While I’m quite skeptical of new products and technologies proclaiming them to be the next big thing, I’m always willing to buy a ticket to board the hype train for new TV panel technology.
That’s because there never was a perfect one and there still isn’t one. LED-backlit TVs can be brilliant, but even the very best (like Samsung’s QN95C) can’t offer the perfect blacks or pixel-level contrast control of an OLED. Meanwhile, OLED TVs generally can’t get as bright as the best backlit TVs.
The promise of producing TVs with the blacks and contrast of OLED and brightness usually associated with LED backlighting is what makes the QD-OLED and MLA technology so exciting. been excellent. The brand new, MLA-boosted LG G3 takes all the greatness of LG’s OLEDs and adds a solid dose of extra power and dynamism, and while last year’s first-generation QD OLEDs – the Samsung S95B and Sony A95K – might not be the knock-your-socks-off upgrade from standard OLED that some were expecting, they were great TVs and this year’s second-gen models are expected to go much further.
In all this excitement, it’s easy to assume that standard OLED has had its day. Some people even said two or three years ago that the technology had already reached its limit. The new Sony A80L proves that’s simply not the case.
When we were reviewing the A80L I was quickly amazed at how much of an upgrade it is over last year’s A80K – a TV that’s still very good in its own right. Nothing major has changed in terms of panel hardware, but through clever, considered processing, Sony has managed to produce an image with significantly more impact, punch and solidity, all without compromising on naturalism.
That’s not to say the A80L is much brighter than other standard OLED TVs. It’s still limited by the panel hardware, meaning the new QD-OLED and MLA TVs are a lot brighter. But extra brightness isn’t necessarily essential. Standard OLED’s brightness limit of around 800 nits is still high enough to cover the mastering limits of most HDR movies, and tone mapping is now good enough to really satisfactorily recreate those pixels beyond 800 nits. Plus, OLED’s perfect blacks mean the contrast is amazing, even if the peak brightness is lower than a good backlit TV.
There are people who may really need an extra bright TV. Those watching in a very well-lit room, for example – although I feel like if you’re watching movies in a room that bright, you’re just doing it wrong. For everyone else, the extra brightness a QD-OLED or MLA TV offers is nice to have, but not crucial.
Now not every TV gets as much performance out of standard OLED technology as the A80L. The fact that the new LG C3 is only a minimal upgrade over last year’s C2 is testament to that. My overall point, though, is that basic OLED technology has produced some great TVs and, when given a lot of care and attention from manufacturers, is still capable of reaching even greater heights. So definitely buy a QD-OLED or MLA OLED TV if you want and can, but don’t rule out standard OLED just yet.
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