OLED vs LED – what’s the difference?

Buying a new TV? OLED and LED are the main screen technologies. But before we get into the details, you may be asking yourself - what is the difference between OLED and LED? Here, we explain the key differences between them to help you decide which is best for you.

There are various considerations to make when buying a new TV. One of the most important decisions is the type of screen technology – OLED vs LED?

Most new TVs will have an LED screen. Sometimes referred to as LCD and NanoCell, they are all based on the same screen technology – though NanoCell is vastly superior to standard LED.

While both LED and OLED TVs offer 4K and HD resolution, the main difference is in the way the screens are made and how they create their display.

OLED is a completely different type of screen technology – widely regarded by TV experts as the pinnacle of picture quality. LG has been a pioneer of OLED for several years, and it has since grown in popularity among other manufacturers.

LED refers to light-emitting diodes, which are the bulbs behind the TV screen that form the backlight. There are two types of backlight – including edge lit, and direct lit. The tiny LED lights that make up the backlight are used to illuminate the pixels to deliver crisp, clear picture. When you turn on the TV, these illuminate to light up the pixels, or switch off to block light passing through when a darker picture is required.

Previously, OLED has been deemed the superior screen technology, and you may find yourself asking is OLED better than LED? Developments in recent years have challenged this notion and have narrowed the gap for LED TVs. These technologies include:

• Full array dimming: parts of the screen can be dimmed independently to create more natural black colours, ideal for watching spooky horror films.

• NanoCell technology: delivers more vibrant colours and wider viewing angles by placing the pixels much closer together – a tiny nanometre apart.

Seen by many TV experts as the king of TV picture quality

Now you may be wondering, why choose an OLED TV? Is an OLED TV better than a LED TV? If you want the best picture quality, it has to be OLED. Hollywood filmmakers like Tim Miller have praised its ability to deliver ‘the best images’ in ‘the best possible conditions’.

OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. It’s a relatively new type of screen technology that does not require a backlight. These self-emitting diodes illuminate every single pixel in the screen by generating their own light. This delivers superb picture quality using less energy.