Have you ever bought an OLED TV? Given the flood of people rushing to buy good television on Black Friday and Cyber Monday – as well as the series of excellent OLED screens launched this year – you may have finally chosen to bring this example of TV technology into your home.
OLED has always had potential, even if it was difficult to see at first. Sony XEL-1, the world’s first OLED TV, was launched in 2007, and in the years that followed, several TV manufacturers experimented, dived and left OLED several times.
It wasn’t until 2010 that we saw LG join the fray, with a 15-inch screen that would pave the way for generations of incredible OLED TVs, even this year’s BX and CX OLED models. And while Samsung hasn’t worked on the technology for a long time – preferring to develop its own LCD-based QLED technology – others have certainly done so, with Panasonic and Sony coming to the particular OLED imaging advantages.
Just last year, we saw the disastrous Hisense O8B OLED, with TechRadar first sent a defective unit for overhaul, and then given a replacement that was full of problems, despite the beautiful panel made by LG on which it was running. Much was said about its low price before launch, but what could have been a really affordable OLED has become a warning not to bastardize premium technologies with poor processing.
Continued fears surrounding image retention (also known as ‘burning’, when an OLED panel is permanently marked by recurring images or logos) have also continued, and by all accounts it seemed uncertain how OLED would fare in 2020.
Course correction
2020, however, saw a quite different story for OLED TVs. Despite initial uncertainties about production and factory problems that took months longer than expected to go online, this year’s impressive impression is that OLED is better than ever.
There was a new 48-inch OLED TV size for smaller rooms or bedrooms – adding much more flexibility to choose from in addition to the standard 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch sizes – as well as a drastic drop in entry-level OLEDs.
The new Vizio OLED H1 reached a surprising price below $ 1,000 in Black Friday sales, while UK buyers were able to take home the Philips OLED 754 for just £ 989. LG’s OLED BX also now costs just $ 1,299 / £ 1,099.
The 48-inch models, in particular, ensured that major OLED sets would reach those with smaller budgets (and living rooms) and show that OLED production is starting to become more ambitious.
There is no way to say what’s coming, but we are not ruling out more size options, be they even smaller models or something beyond the 88 inch sizes offered by the LG ZX OLED or Beovision Harmony. A 93 inch? 37 inches? 61.5 inches?
The only thing that is certain is that OLED is starting to make its own standards, rather than simply falling into pre-established conventions.
Seeing the light
One of the most significant OLED developments in 2020, however, was related to light. It’s no secret that OLEDs tend to have lower peak brightness than their LCD or QLED equivalents – and while this is largely offset by the improved contrast of light and dark on OLED screens (which means that shiny objects look even brighter on comparison), is still a point of contention for many.
This was the year, however, that saw the introduction of light sensors on Panasonic and LG TVs. These sensors are designed to measure the amount of ambient light in your living room – or wherever you are watching – and automatically change the brightness on the screen to keep images vibrant and visible. Although it was largely designed for Dolby Vision HDR – hence the name ‘Dolby Vision IQ’ that the technology carries – its wider applications are obvious.
After all, few of us actually watch in completely dark test conditions, and some element of automation means that we know that we are getting the optimum brightness for the surrounding environment. If OLED cannot be brighter than QLED, perhaps it can be more intelligent about brightness in general.
Although burn-in is still a bogeyman for OLED, TV makers are also facing this problem. LG, for example, has created a screen shift function that slightly adjusts the position of the image at regular intervals, to ensure that no individual pixels are stuck in the same configuration for hours on end (via LG). Although this problem has always been limited to extreme cases or sets used to play promotional videos on retail displays, any warranty is still welcome.
The way forward
As we enter 2021, it is clear that OLED is set for the thunderous 20 years, and the future looks bright for the technology that will consolidate its place as the premium TV panel technology of the moment.
There will be threats to that domain, of course. LCD sales still far outnumber OLEDs, and the QLED panels used in the new Samsung TVs are getting brighter and more dynamic each year – with the potential to become something of a hybrid between the two technologies.
The real threat may lie in technologies yet to be popularized such as MicroLED, or MiniLED, which we are starting to see on unique premium screens – Samsung’s The Wall (photo below) for the former, or TCL’s 8 Series TV for the latter.
OLED TV makers will really have to deal with any remaining weaknesses and keep prices from falling before another player enters the field. This means that brightness or brightness handling needs to continue to improve – and we will need more screen sizes to ensure that OLED is truly a technology that appeals to a broad spectrum of buyers.
However, lower price tags can be a double-edged sword. If OLED keeps getting cheaper and starts to settle for sub-optimal performance – something we’ve seen the dangers with Hisense O8B – there will be little reason to choose one of these inexpensive organic LED sets over a cheap compromised LCD similar.
If LG, Sony and Panasonic can start using smaller screens as a way to cut prices, instead of leading to more processing problems, however, these TV makers could make OLED the success it deserves.