreparable screen damage. The following list of 10 maintenance advice is for your TV.

• Utilize a voltage regulator or surge protector: When there are power outages, and when the electricity comes back suddenly, voltage spikes often occur. Even when there is a constant power source, lightning, and thunder, voltage variations may still occur. A voltage regulator will take care of your television and other electrical devices like your air conditioner, refrigerator, washing machine, and microwave. Additionally, you may get a surge protector, which is pretty affordable.
• Always turn off your TV: A television set has a lifespan of around 65,000 hours. But if you use your TV in the background while doing anything else, or if you fall asleep while watching something, this eventually becomes a habit. As a result, its life expectancy will shorten. It can also need maintenance after around two years. Simply prevent it by developing the practice of turning off your TV when it is not necessary.
• Use ideal brightness: Your TV’s lifetime may be shortened if the brightness settings are always at their highest position. It is not recommended if you want your flat screen to last long. Maintaining the brightness at a suitable level is advisable since too much brightness might strain the eyes.
• Better ventilation: A suitable area for ventilation is needed for your flat-screen LCD television. It often produces a lot of heat due to the power utilized. It is also ideal to operate your TV in a dry, open area so that it will naturally cool when you switch it off. Additionally, the internal circuit would not heat up as much even while it is in use, extending its longevity.
• Beware of dust: Dust is harmful to your TV’s health, as previously indicated. Additionally, it may find a home not just on your screen but also within your flat-panel television. Your TV may react slowly as a result of it. You may utilize electrical vacuum pumps designed for use with home electronics

What to look for when buying a TV

• TV software: Samsung and LG are just a couple of the main TV manufacturers with good smart interfaces and compatibility for a wide range of streaming services. However, many TVs also have built-in Roku, Android, or Google TV. These are our preferred user interfaces, but fear not: if your TV doesn’t already have them, you can quickly and inexpensively install those streaming services. Simply connect the streaming stick or dongle to your TV’s HDMI port.
• TV ports: Most televisions have three HDMI connections, an audio optical output, and an internet connectivity option. A TV must have at least one HDMI 2.1 connector and one HDMI port with ARC (Audio Return Channel), making connecting modern soundbars and receivers simple. The most recent version of the HDMI standard, HDMI 2.1, supports 4K video streams with very low latency. It ought to be there on every good TV.
• Gaming performance: We strongly advise considering two aspects: refresh rate and input latency, if you’re planning to game on your TV. You may find these specifications on the product listing or the packaging. Most common TVs have a refresh rate of 60 frames per second, indicating that 60 pictures are shown on the screen every second. The display displays 120 pictures per second with today’s consoles and video games, which can handle up to 120 frames per second. As a result of improved screen motion, your game will feel more responsive and fluid. When you move on a gamepad or keyboard, input lag is the time it takes for your actions to appear on the screen. Lower is better. The average input lag for TVs is 15 milliseconds (less if the game runs at 1,080p and 60 frames per second). LG’s OLED models feature startlingly low input lag times, which is advantageous to quick-action games like first-person shooters.
• High dynamic range: Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ are three of the current prominent HDR standards. They all emphasize how different the brightest and darkest areas of a picture are. The most fundamental standard, HDR10, is present on almost every current TV. Many people now use HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which enhance the feature with scene and frame adaption. You will obtain results closer to the director’s vision than a conventional HDR10 TV since the TV can alter the brightness and color on a frame-by-frame or scene-by-scene basis on approved material.