Samsung self-illuminating QLED technology gets a boost

[HEXUS]

Groundbreaking research improves both quantum efficiency and pixel lifetime.

Read more.

[Output]

Interesting news, but it leads to the question of when this will actually start appearing in retail products - and at various price points and sizes, rather than the high-end huge displays that get made pretty much just because they can.

[KultiVator]

Interesting news, but it leads to the question of when this will actually start appearing in retail products - and at various price points and sizes, rather than the high-end huge displays that get made pretty much just because they can.

The old universal truth applies here... early adopters always get stung ;-)

[Ravuncher]

the announcement vs release timings again will be the issue here

[DevDrake]

Great!
I am a little disappointed that the QDOLED is running over OLED. I was so hyped for the OLED tech back in 2005 and it seems that the progress bearly moved from there...

[stoatwblr]

Interesting news, but it leads to the question of when this will actually start appearing in retail products - and at various price points and sizes, rather than the high-end huge displays that get made pretty much just because they can.

Given that it's a modification of QDOT - which is already shipping and already available at a reasonable price (I just dropped £360 on one of their a 32" qdot monitors, which is only £120 more than the IPS version), the margin is likely to be very small indeed.

Personally I'm still waiting for Marty McFly's roller blind and the "PDA" display format that used to feature in the Tekwar TV series.

The bugbear for OLED is and always has been the lifespan of blue OLEDs. It's getting better (and my old Samsung galaxy S2 and Note 4 phones are still perfectly usable) but people expect a "big" purchase like a display to last 10-15 years, not the 3-5 of a phone.

[rave_alan]

TV that works just for 1-2 years is a dream for manufacturers, it already happened with phones-1-2 years and the battery is dead.

[Spud1]

Good news really - if only to finally introduce some competition at the higher end of the market.

Currently, if you are in the market for a mid-high end TV (£1200+ in price terms) and you want 55" or higher....your only sensible option is an OLED, and you'd be mad to buy an LCD at the price. Now there is nothing wrong wtih OLED and image retention is a hugly over exaggerated problem (i.e. its not an issue for the vast majority of users, even if mistreated), but it's never a good thing when a single technology is the only option worth considering.

So if they really have cracked this and can make an LCD panel that can do crazy brightness (LCDs current only advantage) whilst also doing proper blacks & colour reproduction...that could be a real game changer. Nice to see really and hopefully in 3-5 years time when I am looking to replace my set they will have reached affordable prices.

[watercooled]

Has OLED considerably improved in regards to burn-in in recent years? Because I experienced it a few times with phones around 2015 ish and it was horrid, with icon shadows visible over videos, applications, etc. And I know phones on display in shops aren't a realistic use-case but I seem to recall lots of display models showing it quite badly. And just to be clear I'm not using that as my only data point.

The supposed advantages of OLED over IPS paled in comparison to the burn-in issue, and unless it's considerably improved with recent displays, I doubt I'd be convinced otherwise of that.

Having said that, if this QLED technology looks like it will make a huge difference in lifespan, then it can only be a good thing IMO, provided the other characteristics are good, of course.

[Spud1]

Has OLED considerably improved in regards to burn-in in recent years? Because I experienced it a few times with phones around 2015 ish and it was horrid, with icon shadows visible over videos, applications, etc. And I know phones on display in shops aren't a realistic use-case but I seem to recall lots of display models showing it quite badly. And just to be clear I'm not using that as my only data point.

The supposed advantages of OLED over IPS paled in comparison to the burn-in issue, and unless it's considerably improved with recent displays, I doubt I'd be convinced otherwise of that.

Having said that, if this QLED technology looks like it will make a huge difference in lifespan, then it can only be a good thing IMO, provided the other characteristics are good, of course.

Yes - you can still get burn in, if you for example leave your TV showing a news channel 24/7 for a week - however 24 hours of it does no damage to modern sets (mine is a 2016 model) - but that is far from normal use and even LCD sets will experience (other)issues after doing so for that sort of period.

In any normal use case, you won't see any burn in. The whole issue is massively exaggerated on the internet based on both the sort of example above, and on the very early sets that had no counter measures in place (e.g. auto dimming on paused content, pixel refreshing, moving icons etc). If you want to make it happen you can...but why would you.

If it really worried you, then buy from a retailer like CostCo who will guarantee the TV for 5 years an replace no questions asked - even for burn in.

I sitll wouldn't use one for a monitor though; I think they are best used as TVs really.

[watercooled]

The thing is, OLED burn is cumulative which means that, in theory, it can happen even if you often display the same sort of content with breaks in between, news channels being an example, or game HUDs, or phone navigation buttons, etc. If it really only needs a week's worth of cumulative use then I wouldn't consider it a non-issue, personally, but I realise (hope) you might be using that as an exaggerated example.

LCDs can suffer image persistence with extended viewing of static images without breaks, but it is nearly always completely reversible, unlike OLED burn which is permanent. If it's a particular image which is burned in, in theory you could display an inverted image to balance the wear but it may not be practical in many cases or if the burn is severe.

OLED burn-in is just down to the individual OLEDs fading with use, which is inevitable but often not visible because the wear is fairly consistent across the display.

I agree TV is probably a better use but the risk would really put me off using one as a monitor given the content they tend to display, but the same is true of phone screens.

BTW I don't ask to be argumentative or anything, I'm just genuinely interested in how the technology is progressing from people who actually use it. I know a few people who have some Samsung phones from S6 onwards, so I keep meaning to ask if I can check them out closely. If I can't see any burn on those against a plain image, I'll probably feel more comfortable!

[Spud1]

Yep I don't mean to be argumentitive either

I think the reality is that oled screen burn is a risk if the display is mis used, but that there are enough preventive measures built in to modern displays that if you combine them with common sense, it just isn't an issue. I was trying to give extreme examples as ordinary use as a TV just doesn't present an issue.

I do refer specifically to TVs though...as stated above I wouldn't ever consider oled for a pc monitor yet (good VA panels such as in the PG35VQ can give you the deep blacks and are much brighter).

If the new LCD panels can give you all.the oled benefits without any risk of burn in even in extreme scenarios though then that's a good thing!

[Shane74]

Interesting, I may finally upgrade my 2006 52 inch Sony Bravia "Dumb" tv to one of these.
I keep holding off, Almost went for an 65inch LG OLED a few years back, Then wanted a 65 inch Sony Z9D but read about future MicroLED, I just keep waiting for a perfect screen that never happens. This Samsung technology sounds promising though.