Misinformation epidemic regarding QLED & OLED

zuleamu (25)in #oled • 5 years ago (edited)

Hey guys,

TL;DR @ the end

I think some of the biggest misinformation in tech is OLED vs QLED. So my ~~little~~ rant here will just hopefully contribute to reduce misinformation.

Below I point out some fakenews in two of JerryRig's videos (one shilling OLEDs and one shilling QLEDs).

Shill-out video #1/2 - "QLED master race" - [1]

Myth no. 1 "8K will transform your TV". The video is flaunting "8K" and "upscaling" every chance it gets, misleading viewers, as these features are the least impactful in the TV industry at the current time:

Jerry: "this waterfall [footage] I shot with a 1080p drone [...] you can see the detail of the waterfall and the little people [...] because the Samsung TV is [...] upscaling it to 8K with its internal quantum AI processor" [1]

Enhance! 🤦‍♂️ [3]

Jerry: "So even though there might not be a whole lot of 8K content available it's not a big deal because the TV generates its own 8K content" [1]

By that logic why even buy Blu-Rays, just get VHS tapes.

Jerry: "This TV has Radeon Freesync [...] so not only is it good for gaming, but it also upscales whatever game [...]. Whether it's 1080p, 4k, it upscales it" [1]

Are you linking Freesync and Upscaling? Or just felt the need to unrelatedly mention upscaling twice more.

To summarize this upscaling malarkey.
It has been said again and again (900R) and again (900R) and again (900R) and again. Upscaling the source doesn't bring a sizeable benefit. Please for the love of God if you noticed any difference show it. It would be very interesting. However, from other sources that DO show test images, this doesn't seem to be the case. [4]

Myth no. 2 "QLED is brighter". This is actually true, but the phrasing...

Jerry: "OLED [...] made up of little tiny pixels [...] which kinda limits how bright they can get. [...] QLED is made up of little Quantum Dots that are backlit by LEDs. Meaning they can get much brighter." [1]

Although QLEDs are indeed brighter, the reasons he gave are completely wrong.

To someone who doesn't know how QLED/OLED works this phrasing makes it sound as if the technologies are similar. Heck even the names are almost identical; QLED, OLED. (thank Samsung for that slimy genius marketing). Both have little tiny pixels or qDots right? Nope... they are fundamentally different.
Also nice way to undermine OLED by using its party piece, individually lit pixels, as a negative point. Jeez. OLEDs can go 1300 nits in brightness too. The TVs are limited because they would draw too much power.
QLEDs are brighter because they are more efficient so for the same power you can shine brighter. It's not because one is made up of tiny pixels or because the other is backlit and not frontlit.

Shill-out video #2/2 - "OLED über alles" - [2]

Myth no. 3 "LCD filters wash colors out"

Jerry: "Each of those 8 million pixels light themselves individually - which makes the color more vibrant because the backlight isn't washing out the colors as it shines through the pixels. Like it is on an LCD. Because of that single panel - an OLED tends to be much more vibrant and vivid than an LCD - because you're getting the image directly from the source instead of spit out from multiple layers." [2]

The exact opposite is true presently. The coloring part happens on the last layer of the LCD [5], the qDot color filter. It's not washed out by anything because the filter is the outermost layer, not behind all the filters. Duh. Further, QLED LCDs are brighter, so more light gets converted to colors, which means they are actually more vibrant than an OLED. QLEDs have "taller color volumes".

And just to top it off it is actually OLEDs that are washed out. Virtually all OLED TVs today are made by LG which use WRGB subpixels - that means OLEDs wash out the colors at high brightness. [6]

The root of the myth is because OLEDs seem more vibrant when watching movies. That is because most movie scenes are not bright, but neutral, or dark, in which case the LCD's inability to reproduce true blacks washes out its colors. Not the fact that an OLED has "just one layer" or that QLEDs have many.

Myth no. 4 "OLEDs are more efficient "

Jerry: "Because each pixel in an OLED display produces more light - it's more efficient than an LCD" [...continued 1/2] [2]

True. Just kidding ... Deja vu, the exact opposite is true. OLED TVs are around 30% as efficient as LCDs at full brightness. 3x worse! This is reflected in real world tests as, OLEDs consume more power than LCDs while being less bright at max power.

Myth no. 5 "QLEDs give you headaches"

Jerry: [continued 2/2...]"...Meaning that it produces less of those harmful blue light rays that keep you up at night or sometimes cause headaches" [2]

Any TV could be adjusted for warm colors and QLED has a larger color volume than OLED which means it could be even warmer and less bluish if your blue-night-light riddled brain so desires.
This is Don Draper next level stuff. If you don't watch Mad Men, I mean it's marketing bullcrap. I don't understand why a third party reviewer would be spewing out the same thing you can find on a Samsung pamphlet. Really, I have no clue [7].

All these being said, I would've taken the cash in a heartbeat if I were in Jerry's place. But I'm not. I'm an armchair critic so I shall play my part. I think except these two videos he's a great reviewer.

End of rant.

tl;dr

Jerry's videos about the 8K Samsung QLED or the LG OLED are filled with details which are totally false. They are sometimes outright lies and sometimes half-truths construed so as to put the shilled product into a positive light while misleading viewers.