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  • Which 4K TV Should You Buy? Our Tips

    Which 4K TV Should You Buy? Our Tips

    If you’re in the market for a new 4K TV, there’s a ton of options on the market for you to check out. The two biggest brands in the business of making TVs are easily Samsung and LG, though thy market their panels under different names. Samsung’s TVs are advertised as QLED, while LG’s are called OLED.

    What’s the difference between these two screen types? Is it just marketing hype, or is something different about their construction and picture quality? Today we’re breaking down the differences between LG and Samsung panels, and giving you some advice on what to look for in a 4K TV panel.

    OLED vs QLED

    OLED, a term used by LG for their screens, as well as some other technology like iPhone X and Apple Watches, stands for “organic light emitting diode.” QLED, on the other hand, stands for “quantum dot LED”. While OLED screens are emissive, meaning the pixels emit their own light, QLED screens are transmissive, meaning they have a backlight passing through them.

    This might sound like a lot of scientific jargon, but it’s important for understanding how each screen creates its image, and why some TVs look better than others. In short, this all means that QLED TVs, while they might sound fancy, actually have more in common with older LCD displays, while OLED displays are a new and more powerful type of technology.

    The Difference

    OLED screens are much more expensive to produce, especially at large sizes. LCD screens, which the QLEDs from Samsung are a variant of, are significantly more affordable, and have been the main type of flat screen panel for about a decade now. Where LCD screens have a crystal display and pixels that have light shined through them to make the image, OLED screens are composed of millions of tiny subpixels that emit their own light.

    This means that, generally speaking, OLED screens have more dynamic and dramatic image quality. They tend to have better blacks and contrasts, as they can simply toggle off pixels to make a perfect contrast. LCD screens, on the other hand, will always let at least a bit of light through the panel, meaning that blacks can often look gray and washed out.

    QLED Strengths

    This isn’t to say that QLED is strictly worse than OLED: Samsung’s panels excel in some areas. Due to their reliance on backlight, they’re able to get very bright compared to OLED screens. As such, bright and colorful content, such as content that supports HDR colors, looks incredible on QLED screens.

    OLED can also make HDR look amazing, with its deep contrasts. However, if you’re in a bright room, you might want to favor a QLED screen, as they can compete with natural light much better than OLED screens can. When shopping for a TV, consider the room the panel is going in when you’re deciding between OLED and QLED.

    Buying Guide

    So, if you’re in the market for a 4K TV and you want the very best image, and nothing else will suffice, you probably want an OLED screen. OLED screens don’t fade over time like LCDs, they don’t have a “sweet spot” you need to view the image from, they offer great contrast, and their color accuracy is unparalleled.

    If you’re on a bit more of a budget, or the panel is going into a room that is normally very bright, you might consider a QLED screen. While the contrast isn’t as good, the colors are still vibrant and the resolution and frames-per-second are identical to those found on an OLED panel. The main edges for the QLED are the lower price and the brighter overall image.


  • Coolest TVs Seen at CES 2019

    Coolest TVs Seen at CES 2019

    CES 2019 has came and went, and we’ve seen a ton of new technology that is more than exciting for the future. The consumer electronics show was also the first place that 8K TVs were seen in an official setting! This exciting new TV panel development is a big step forward in the world of display panels.

    Today we’re breaking down some of the coolest TVs we saw at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. From rollable displays to massive, immersive 8K screens, there are a number of TV screens to be excited about in the coming year.

    Coolest TV Screens Seen at CES 2019

    LG OLED65R9

    Let’s start with the show-stopper, the LG OLED65R9. This massive OLED display rolls up when not in use. Yeah, it’s finally time to see this tech in real-life. After nearly a decade of hearing about prototype rollable displays, LG is set to be the first to market with the tech later this year or early next year. The display is downright amazing, producing a picture quality that rivals LG’s other OLED displays.

    The screen rolls into its Dolby Atmos speaker stand when it’s not in use. It can be toted relatively easily thanks to the speaker, and the speaker provides awesome sound quality to match the huge, high-end screen. The slick, futuristic design is likely to be a smash-hit when the OLED R line hits the market.

    The OLED R line is comparable in picture quality to the other LG OLED screens releasing in 2019, but the R line is likely to turn more heads. For one thing, the ease of stowing the screen and making the room much more visitor-friendly is a huge plus. For another thing, the R line of screens offers a built-in Dolby Atmos speaker, making these immediate home theater solutions.

    Sony ZG9

    The massive 88 and 95-inch versions of Sony’s ZG9 Master Series screen are set to be the first of these panels to support 8K. The screen is actually a departure from the existing Master Series line that uses OLEDs, in that it uses backlit LED technology that is state-of-the-art.

    The ZG9 also sports upscaling processes to clean up 4K and below images to make them sharper. Many people have noted that if they have a screen with a better resolution than the images they’re displaying, those images tend to look worse than they would on their native display.

    In order to combat this visual degradation, the ZG9 is set to clean up any images that are below that display standard. That’s a good thing, too, since there is currently no existing 8K content to view on one of these bleeding-edge screens.

    Panasonic GZ2000

    This Panasonic screen isn’t the most cutting-edge screen on the list, but it does have a lot going for it. It’s not a concept-style screen in the way that some of the others on this list are. However, it’s a much more straightforward style of screen and will be much more affordable than a lot of the others listed here.

    What makes it special enough to mention here, then? Well, a few things. Firstly, it’s got a brand-new processor running within that attempts to keep the screen much clearer and smoother even on high frame-rate images. The other big selling point to this screen is the Dolby Atmos implementation. Thanks to the aforementioned processor, the sound quality is uniquely excellent.

    In short, this Panasonic TV is going to be a budget option worth looking out for. It’s set to punch well above its weight class, so to speak.

    Samsung 75in Micro LED TV

    Micro LEDs are a huge step forward in screen technology. OLED screens look amazing and offer perfect blacks and great color accuracy. However, they have a few drawbacks. They don’t last as long as LED screens, they consume more energy, and they’re not quite as bright or vibrant as LED screens.

    That’s where Micro LED screens come in. By using a number of smaller LED screens working in concert, the Micro LED technology offers up the best of both worlds. The precise blacks and intense contrast offered by OLED screens pairs with the brightness, efficiency and long-lasting panels of LED screens with this tech.

    The Samsun 75-inch Micro LED is a massive leap ahead in this tech. It’s one of the largest screens that uses this tech that we’ve yet seen. Previously, “The Wall” model showed off this ultra-thin, multiple-display style of panel. This new screen is the natural evolution of this kind of technology, and likely to set a new bar for TV panels.