When we go to buy a television, we are faced with all kinds of acronyms and technologies that we do not necessarily know what they mean. In addition to the resolution (Full HD, 4K, 8K…), one of the most important decisions we must make is the technology of the panel that we are going to buy. Currently, LED panels, OLEDs and QLEDs coexist. What differences do they have? Which one suits me? Let’s do a little review of these technologies to clarify those questions.
LED panels
TVs with LED panels are the cheapest. This technology has been with us for many years. Its advantages and disadvantages have been polished over time, although it still has certain important shortcomings.
LED stands for ‘Light Emitting Diode’, and refers to the use of white diodes to illuminate pixels from behind . LED TVs are very bright, but using that rear panel prevents us from getting pure black .
Different manufacturers have been perfecting these panels over the years. Thanks to this, some are compatible with the HDR standard. There is also the IPS LED variant, which achieves very good color accuracy and really interesting viewing angles. Of course, getting black tones will always be the Achilles heel of this technology.
OLED panels
Currently, the most expensive televisions on the market mount these panels. OLED stands for ‘organic light-emitting diode’. Each pixel of these panels has a white LED associated with each pixel. Thanks to this, OLED panels can achieve a pure black color.
Bad points? A few. Being organic panels , they have an expiration date. That is, they degrade over time. However, it is not something that should concern us, since in LED panels, the brightness is also lost over time.
However, you also have to keep in mind that OLED panels burn with use. Luckily, technology has been evolving by leaps and bounds, especially at the hands of LG.
QLED panels
This is the alternative that Samsung has been developing as an alternative to OLED and its disadvantages. We are facing a technology that is halfway between the LED panel and the OLED.
These models achieve purer (not full) blacks thanks to the fact that individual pixels can also be illuminated. To do this, the pixels are illuminated with a back light, only, unlike OLED screens, in this case a blue light source is used.
What should you buy in each case?
Depending on your preferences, you should choose one panel or another:
- Contrast : the panel that gives the best results today is the OLED because it is the only one capable of reproducing pure black.
- Brightness – For both picture brightness and background brightness, QLED screens win on this point. OLED televisions do not stand out at this point.
- Color fidelity – IPS LED technology wins here. It is the type of panel that is often used even today in professional monitors.
- Price : At this point, the LED panel wins again.
