OLED Tv issues - useful reference article

[Zee]

Seems like the big name manufacturers will persist with OLED for 2019 except for Samsung, who still has QLED but will probably have a couple of expensive larger MicroLED screens for sale also. Seems like 2020 for consumer size MicroLED.

There seems to also be some movement in MiniLED backlighting for the LCD/LED sector. This will seek to resolve the issue of "Blooming" in this type of TV due to the current backlighting technology which divides the screen into a grid with rectangular lit zones that can bleed light into adjoining zones, causing blooming. MiniLED is touted as giving more precise control of backlighting of LCD screens resulting in better picture quality. This tier which sits below OLED in terms of price/affordability would see the picture quality gap narrowing if MiniLED backlighting is introduced.

TVs supporting both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are becoming the desired standard for high end sets. OLED with its limited ability to achieve the required contrast range without burn-in doesn't do justice to either of these HDR standards when auto dimming is introduced. Samsungs QLED achieves a greater contrast range but does still have a slight issue with blooming and doesn't quite reach the motion handling or upscaling quality of Sony.

Bottom line is that currently each technology has its strengths and weaknesses but I wouldn't be dropping thousands on an OLED that is purposely dimmed to avoid burn-in, losing its appeal as a HDR 4k set in my book. I'll be waiting until next year I think before looking at an upgrade. 8k is also on its way as well as HDMI 2.1 so for future proofing at the high end of the market, waiting for these to be widely implemented could be worthwhile.

There is also the dual screen LCD tech (forgot what it was called) that Hisense has - a 1080P panel behind a 4k panel. the 1080P greyscale only, so helps controls the blacks, and, in theory, keeps the bloom down to 3 out of 4 pixels. A 4k x 4k version is clearly next...

Z...

[TampIt]

Like you CafeLotta, I will be waiting. Unfortunately the Q-LEDs are nowhere in terms of contrast compared to the OLEDs this week... My 65" LED is barely worse than a Q-LED at 25% of the price - it is still pretty impressive at 4K / HDR until you look at the same movie on a mates OLED (sigh). The excellent is the enemy of the good...

The article also points out their are actually two different OLED technologies. My phone is the tech LG is NOT using, so I may have to wait for that tech to migrate to larger sizes. Self evidently, my rarely used phone has an almost identical display 90+% of the time it is on - it has no sign of burning in (yet) and is still way, way better than the three upmarket 27" IPS screens I am looking at whilst typing this.

Enjoy your TV, whatever it may be.

TampIt

[CafeLotta]

Their new micro LED tech may be the best bet for TV, with effectively 4k worth of individual LED chips, which would mean you could get true blacks by turning off the individual "pixels". I know they had a demo at CES last year, and they have a 75" on display at CES this year, but it's been a long time since I could justify turning up to all the trade shows. It probably won't be super slim unless it's built into the wall, though.

Seems like the big name manufacturers will persist with OLED for 2019 except for Samsung, who still has QLED but will probably have a couple of expensive larger MicroLED screens for sale also. Seems like 2020 for consumer size MicroLED.

There seems to also be some movement in MiniLED backlighting for the LCD/LED sector. This will seek to resolve the issue of "Blooming" in this type of TV due to the current backlighting technology which divides the screen into a grid with rectangular lit zones that can bleed light into adjoining zones, causing blooming. MiniLED is touted as giving more precise control of backlighting of LCD screens resulting in better picture quality. This tier which sits below OLED in terms of price/affordability would see the picture quality gap narrowing if MiniLED backlighting is introduced.

TVs supporting both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are becoming the desired standard for high end sets. OLED with its limited ability to achieve the required contrast range without burn-in doesn't do justice to either of these HDR standards when auto dimming is introduced. Samsungs QLED achieves a greater contrast range but does still have a slight issue with blooming and doesn't quite reach the motion handling or upscaling quality of Sony.

Bottom line is that currently each technology has its strengths and weaknesses but I wouldn't be dropping thousands on an OLED that is purposely dimmed to avoid burn-in, losing its appeal as a HDR 4k set in my book. I'll be waiting until next year I think before looking at an upgrade. 8k is also on its way as well as HDMI 2.1 so for future proofing at the high end of the market, waiting for these to be widely implemented could be worthwhile.

[Zee]

LG also introduced the annoying over-zealous auto-dimming feature in firmware updates for their OLED Tvs. They manufacture the OLED panels that everyone uses so if they can't find a better solution to the burn-in issue that is inherent in OLED Tvs, then it seems the benefits that OLED offers can only be fully enjoyed by those using them in a very specific manner. The fact that Sony was dumping a load of AF8 OLEDs at around half price on their own website during Boxing Day sales seemed to send a signal. Once the word got out about the A1/A8F firmware update causing aggressive dimming issues to avoid burn-in and Sony calling this "normal", these models were all but dead on the market for anyone who did a bit of research before buying.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-ole...-burning-down/

https://www.oled-info.com/lg-oled

Very handy info.

Samsung are allegedly working on some now form of OLED tech - though most likely for mobile (flexible and also transparent versions).

Their new micro LED tech may be the best bet for TV, with effectively 4k worth of individual LED chips, which would mean you could get true blacks by turning off the individual "pixels". I know they had a demo at CES last year, and they have a 75" on display at CES this year, but it's been a long time since I could justify turning up to all the trade shows. It probably won't be super slim unless it's built into the wall, though.

Z...

[CafeLotta]

Having said that - Sony are hardly the only ones with the annoying auto-dim features. I've got an ever growing list of TV's I won't touch due to not being able to turn off "dynamic contrast", and don't get me started on micro dimming - because nothing is more awesome than a hand sized halo around a few white pixels on a black background...

LG also introduced the annoying over-zealous auto-dimming feature in firmware updates for their OLED Tvs. They manufacture the OLED panels that everyone uses so if they can't find a better solution to the burn-in issue that is inherent in OLED Tvs, then it seems the benefits that OLED offers can only be fully enjoyed by those using them in a very specific manner. The fact that Sony was dumping a load of AF8 OLEDs at around half price on their own website during Boxing Day sales seemed to send a signal. Once the word got out about the A1/A8F firmware update causing aggressive dimming issues to avoid burn-in and Sony calling this "normal", these models were all but dead on the market for anyone who did a bit of research before buying.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-ole...-burning-down/

https://www.oled-info.com/lg-oled

[Zee]

Sony released a firmware update in September last year which created significant dimming issues for A1 and A8F owners. It masqueraded as a Dolby Vision update but created aggresive dimming when static images were detected on screen such as in news or sports broadcasts and games also. Googling Sony OLED dimming issues will show the large number of very unhappy owners who paid thousands for these sets . Many were happy until the firmware update but Sony is even trying to deny the issue and call it "normal" for the OLED sets. To add insult to injury the Dolby Vision update was sub-standard also.

I disable all updates - they tend to break connections with automation systems, chances are, none of the TV's I installed are running that firmware - good to know though, I'll be doing a bit of research on this before I quote any more of them.

Having said that - Sony are hardly the only ones with the annoying auto-dim features. I've got an ever growing list of TV's I won't touch due to not being able to turn off "dynamic contrast", and don't get me started on micro dimming - because nothing is more awesome than a hand sized halo around a few white pixels on a black background...

Z...

[CafeLotta]

I've got 5 Sony A1 installs out in the field - all used like regular TV's and no burn in issues...

Sony released a firmware update in September last year which created significant dimming issues for A1 and A8F owners. It masqueraded as a Dolby Vision update but created aggresive dimming when static images were detected on screen such as in news or sports broadcasts and games also. Googling Sony OLED dimming issues will show the large number of very unhappy owners who paid thousands for these sets . Many were happy until the firmware update but Sony is even trying to deny the issue and call it "normal" for the OLED sets. To add insult to injury the Dolby Vision update was sub-standard also.

Two major differences between plasma and OLED - the plasma TVs make a truly great room heater well before they blow. The OLEDs don't tend to blow and their power consumption is generally pretty low (compared to plasma anyway).

My Panasonic V series Plasma has had heavy use for 8-9 years and is still going strong having had surge protection from new. Its power usage is in the same range as OLEDs of a similar size although my previous Panasonic G series used twice the power. It does heat-up in summer but does reduce heating bills in winter. I learnt years ago that buying a higher end model from a name brand will end up cheaper in the long run. Running Netflix movies through a Panasonic DMR-BWT955GL to my V series plasma gives a great picture in 1080p 60Hz (noticably better than 50Hz). HD Blu-rays through my Pioneer player are also very impressive.

[Zee]

.....or use it like the main TV in the house is normally used. (watching broadcast news with the breaking news banners at the bottom of screen, using the on-screen TV guide, watching movies with non 16:9 ratio and black bars top and bottom etc.) OLED might be great if you can afford a dedicated theatre room but I think I'll wait to see where microLED technology goes this year. Reading through Sony's recommendations for use to avoid OLED burn-in issues says it all for me.

OLED TVs are usually the most expensive models in each manufacturer's range yet are very reminiscent of early plasma screens with their burn-in issues.

I've got 5 Sony A1 installs out in the field - all used like regular TV's and no burn in issues. It would not surprise me, though, if some panels were more susceptible than others (even within a single model), this was something I did feel may have been something back in the plasma TV days. I still have a couple of clients with Pioneer Kuro TV's, which, I feel, have only been bettered by OLED tech.

Z...

[TampIt]

.....or use it like the main TV in the house is normally used. (watching broadcast news with the breaking news banners at the bottom of screen, using the on-screen TV guide, watching movies with non 16:9 ratio and black bars top and bottom etc.) OLED might be great if you can afford a dedicated theatre room but I think I'll wait to see where microLED technology goes this year. Reading through Sony's recommendations for use to avoid OLED burn-in issues says it all for me.

OLED TVs are usually the most expensive models in each manufacturer's range yet are very reminiscent of early plasma screens with their burn-in issues.

Two major differences between plasma and OLED - the plasma TVs make a truly great room heater well before they blow. The OLEDs don't tend to blow and their power consumption is generally pretty low (compared to plasma anyway). One friends large lounge in the Colorado Rockies picked up a 4 degree Celsius temp boost after 5 hours of plasma TV watching just after sunset. Impressive in winter there, not so good in summer in Oz...

My "smartphone" (top oxymoron of last year) has an OLED screen and it has no sign of burn-in after a couple of years of use. It is also by far the brightest, blackest and clearest screen I have owned so far - to the extent that I will probably buy a good OLED for home theatre when the prices come down. Like all new tech it may have a few side effects until it is either sorted or replaced by better tech. The U-LED and Q-LED technology are not even close in terms of viewing. You pays yer muny and yer takes yer choice.

TampIt

[CafeLotta]

.......OLED is great, so long as you don't play games with static images, or watch Fox 8 all day long....

.....or use it like the main TV in the house is normally used. (watching broadcast news with the breaking news banners at the bottom of screen, using the on-screen TV guide, watching movies with non 16:9 ratio and black bars top and bottom etc.) OLED might be great if you can afford a dedicated theatre room but I think I'll wait to see where microLED technology goes this year. Reading through Sony's recommendations for use to avoid OLED burn-in issues says it all for me.

OLED TVs are usually the most expensive models in each manufacturer's range yet are very reminiscent of early plasma screens with their burn-in issues.

[Zee]

Worked for me, Chrome on a Windows7 PC. A good read. 8k TVs are now being shown at CES in Las Vegas along with AI everything, including Cheese makers.

Oh yeay - a new standard to adopt before the old ones are fully adopted...

Coming from an ISF/THX certified AV/automation business owner.

OLED is great, so long as you don't play games with static images, or watch Fox 8 all day long.

Oh, don't ever buy a curved screen, unless you like sitting in one very specific spot.

Z...

[Yelta]

Problem my end, my ad blocker was nuking it, disabled, all good.

[noonar]

Worked for me, Chrome on a Windows7 PC. A good read. 8k TVs are now being shown at CES in Las Vegas along with AI everything, including Cheese makers.

[flynnaus]

Seems to be a problem with the link, the article flashes up briefly then closes, posting the URL in the address bar brings up "page not found"

Link works for me (using Chrome on an Android tablet)

[Yelta]

Came across a decent reference article I thought was worth sharing while going through the excercise of OLED v Qled Tv. There's lots of info online regarding OLED permanent image burn-in and firmware updates than dim screens after 1 min if static images are detected. The article linked below gives a decent overview and is a good start for researching the issues if you're considering an OLED Tv.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarc.../#2b34bf94363d

Morning CafeLotta.

Seems to be a problem with the link, the article flashes up briefly then closes, posting the URL in the address bar brings up "page not found"