MicroLED: Can It Replace OLED?

16 February, 2019 Technology

the-wall-samsung


OLED TVs have been the best in terms of providing inky black levels and infinite contrast for as long as they had been in existence, and while Samsung still markets their QLED TVs as a better alternative, the truth is that QLED are just LED TVs with a Quantum Dot filter that produces better colors. The only QLED TV that has been truly able to give OLEDs from LG and Sony a run for their money so far is the2018 Samsung Q9FN with Full Array Local Dimming and about 2000 nits of brightness! Nonetheless, OLED still does provide better picture quality in dark rooms because it is an emissive technology, which means that each pixel in an OLED TV can change color or switch off completely to eliminate blooming and create unmatched black levels.


Unfortunately, OLEDs come with a few vital shortcomings as well, reminiscent of the plasma TVs from about a decade ago. Static images can and will burn in if they are constantly there for long stretches of time, although those are extreme use scenarios. Sadly enough, this also forces manufacturers to use an automatic brightness limiter (ABL) to preserve the limited lives of the OLED pixels. However, Samsung may have a solution for this in the microLED technology that they have been showing off for the last two years at the CES.


MicroLED displays are capable of going as bright as any LED TV, they do not have the burn-in factor to worry about like we have to on OLED displays and they last a lot longer than the OLEDs. As there are roughly 3 LED lights (red, green and blue) catering to each pixel of a 4K microLED TV, you can rest assured that inky blacks and infinite contrast is perfectly within microLED's reach. The only problem is that in order to buy one that's reasonably priced, the technology will still need to be developed a lot over the course of the next few years. You can still buy the 146-inch The Wall MicroLED TV from Samsung, but keep in mind that it's so expensive that Samsung did not even make its price public! It's actually easier to make big screen microLED displays, but the real tough job is to shrink the screen size down to something that one can use in their home. Nonetheless Apple is interested in microLED, so a few years down the line, don't be surprised if the iPhone has a microLED display!


Saikat Kar

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