![[PLUS] Trick question: monitor or television? OLED versus LCD in the PCGH practical test](https://www.aroged.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1700592935_PLUS-Trick-question-monitor-or-television-OLED-versus-LCD-in.jpg)
LCD vs. OLED
For the 2023 version of the TV versus monitor comparison test, we chose two Samsung televisions because the manufacturer now offers OLEDs in addition to QLEDs. The big competitor LG Electronics also has a two-pronged approach, is an OLED pioneer and calls its cheaper LCDs Nano-IPS. Both the nano technology and the one with quantum dots are more than just marketing, both involve an extra layer that enlarges the color space and is in principle a little more colorful than LCDs without the extra layer. However, not one of the two technologies is better than the other and large color spaces can also be achieved with LCDs without “Nano” or “QD”. Just a few years ago, hell would have frozen over rather than Samsung bringing OLED TVs onto the market. The QLED technology was even represented among the top models at Samsung. QLED reads almost the same as OLED, but it is a fundamentally different panel technology. OLEDs have self-illuminating pixels, so they do not require a backlight and can therefore display absolute black pixel by pixel, which results in an almost infinite contrast. QLEDs are VA or IPS LCDs that have a (mini) LED backlight. A quantum dot layer ensured larger color space volumes.
OLED vs. QLED bzw. LCD
Both panel technologies are always working on their shortcomings: The LCDs, i.e. QLEDs, compensate for the lower contrast with dimming zones, which, thanks to the background light with mini-LEDs (not to be confused with micro-LEDs, the self-illuminating pixels), also create a narrow, A fine grid can be distributed across the panel surface. Nevertheless: the mini-LED grid is never as fine as OLEDs (or micro-LEDs) that each pixel can dim itself. This means that bright edges can still be seen in hard contrasts, such as black-and-white transitions. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the flagship discipline of televisions, while it has not yet really arrived in monitors, as it is either of significantly poorer quality or significantly more expensive. How well HDR ultimately works on a display depends on many properties. On the one hand, the color depth, which is the same for both at 10 bits. On the other hand, there is the contrast, which is naturally significantly higher with OLED, not only in an HDR image, but also as standard. OLED panels have the advantage of self-illuminating pixels – if black is displayed, they simply do not light up. LCD panels always need a backlight. In the HDR display, this is compensated for by so-called local dimming, which can be controlled more and more finely every year. Nevertheless, there are still occasional luminous edges, especially with strong contrasts, and the quality is good here, but never as good as with OLEDs, where each pixel is essentially its own dimming zone.
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You will find the following products in the test:
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQGigabyte S55ULG OLED Flex 42LX3Q6LAPhilips Evnia 42M2N8900Samsung QLED GQ55QN90CSamsung OLED GQ65S95C INFO: You can buy PCGH Plus items individually or purchase a Plus subscription.
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