QD-OLED: what is it and how new Samsung TV technology works
A System that combines the Quantum Dots of the brand’s TVs with OLED panels that are a reference from rival LG
Samsung and LG are the two main TV brands in the market. Year after year, South Korean companies compete for consumer preference with LCD, LED, OLED, and Quantum Dot (QD) screens. However, a convergence of technologies is about to take place.
What happens when OLED displays, whose technology is widely dominated by LG, and Quantum Dot, touted by Samsung as a superior quality option over other alternatives, come together?
The result is QD-OLED, a novelty that should appear on the international market in 2022.
As with any technology, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. . However, the fusion of these two concepts may be able to deliver displays with more vivid colors, with higher peaks of brightness, and with even more accentuated contrasts. Understanding how this technology works are critical to understanding what the future holds in terms of image quality.
QD Displays: structure and principle of quantum dots
Basically, there are two layers behind QD displays: a quantum dot layer and a blue auto-luminescent layer. Quantum dots are semiconductor crystals that emit their own light and can generate millions of color combinations.
When there is a combination of a layer of blue light behind it, the quantum dots create richer colors simply by “turning on” and “turning off” individual pixels. Pixels off are much darker than pixels off by blocking incident light, as with LCD TVs, which is why blacks are more intense on OLED screens. The light-blocking technique can also generate leaks, which can be visible even in the NEO QLED line, with the blooming effect being noticeable when very light areas in the foreground overlap dark areas in the background, generating a halo around the object illuminated.
Another important factor is that LCD screens need to move the liquid crystal to control the amount of light needed to compose each image and moving the circuit for such action takes time. In QD Display, the circuit is connected to the layer that emits light, so we have faster and smoother images, which allows TVs to deliver shorter response times, which is ideal for action movies and games, for example.
Color volume is another differential
In OLED and QD-OLED displays, the colors are more vivid and bright. TVs deliver a volume of color that is less than human beings’ ability to see. The promise is that the new technology will deliver up to 80% of the BT2020 standard, while conventional displays are between 60%/75%. The result of this is better color perception, even at peaks of brightness.
Another problem improved by the technology is the perception of color from different angles. From 60 degrees from the center of the screen, about 40% of the perception of brightness in conventional displays is already lost. In QD-OLED displays this index drops to about 20%. Finally, an anti-glare technology will allow you to place the TV in the center of the room without worrying about daylight reflections.
QD Display, QD OLED: OLED screens enter Samsung’s portfolio
On a hot site created by Samsung Display to explain the new technology, it is interesting to note that the text does not once mention the term “OLED” – and it is not by chance. For years the company has positioned itself opposite to its rival LG’s main product, criticizing even its weaknesses, such as burn-in, but it seems that the game has finally turned around.
However, there are some issues for us to consider. There are two business units within Samsung when it comes to displays: Samsung Display, which researches and develops displays not just for the South Korean company’s products, but potentially for the market as a whole; and Samsung Visual Display, which manufactures Samsung TVs themselves.
Although they are under the same umbrella, they are managed independently – which may explain the “surprise” regarding the use of OLED in the brand’s portfolio and the aggressive way in which the hot site exposes the advantages of OLED screens in relation to LCD screens.
At first, the QD screens that will hit the market in 2022 will have 4K resolution – and not 8K as market experts imagined – and will be available in 55 and 65-inch sizes, with a third model coming to market still in 2022 in the format 70 inches.
Will the QD-OLED TVs (or just QD Display, as Samsung calls it) represent a leap in quality over the current OLED screens used by LG and SONY and over Samsung’s own Neo QLED? The answer to this we will only know in 2022.
It is very likely that the announcement of the first devices with these screens will be for the month of January when CES 2022 takes place – an event in which TVs usually have an important highlight.
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