If you’ve been television shopping recently you’ve likely had more than a few acronyms and bizarre technology terms thrown at you.

Two that you should be aware of and understand are QLED and OLED. These are two competing television technologies that directly impact the overall viewing experience in ways that few if any other elements you'll consider do.

So, what is the difference between QLED and OLED televisions?

QLED stands for Quantum Light Emitting Diode, and this technology uses tiny nano particles to enhance image color and brightness.

OLED on the other hand stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. With this, each television pixel is actually a tiny LED light.

So now that that is out of the way, what are the differences? Which is better?

OLED Benefits

OLED is the stronger performer in the following areas…

  • Overall contrast,
  • Image response time (faster moving objects look clearer. Great for sports, action movies and gaming),
  • Wider viewing angles,
  • Reduced power consumption (energy efficiency is always important), and
  • Increased eye comfort (for those Netflix binge watchers).

Two other things of note when it comes to OLED televisions…

First, OLED televisions feature a screen wiping feature that when turned off does a background panel maintenance after a certain amount of viewing hours automatically.

Second, Oled is an organic material, which means it can "burn in" or suffer from image retention. All though under normal television usage circumstances this is typically not an issue.

QLED Benefits

QLED outperforms when it comes to…

  • Overall brightness,
  • Lifespan,
  • Qled has no image retention or burn in,
  • Larger available screen sizes, and
  • Price (often the ultimate deciding factor).

So if after reading this you are under the impression that OLED is better overall, you would be correct. It simply outperforms in a head to head comparison.

But before you go running out set and determined to buy an OLED or nothing at all, consider the following…

As we said, the advantages OLED offers are based on direct comparisons. Both of these technologies offer television viewing experiences that are quite simply amazing and without having an OLED and a QLED side by side, some people simply cannot justify moving up to the OLED.

So hopefully this should give you some information and perhaps direction when it comes to which technology is better for you.

Final thoughts?

If you're one of those people for whom money is not a concern, or you are someone who simply wants the better option, the only logical choice would be to go with an OLED. While QLED does outperform in some key areas, OLED simply does more things better when it comes to the total viewing experience.