QLED TVs are amazing displays, but before you buy a QLED display, it’s worth going over the main letdowns as this will help you make the right buying decision. QLED TVs differ from their closest competitor “OLED”, QLED TVs use microscopic dots to emit colors when emitted by the backlight. QLED panels are basically LCD panels as QLED TVs use LCD panels inside.
QLED TVs are great and they have their advantages, but in this post, we’re only focusing on the main disadvantages in case you purchase a QLED TV and you’re quite critical about one of the disadvantages. It’s always important to look at the cons to help you make the right decision for your viewing experience.
In this post, we’re going to talk about how QLED TVs have poor viewing angles, slower response times compared to OLED TVs, poorer contrast ratios compared to OLEDs, and how they aren’t recommended for home theaters. Hopefully, by the end of the post, you will know exactly what type of display you want.
1: QLED TVs Have Poor Viewing Angles
QLED TVs have poorer viewing angles compared to OLED displays, this is due to the fact that QLED displays use a backlight to show an image. Backlights aren’t as great as self-illuminating pixels because self-illuminating pixels are able to look the same from any angle. Viewing angle is important when you’re considering the fact that you will have multiple seats.
Viewing a QLED TV from the side can have many effects such as Screen Color Shift, Black Level Reduction, and Gamma Shift. Sitting from an angle can result in blacks looking even more grey and the image looking washed-out. It can also cause a lot of details to blend in with the screen if you’re watching a dark scene, this can be detrimental to your viewing experience.
To avoid this issue, you may have to go for the next best thing which is OLED TVs. OLED TVs are mostly used in home cinemas which can support a wide arrangement of viewing angles whilst maintaining their color accuracy. Someone sitting at a weird angle can have a similar experience to you who is sitting in the middle of the screen.
2: QLED TVs Have Slower Response Times
QLED TVs have slower response times compared to OLED TVs, while this may not be a big issue when it comes to watching movies and TV shows, it can reduce the flexibility in terms of usage. If you like playing fast-paced competitive video games such as counterstrike, then you may need a fast-reacting TV like an OLED which could keep you alive much longer.
QLED TVs usually have response times between 2ms-8ms, which doesn’t seem bad on paper, but when you compare it to OLED TVs which have response times as low as 1ms, it becomes obvious which option is best when it comes to playing competitive video games. You need near-instant reaction speeds sometimes to prevent death in these games.
The delay we’re referring to is called input lag. Input lag is the difference in time between when you input a command whether it’s from a tv remote or a gaming remote and the response on screen by the pixels. So when you’re gaming and you press the shoot button, if it takes 8ms for it to react, then your OLED display has a response time of 8ms.
3: QLED TVs Have Poorer Contrast Ratios
QLED TVs have poorer contrast ratios compared to OLED displays. The best QLED TVs have a contrast ratio of around 26000:1 which sounds quite high, but when you compare it to an OLED display which has a contrast ratio of inf:1 (infinite), then you know which screen is best for HDR content. Higher contrast ratios have the ability to massively improve your viewing experience especially in dark scenes where the details can look washed-out
Higher contrast ratios are great for HDR content and some QLED TVs aren’t that good at delivering high-quality HDR experiences. Once you view HDR content and compare it to SDR content, you’ll never want to go back, so to get a decent HDR experience, you’re going to need a top-tier QLED display or an OLED display.
Even though QLED TVs are able to get much brighter than OLED displays, they aren’t able to produce deep black levels like OLED displays are able to. The reason why OLED displays have infinite contrasts is that once they switch a pixel off, the value becomes 0. So the brightest spot on-screen is technically infinitely brighter than the darkest spot. Usually, to circumvent the low brightness of OLED displays, all you need to do is sufficiently darken your room.
4: QLED TVs Aren’t Recommended For Home Theaters
QLED TVs aren’t recommended for home theaters and are rather recommended for standard living rooms and the average user. Home theaters are usually sufficiently darkened, so OLED TVs are more warranted in this case than a QLED TV. The next best option for home theaters would be LED displays as they can perform great in bright and dark environments and also provide a great native contrast ratio.
Home theaters can benefit greatly from deep black levels which are produced by OLED TVs. QLED TVs won’t be able to produce superior cinematic experiences to that of an OLED display because the black levels on an OLED display make a massive impact for HDR in dark scenes.
QLED TVs also suffer from poor viewing angles which will severely ruin the cinematic experience of someone sitting at an angle. Anyone serious about building a home cinema would know that viewing angles are important for the immersive experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, QLED displays are best suited for standard living rooms and not home theaters. This is due to the fact QLED displays aren’t able to produce deep black levels, they suffer from poor viewing angles, and they can’t reach the same levels of contrast as an OLED display.
Additionally, for gamers, OLED displays wouldn’t be recommended if you’re into competitive games. Non-competitive games are fine, but games such as CSGO need a display with super-fast reaction speeds. QLED displays have an input lag of around 2-8ms whereas OLED displays are around 1ms.
