Monitor technology is ever-advancing, and it can sometimes cause confusion. You’re probably already familiar with OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) displays, which offer perfect, true blacks and better color performance than earlier technology. The latest evolution of OLED technology is QD-OLED, so let’s look at how the two differ.

4 QD-OLED: A hybrid of OLED

Adding quantum dots for better efficiency and fidelity

The pixels in an OLED display contain organic compounds that emit light when an electric current runs through them. The pixels incorporate different organic materials to produce red, green, and blue sub-pixels for the full-color image. The absence of an electric current across a pixel leaves it completely dark, producing that true black so important to high-quality video.

In QD-OLED technology, manufacturers combine OLED with quantum dots (QD). The display uses a blue OLED backlight, and the quantum dots convert some of the blue light into reds and greens. This helps the QD-OLED display be more efficient and maintain more accurate colors compared to traditional OLED.

3 Higher quality images with more contrast

Elevating brightness, image quality, and contrast

Your traditional OLED display will offer a perfect black, since each individual pixel stays completely off when not in use. Each pixel is lit independently, without the surrounding pixels being affected. The same is true of QD-OLED, but this newer technology does have a few advantages.

Because of the inherent properties of organic materials, an OLED display can lose some color quality. The addition of the quantum dot layer improves color accuracy and brightness, since the dots convert blue light into very precise shades of red and green. This allows a QD-OLED display to demonstrate a wider color gamut and higher brightness.

Another drawback of traditional OLED is that the organic materials used in the pixels degrade over time, especially in the blue sub-pixels. This can limit maximum brightness, but QD-OLED greatly improves on this. The quantum dots are able to convert light more efficiently, and the display can produce brighter images without making the organic materials wear down as quickly.

Since QD-OLED incorporates all the advantages of OLED while also reducing some of its drawbacks, you’ll notice better image quality and contrast in a QD-OLED display. Thanks to improved color accuracy and brightness, the overall image quality will be more vibrant, especially in High Dynamic Range (HDR) content.

What does this mean in terms of real-world applications? You’ll notice much more realistic and true-to-life video quality in your streaming video content as well as games. You might notice this especially when the scene is quite dark, assuming you keep the lights down.

2 Better energy efficiency and lifespan

QD-OLED improves on OLED’s best features and mitigates its drawbacks

Energy efficiency is already improved in OLED display technology compared to LCD and older technologies. After all, each pixel in an OLED display emits light independently, so power consumption depends on the brightness of the content you’re watching.

Especially with higher brightness levels, QD-OLED is able to improve this energy efficiency. The quantum dot layer offers a more energy-efficient light conversion, meaning the display can be brighter but still consume less power than an OLED display.

The other known downside of OLED is the potential for burn-in. This is where static images permanently “burn” into the display panel after being on the screen for too long. That’s especially prevalent in the blue sub-pixel, which also degrades faster over time.

QD-OLED still suffers from this possibility, but much less so than the technology’s predecessor. Since QD-OLED relies more upon its quantum dots for color conversion and the blue OLED layer for brightness, burn-in doesn’t typically happen as fast.

1 Newer technology usually costs more

Advanced technology comes at a cost, but can improve over time

When OLED displays first came out, they were quite a bit more expensive than older technology like LCD and LED displays. Over time, production scaled up, and prices went down. Granted, an OLED display remains more expensive, on average, than a comparable LED screen. The price difference isn’t so stark, though.

Likewise, QD-OLED is currently much more expensive than the traditional OLED display. Just as the price of OLED TVs and display panels dropped as production increased, we should see the same trend with QD-OLED. Furthermore, the increased lifespan might make a QD-OLED more cost-effective in the long run, compared to a comparable OLED display.

QD-OLED enhances OLED, improving it and pushing the boundaries of what it can do

What OLED display technology does well, the hybrid QD-OLED displays do even better. QD-OLED enhances OLED, pushing the older technology beyond what it was capable of previously. If you want the best possible brightness, color accuracy, and efficiency, QD-OLED is a smart choice.