OLED is an advanced TV panel technology. The term “OLED” stands for “Organic Light-Emitting Diode”. The “organic” part refers to the carbon film that sits inside the panel before the glass screen. OLEDs emit their own light when electricity is passed through, whereas “LED” in a typical LED LCD display refers to the additional layer of illumination behind the pixel used to the illuminate that pixel. The illumination of pixels is what creates the picture on the TV screen.
Since the illumination of pixels creates the picture on the screen, it follows that more precise illumination will lead to a better TV picture. In a LED LCD display the light from the backlight is often shared amongst multiple pixels, causing light to “bleed” into an area of the image that is otherwise meant to be dark. Since OLED pixels produce their own light, they can turn off completely when the picture needs to be black, effectively eliminating light bleed with each pixel being its own source of illumination.
The result of this is very deep blacks, bright whites and more accurately reproduced colours, which create a bold and vibrant picture of outstanding quality. In addition to stunning picture quality, the self-lighting pixels mean OLED displays are very responsive, for clearer motion with way less image blurring than a LED LCD TV, so gamers will love OLED.
An added bonus for gamers and others staring at the TV for ages at a time is that OLEDs are not as bright as a standard LED LCD TV, so you play until 3am without searing your retinas. Other non-OLED panels may seem brighter in store, but don’t feel fooled - the extra brightness is usually to compensate for the lack of colour reproduction and accuracy compared to an OLED and such a bright panel would not usually be required for home use.
The self-lighting pixels also have a very wide viewing angle, so the picture looks just as good from all but the most extreme angles. This means that no matter where in the room you sit you’ll be able to see the picture perfectly without any colour distortion, for an immersive experience beloved by any home cinema enthusiast.
OLED TVs are also thinner and much lighter than a standard TV due to them having less layers and no backlight unit in their design, so you can more easily wall mount them like the fine piece of art that they are, and they just look better than the bulky TVs of yesteryear. Some, like the LG OLED Gallery Series (yes, like an art gallery) are only 20mm thin.
Overall, when it comes to all the elements of picture quality and viewing pleasure, OLEDs have got all the competing technologies beat. It’s cutting edge technology that’s so cool it may as well be magic to the casual layperson, and you’ll be more proud of it than your first born son on graduation day.
Nothing beats coming and seeing it for yourself - I promise you will be absolutely blown away by how good it looks. Come down to your local Bi-Rite and our experts can help you choose the right OLED TV for you. Welcome to the future!
