TV manufacturing technology has come a long way since the days of CRT TVs. The introduction of Plasma TVs followed by LCD has proved revolutionary. Today, the older generation TVs are not to be found anywhere in the market. Every TV you see is an LED TV. The prime advantages of LED TVs are that they are slimmer, lighter, and deliver excellent performances. Besides, the technology is inexpensive, whereby you get high-quality TVs at attractive prices.
Micro LED and OLED – The Way Forward
The thirst for excellent leads technology further with innovations like OLED, QLED, and mini-LED promising to take viewing experiences to the next level. With the arrival of OLED TVs somewhere in 2013, it seemed that the ultimate in TV technology had been achieved. However, technology has a habit of surprising everyone with new developments. 2021 seems to be a watershed year in TV manufacturing technology, with Samsung promising to introduce Micro LED TVs in the market. Now, it seems that LG’s OLED has a proper fight on its hands.
Let us compare OLED with Micro LED technology and see which is better. But before that, let us understand TV display technology briefly and why OLED and Micro LED are path-breaking technologies in the first place.
TV Technology – A Brief Recap
To understand the significance of OLED and Micro LED, it is essential to know how modern-day LED TV works. Though we call the present-day TVs LED TVs, they are LCD panels with LED backlighting because LCD screens do not have their own lights. Thus, we can define LED TV technology as “Transmissive Display” technology. However, this technology has its drawbacks as it cannot produce absolute blacks. Even in the best quality LED TVs, including QLED TVs, the glow from the LED backlights results in a grayish background when displaying pure black color. This phenomenon is known as ‘elevated blacks.’
OLED – How is it different?
OLED improves on the weaknesses of LED technology by eliminating the backlighting feature. Instead, it comprises self-illuminating pixels in place of LED lights to illuminate the screen. This technology is known as “Emissive Technology.” The difference is that this technology allows the switching off of the respective pixels when displaying blacks. Consequently, there is no overlapping of the lit pixels and switched-off pixels to produce absolute blacks. Hence, you end up with better contrast.
OLED denotes Organic LED, an array of self-illuminating pixels eliminating the need for a separate backlighting arrangement. Thus, it paves the way for slimmer TV designs and better power efficiency than traditional LCDs. However, there is a significant drawback to OLED. First, displaying a static image on the screen for extended periods can cause burn-in. Secondly, the lifespan of blue organic pixels is considerably less than that of the green and red pixels. Resultantly, it can affect color accuracy in the long run.
Micro LED – Improvement to OLED
Micro LED technology is a significant improvement to OLED as it eliminates issues like burn-in and color accuracy. While Micro LED is also Emissive Technology, it comprises self-illuminating inorganic pixels instead of organic as in OLED. Each pixel in a Micro LED display consists of three microscopic pixels, red, blue, and green. These pixels, measuring 1/100th the size of a conventional LED, combine to produce a range of colors of visible light required for an individual pixel. It further combines with several million pixels to provide detailed 4K or 3840 x 2160p resolution.
Manufacturing micro LED TVs has its challenges. Besides producing microscopic LEDs, the process involves combining millions of such pixels onto a usable surface. Samsung has taken the lead in discovering new technologies for producing Micro LED displays. Samsung has demonstrated this technology at various trade shows like IFA and CES since 2018. However, these displays have been commercial-grade displays measuring 120 inches or more.
2021 could prove a path-breaking year in TV technology as Samsung plans to soon introduce micro LED TVs for the domestic market. It brings us to the question of which of the two technologies, OLED or Micro LED, is better.
This comparison should make it easy for everyone to understand.
OLED Vs. Micro LED – Absolute Blacks
The primary difference between a conventional LCD-LED TV and an OLED TV is the reproduction of blacks. LCD TVs have LED backlighting arrangements. When displaying dark scenes like stars in the sky, the screen does not go entirely black. Instead, there is some residual glow from the backlight spilling over to the dark areas to make it look grayish. It produces a condition known as “Elevated Blacks.”
OLED TVs are different as it is possible to switch off each pixel completely and limit the illumination to where it is necessary. Thus, you get a true black background, known as “Absolute Blacks.” Non-OLED TVs are yet to reach this level of blackness. Micro LEDs can match this per-pixel illumination capability and offer similar black levels as OLEDs.
Verdict – OLEDs and Micro LEDs offer similar performance in this category. It is a tie.
OLED Vs. Micro LED – Sharpness and resolution
Both OLED and Micro LED TVs feature 4K resolution. Hence, the sharpness levels offered by both OLED and Micro LEDs are similar. Generally, video processing makes the images on the screen look sharp by adding a subtle black line around the object. However, this activity is not a display technology function. Therefore, there is little to choose between Micro LED and OLED technology in this regard.
Verdict – There is no clear winner in this category as the performances of OLED, and micro LEDs are similar.
OLED vs. Micro LED – Contrast and Brightness
Generally, one of the primary drawbacks of OLED technology is the inability of these TVs to offer brightness levels equal to QLED and conventional LED TVs. Even the brightest OLED TVs max out at 2000 nits of brightness, much less than what QLEDs offer. However, it is because of the distinct backlighting feature that LED TVs offer super brightness levels. LG has introduced Evo Technology to improve the brightness levels of OLED TVs, but it is not available in all OLED TV models.
On the contrary, micro LEDs fare much better than OLEDs as they can deliver brightness levels up to 5000 nits. It is much better than what the best LED and QLED TVs offer. Micro LED TVs do not have any filtering layers between the Micro LED pixels and the viewer to affect the overall brightness levels.
Contrast is a relative measurement between the brightest whites and the darkest of blacks. Both OLED and Micro LED offer the deepest blacks, but OLEDs cannot reproduce the brightest of whites to offer the best contrast ratios. The Micro LED TVs are better equipped in this regard.
Verdict – Compared to OLED TVs, the micro LEDs are far ahead in this category.
OLED Vs. Micro LED – Viewing Angles
Not everyone can be right in front of the TV at home. Therefore, you have TVs today that can be viewed from wide angles. Initially, LCD TVs did not offer good viewing experiences from viewing angles greater than 45 degrees. However, you have the IPS panels today that offer wide-angle viewing up to 178 degrees. OLED TVs also offer similar viewing angles without any parallax or any distortion in the image quality.
Micro LED TVs also offer similar all-angles viewing ability, with each color-producing pixel visible on the screen surface. As there is no glass layer between the viewer and the pixels, Micro LED TVs offer better viewing angles than OLED TVs. However, there is not much to choose from in the performance levels between these two technologies.
Verdict – OLED and Micro LED TVs offer similar performances.
OLED and Micro LED – Color Reproduction
Color gamut is another crucial aspect of LED TV displays. The standardized color space specifications include sRGB, P3, Adobe, and others. Generally, any color gamut is in the range of 95% to 100% of the sRGB spectrum. The premium TVs offer up to 99.9% color gamut, with OLED TV models offering more than 100% scores in the color gamut benchmark tests.
Samsung’s Micro LED TVs offer the latest technologies in almost all respects. However, we have to wait for the release of the first set of Samsung micro LED TVs in the domestic market to get a clear opinion in this regard. Nevertheless, almost all Micro LED reviews suggest that these TVs offer better color reproduction than all TVs, including OLED TVs.
Verdict –Micro LED TVs should offer better performance than OLEDs in color reproduction.
OLED and Micro LED – Burn-in issues
One of the primary disadvantages of OLED TVs is the burn-in potential. When the screen displays a static image for sufficiently extended periods, the active pixels tend to degrade at varying rates to create a ghostly after-image that remains on the screen even after you switch channels. For example, it can be channel logos to the faint rectangular outlines usually displayed during news programs.
The burn-in potential is the primary reason you should not purchase OLED TVs right off the showroom shelf. These TVs keep displaying the same images to clients continuously for extended hours. As a result, such TVs have a risk of burn-in on display. The burn-in issue was predominantly seen in the initial OLED TVs. However, LG has tweaked its manufacturing process by using pixel-shifting technology that detects static images and alternates the pixels displaying them. As a result, it reduces uneven wear and tear and thus, addresses the burn-in issues.
Micro LED TVs are better equipped as these individual LEDs are less prone to color degradation. Therefore, there is no issue of burn-in in Micro LED TVs. Yes, Micro LED TVs have not yet arrived in the market in a big way. However, there has been no claim of any burn-in issue experienced on Micro LED displays until today.
Verdict – The Micro LED TVs are clear winners in this regard.
OLED Vs. Micro LED – Screen Size
As of date, Micro LED TVs are available in extremely large sizes of 99 inches and above. Samsung has not yet introduced Micro LED TVs with small screen sizes in the domestic market. Reports say that Samsung is contemplating introducing the 88-inches Micro LED TV soon. In contrast, the OLED TVs are available in sizes 55-inches and above.
OLED is a far mature technology compared to micro-LED. Hence, it is evolving rapidly to meet the demands of 8K resolution. LG introduced the 48-inches OLED TV model last year. However, the Micro LED manufacturing process is not yet ready to match the 48-inches pixel density today. At the same time, the Micro LED process makes it easy to manufacture the monstrous 120-inches TVs, especially for commercial use.
Verdict – OLED offers more options in screen sizes for the domestic market, especially with LG introducing the 48-inches OLED TV. It will take time before we get Micro LED TVs in this screen size range.
OLED Vs. Micro LED – Price
Initially, OLED TVs were expensive. However, over a period, the prices have reduced considerably. Micro LED TVs have not yet hit the domestic market. The Micro LED TV models available today for commercial usage are still highly expensive. As the technology improves over time, we can expect a price reduction. Until that time, the OLED TV is a better bet than the Micro LED TV.
Verdict – The Micro LED TV is still out of reach of the average buyer in the market. The OLED TV pricing has come down since the time they were introduced.
Which TV should you purchase? OLED or Micro LED
Purchasing OLED TVs should not be an issue because an extensive range of OLEDs is available today. LG is the prime manufacturer of OLED TVs. Other TV manufacturers like Sony and Panasonic have also started manufacturing OLED TVs using OLED panels produced by LG. You get excellent 4K OLED TVs available online.
On the flip-side, you have to wait for Samsung to release its Micro LED TV range. Until then, we cannot have a clear idea of the benefits they offer. Besides, Micro LED TVs are highly expensive.
As of today, the OLED TV is a better bet. However, performance-wise, the micro-LED TVs seem to have the edge over their OLED counterparts.
