The Case Against OLED

[Aerith Gainsborough]

OLED's big plus with blacks has now been equaled with QLED panels and maybe to be surpaseed by the new micro LEDs

I'm pretty sure micro-LED still struggles with rendering e.g.: a field of stars, where the individual stars pop far more on a QD-OLED.
Although the gap closes evermore the further tech advances. OLEDs get ever brighter and dark scene performance of Mini-LEDs always improves.

Nothing beats the peace of mind of LED's though. I've actively observed my computing behavior over the last few weeks and came to the realization that an OLED wouldn't last a year for me. It's so neat, not having to worry about my pretty desktop pic degrading the display.
And no: switching to a black background is not an option. Where's the fun in that?!

 

[Sal1950]

I'm pretty sure micro-LED still struggles with rendering e.g.: a field of stars, where the individual stars pop far more on a QD-OLED

There is that.
But how many times can you watch the Star Wars intro? LOL

 

[Petrushka]

I'm pretty sure micro-LED still struggles with rendering e.g.: a field of stars, where the individual stars pop far more on a QD-OLED.
Although the gap closes evermore the further tech advances. OLEDs get ever brighter and dark scene performance of Mini-LEDs always improves.

Nothing beats the peace of mind of LED's though. I've actively observed my computing behavior over the last few weeks and came to the realization that an OLED wouldn't last a year for me. It's so neat, not having to worry about my pretty desktop pic degrading the display.
And no: switching to a black background is not an option. Where's the fun in that?!

My aquarium screen saver would kill an OLED, and I’m not giving it up.

 

[NDRQ]

Really, I wasn't aware but then I haven't followed any forums, etc to know.
I can't see any reason for that except that they may be making very poor quality panels to hit low price points ??
I'd wouldn't expect much in the way of picture quality from an edge lit 100" screen like that TLC anywho, but I'd never consider buying one myself.
OTOH maybe for a basement family room where the kids watch TV and throw balls around it might be something to consider. LOL
How many years ago was it that the flat panels were first arriving with 6 digit price tags for 55" sets? LOL
Man how times have changed.


Brightness and viewability in bright rooms with HDR sources.
I was never impressed with the performance of OLED and HDR movies, specially ones with a lot of dark scenes.
OLED's big plus with blacks has now been equaled with QLED panels and maybe to be surpaseed by the new micro LEDs

And for me the #1 feature is the near immunity from burn-in, that's a big one for me.
For the last few years, when comparing the TOTL QLEDs to OLEDS, any difference in the overall picture quality was small enough
to push the pendulum to buying the QLED.
YMMV

No, OLED blacks are not equaled with the n+1 LCD iteration, miniled backlight just introduces another issue called blooming. And that is just one thing, there are many other issue with the LCD technology, it is really an outdated, old tech. Brightness not really an issue anymore with Oled, burn in risk not too high nowadays, just check the rtings tests.
The old lcd tech is good for cheap stuffs, but if one have more money, really really hard to explain why dont go with the better tech.

AT the lcd market, only the top models can give a decent picture quality, but those are even more expensive than the better performing entry level OLEDs.

 

[Sal1950]

miniled backlight just introduces another issue called blooming.

True, but inky blacks are inky blacks, that's what I referred to.

Brightness not really an issue anymore with Oled, burn in risk not too high nowadays, just check the rtings tests.

Now that's Baloney

The old lcd tech is good for cheap stuffs, but if one have more money, really really hard to explain why dont go with the better tech.

For your money yes, for my money no.
TOTL QLED has come on fast and may in the very near future be considered THE SOTA in display tech, so don't hold your breath.

 

[Tell]

Now that's Baloney

Is it? My 2017 LG B7 still don't have any burn in issues despite LOTS of movies, series and Youtube, but also quite a lot of Windows use and many hours of gaming with static hud elements. I even tend to use it at max brightness since it looks better that way. Despite all that I don't have any visible burnin, and this is the experience I've read from lots of other people as well that have personal experience with OLED.
And seeing that we've had almost eight more years of steady development since my TV I'd say that what he said is not baloney.

 

[Sal1950]

And seeing that we've had almost eight more years of steady development since my TV I'd say that what he said is not baloney.

It is simply a matter of usage.
I've been there and done that, once bitten twice shy.
OLED burnin has been improved, not eliminated.
AFAIK, no OLED are warranted against burn-in.
But every day I'm stunned by the quality of my QLED so.
You buy your ticket and take your ride.

 

[Tell]

It is simply a matter of usage.
I've been there and done that, once bitten twice shy.
OLED burnin has been improved, not eliminated.
AFAIK, no OLED are warranted against burn-in.
But every day I'm stunned by the quality of my QLED so.
You buy your ticket and take your ride.

Yeah sure leave some random sport channel on and fall asleep every evening and you'll get burnin sooner or later, or just be smart and it won't be a problem for many many years.

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

But how many times can you watch the Star Wars intro? LOL

As a Trekkie, Stargate Fan, and casual Star Wars watcher, star fields are more often on my screen as one might think. :'D
Still, I would not let that deter me from going mini-LED, if my current screen were to go belly-up.

Brightness not really an issue anymore with Oled, burn in risk not too high nowadays, just check the rtings tests.

In most domestic situations, QD-OLED brightness should now be sufficient, aye. However if you really have a sun-kissed, bright room OLED is still not the way to go.

Burn-in still very much happens, although I would concur, that it is a non-issue if the TV is used as designed for movies and varied program material. Running the same station for half a day every day is NOT the intended use, grab an LCD if that is a requirement.

I don't think LCD is "old tech" as such. It's simply tech for a different use-case. There is a reason why it is still produced and actively improved upon.

 

[Sal1950]

I don't think LCD is "old tech" as such. It's simply tech for a different use-case. There is a reason why it is still produced and actively improved upon.

A wise posting.

 

[Tell]

I don't think LCD is "old tech" as such. It's simply tech for a different use-case. There is a reason why it is still produced and actively improved upon.

Well yes of course it's all about use case and if you care about image quality or not. For office use or if you just watch the news or whatever I'd say an LCD is the way to go, if you're doing graphics/photo/video or just likes good image quality then there's no question that OLED is the best you can get.

 

[D2013]

Brightness and viewability in bright rooms with HDR sources.
I was never impressed with the performance of OLED and HDR movies, specially ones with a lot of dark scenes.
OLED's big plus with blacks has now been equaled with QLED panels and maybe to be surpaseed by the new micro LEDs

If you're watching HDR in a bright room, you are doing it wrong!

Watch this, it's geared towards cinematographers, but it has a lot of good information for consumers as well (starting at 7:40).

 

[rank]

I buy the cheapest.

 

[Sal1950]

If you're watching HDR in a bright room, you are doing it wrong!

What's a "bright" room (lux not freq) is very much an opinion.
It can vary from a total blackout to something completely awash in daytime sunlight.
Now even the best projector system will be it's best in theater like darkness. Todays best QLED's are so very bright
as to at times be uncomfortable viewing unless tamed a bit. Somewhere in the middle are OLED's with the TOTL
coming "somewhat close but not equal" to the TOTL QLED's.
Sorry but for the vast majority of folks, they have some limitations on the viewing room.
Some like myself are limited to a single room for everything so it must be a "one size fits all" situation.
Others have 15+ room homes and very deep pockets to do anything they may dream of.
So just like with music, I do my best to limit light levels during serious viewing.
But to say I or anyone else is "doing it wrong" is quite incorrect.
We all chose the best speakers and video displays to fit our living situation.
So yes, viewing HDR material in anything but a highly reduced light situation can better be done with QLED panels..

 

[EJ3]

If you're watching HDR in a bright room, you are doing it wrong!

So now we need a definition of "what, specifically is considered bright".
I can see quite well in rooms with blackout curtains, my wife cannot.

 

[Sal1950]

So now we need a definition of "what, specifically is considered bright".
I can see quite well in rooms with blackout curtains, my wife cannot.

She just doesn't want you chasing her around in the dark any more.

 

[FreakyKiwi]

Is it? My 2017 LG B7 still don't have any burn in issues despite LOTS of movies, series and Youtube, but also quite a lot of Windows use and many hours of gaming with static hud elements. I even tend to use it at max brightness since it looks better that way. Despite all that I don't have any visible burnin, and this is the experience I've read from lots of other people as well that have personal experience with OLED.
And seeing that we've had almost eight more years of steady development since my TV I'd say that what he said is not baloney.

Run a burn in test.

If the entire panel is the same brightness for all colours I would be extremely surprised.

Whether you notice this in normal use is another thing.

 

[Tell]

Run a burn in test.

If the entire panel is the same brightness for all colours I would be extremely surprised.

Whether you notice this in normal use is another thing.

Yeah I've seen those before, there is some spots but since it's not visible under normal use I wouldn't classify it as visible burnin.
What can be visible sometimes though is a big rectangle in the middle, but that's because of some manufacturing flaw on my particular model. But I don't even care about that so any burnin visible only under extreme conditions is even lower on my list. And again, my B7 is almost 8 years old now and there has been significant development since then.

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Run a burn in test.

Jesus, my poor retinas. That red yo ... reds always hit hardest with my Sony. :'D
Barring the usual LCD viewing angles, I cannot see any defects.

Pretty impressive, considering the ~25K h runtime of my TV and the fact that LEDs will develop issues over time as well, as demonstrated by RTINGS. Guess it helps that it usually runs at minimum brightness because I'm a cave dwelling mole. :X

Todays best QLED's are so very bright as to at times be uncomfortable viewing

Going "arrrgh!" and squinting when coming out of a cave into the sun in an HDR game is half the fun.

 

[Smaestro]

Some strong opinions, can it have something to do with where you guys live? People in sunny areas as Cali and Florida could have a different baseline of bright than people in Denmark or the UK where the sky/weather is closer to a medium grey.

Being from an grey area, I cannot imagine using my 1 year old LG OLED with anything near full brightness. That would just hurt. Even with curtains open on a sunny day, because my living room faces south east so the sunlight doesn’t directly enter the room after noon either.