The best TVs you can buy today use a technology called OLED. Since 2013 one company, LG Display, has produced every OLED television that goes on sale worldwide. It took nine years, but in 2022 there will finally be a new kind of OLED TV. Called QD-OLED, it takes the form of new 55-inch and 65-inch TVs from Samsung and Sony, as well as a new monitor by Alienware. QD-OLED uses quantum dots in combination with organic light-emitting diodes, and it promises even better picture quality than traditional OLED TVs and monitors.

We already reviewed the Alienware monitor and liked it a lot, but the we haven't got the chance to see the TVs beyond brief, early demos of prototype products. Samsung's QD-OLED TV, the QS95B, is priced at $2,200 for the 55-inch and $3,000 for the 65-inch model, which isn't terrible for a new display technology and exactly the same as LG's best 2022 OLED TV, the G2 series. Sony has yet to announce pricing, and of course we won't know how these QD-OLED models really compare against LG and other conventional OLED TVs until we can test them in person. But the initial looks are promising. 

So what is QD-OLED, and why is it potentially better than traditional OLED and LED LCD? Read on to find out.

Today's TV tech: LCD, OLED and QLED

Right now there are two technologies most TV buyers can actually afford: LCD and OLED. LCD TVs are sometimes called "LED TVs" due to the tiny LEDs they use to create light. The image is created by a liquid crystal layer, just like LCD TVs from 20-plus years ago. Mini-LED TVs operate the same way, just with more LEDs in their backlights, while QLED TVs are basically LED LCD TVs with quantum dots.

OLED is a newer technology. Each pixel emits its own light, created by a substance that glows when you give it energy. This substance includes the element carbon, hence the "organic" moniker. Since they're able to turn individual pixels off, to a perfect black, their contrast ratio and overall picture quality is typically better than any LCD.

One of the biggest improvements in LCD TV tech over the last few years is the inclusion of quantum dots. These microscopic spheres glow a specific color when excited by light. In the case of LCD TVs, blue LEDs supply all the blue light plus the energy to get red and green quantum dots to emit red and green light. This is what allows LCD TVs to have such extreme brightness and better color than LCD TVs of old. 

You can read more about the differences between these technologies over at LCD vs. OLED: TV display technologies compared, but the short version is that LCD-based TVs tend to be brighter, while OLED TVs have better overall picture quality. There's also microLED, but those are currently wall-sized and absurdly expensive. They're not really competition for LCD, OLED or QD-OLED, and likely won't be for the foreseeable future.

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