Dodgexander
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Which is better;
An OLED or a LCD?
Often there are many questions in this section of the forum such as:An OLED or a LCD?
Which is better, Samsung Q90R or LG C9?
Which is better LG B9 or Sony XG9505?
Should I buy a larger, lower range LCD TV or a smaller more expensive OLED/LCD?
The answer isn't always the same for everyone, so I will list the pro's and cons here. To compare OLEDs see: 2018-2019 OLED Comparison
Pros
- Per pixel delivery of SDR and HDR brings more gains in all areas. You will see the biggest boost of picture quality overall compared to an LCD, especially if you are not using HDR a lot.
- No motion blur.
- The best viewing angles
- Screen uniformity is a lot cleaner.
- OLED Burn In Risk
- ABL and reduced brightness with HDR, most notable with Sony OLEDs.
- 65" and especially 77" carry a large premium compared to LCDs.
Pros
- High peak brightness means for more impact with HDR. Less compression has to happen with high nits sources which is most important for games.
- More impressive in bright rooms or using HDR during the day.
- In the case of Samsung models, great gaming features such as motion interpolation without the addition of input lag.
- More competitive pricing at larger sizes than OLEDs.
- Narrower viewing angles. although this is improved with the high end LCD TVs using wide viewing angle filters.
- Potential haloing and blooming in dark viewing environments.
- Screen uniformity tends to be better, but not perfect.
- Not that much better at displaying SDR content than much cheaper LCDs.
Pros
- Better than an OLED in a bright room because of no ABL. Marginally brighter with HDR overall.
- A good balance between a TV which is decent with HDR, but without breaking the bank.
- In the case of Samsung models, great gaming features such as motion interpolation without the addition of input lag.
- Narrow viewing angles
- Potential haloing and blooming in dark viewing environments.
- Screen uniformity tends to be on the poor side, but better than lower range LCD TVs.
- Not that much better at displaying SDR content than much cheaper LCDs.
Pros
- Steady brightness in a bright room, no ABL like OLEDs.
- A lot cheaper and better value if someone doesn't use much HDR and can't buy OLED.
- Narrow viewing angles on the best performing models with contrast and blacks.
- Narow(ish) viewing angles on IPS panels. Still not as wide as OLED.
- A lot worse screen uniformity in dark viewing, especially with IPS panels
- Depending on which model you go for, smart TV and picture processing can be poorer on lower tier models
Please let me know if there is anything I can add!
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