What is an OLED TV?
“OLED TVs operate on fundamentally different technology to QLED or LCD TVs,” says Kevin Walmsley, TV expert at AO. “Instead of requiring a backlight, organic light-emitting diodes produce their own light when activated – this is known as ‘emissive’ display technology.
“That's why OLEDs have better contrast, more true-to-life black levels and perfectly uniform screens that maintain a high-quality image from all angles.”
Is OLED better than 4K?
They refer to two different things. OLED is a type of display, while 4K is a measure of resolution. Made up of over eight million pixels, 4K is the highest resolution available. (8K content exists, but is extremely rare.)
All OLED screens are 4K, but so are many non-OLED screens. The difference is in the dynamic range and other measures of image quality.
“OLEDs create sensational colour contrast, sharp edges, true blacks and smooth motion that better supports fast-moving scenes,” says Katrina Mills from John Lewis. “OLED TVs are also lighter and thinner than other 4K TVs, use less power and have better viewing angles.
“OLEDs do have their drawbacks, though. In brighter rooms with direct sunlight, some dark scenes can appear dull on OLED TVs, due to the lack of a backlight. That said, this is becoming less of an issue as brands continue to improve the brightness of OLED panels.”
What is MLA?
Developed by LG Display (which supplies panels to Philips and Panasonic), a microlens array increases the brightness and richness of color of an OLED screen by focusing light through tiny lenses – more than 5,000 of them per OLED pixel. That’s a staggering 40 billion per screen.
LG developed an algorithm to go with it, called META Booster, so these displays are sometimes called META-OLED. The first generation of MLA displays came out in 2022. We are now at the third generation, which is significantly brighter and more precise.
What is QD-OLED?
Quantum dots, developed by Samsung, are semiconductor nanocrystals that convert the light that falls on them into very pure, strong primary colors. They were first used to enhance the brightness and color of LED displays. They are the “Q” in QLED TVs.
Since 2022, quantum dots are also used on the highest-end OLED screens. Like META-OLED (see above), QD-OLED screens are brighter and better than standard OLED screens.
What is Dolby Vision?
Films and television mastered in Dolby Vision have a higher dynamic range, which means brighter whites, darker blacks, and more detail in between. Colors are more true and contrast is sharper. Unlike older HDR formats, Dolby Vision optimizes the picture frame-by-frame, and the latest version, Dolby Vision IQ, can optimize for the ambient light in the room.
Most OLED TVs are compatible with Dolby Vision, but Samsung uses their own version: HDR10+.
What is Dolby Atmos?
This is a surround sound format used to give the impression that sounds are coming from above, below, or to the side of you. A TV or soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos has upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off the ceiling and walls. Even better is a separate system, with speakers mounted in the ceiling and behind you.
What is the screen refresh rate?
Analogue film is shot and projected at 24 frames per second (24Hz), which is fast enough that our brains don’t register any flicker. But when television was invented, a faster screen refresh rate of 60Hz was adopted in the US and 50Hz in the UK, because it could be sent more easily over long distances.
It’s thought that the human brain can’t detect improvements past 60Hz, so why are most OLED displays now capable of 100 or 120Hz? Because it gives the processor more ability to squeeze in frames to smooth out motion and increase brightness.
This process can go awry during steady panning shots, causing unpleasant judder. Motion smoothing can also cause the dreaded soap opera effect. Many people (including your reviewer) prefer to turn it off.
High refresh rates are valued by serious gamers because they make games look smoother and help them respond faster. For this reason, the latest TVs are capable of 144Hz.
What is VRR?
Variable refresh rate matches the output of your console’s graphics processor to the refresh rate of your display. When the two don’t match, you may experience stuttering or “tearing” (see video below). There are two main standards. FreeSync is developed by graphics chip maker AMD, and G-Sync is developed by NVidia, but they do essentially the same thing.