Televisions with quantum dot technology that are also called QLED TVs are everywhere. TV manufacturers claim the QLED TVs can offer excellent color fidelity, a wide color gamut, and high peak brightness. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is QLED?
QLED is an acronym used by several TV manufacturers to highlight televisions that employ quantum dot technology. And while it sounds like display technology, similar to OLED or LCD, QLED TVs are LCD TVs with a layer of quantum dots, making them just a subset of LCD TVs.
What are quantum dots?
I have mentioned quantum dots several times until now, and obviously, you are wondering what sorcery is this. So quantum dots are artificial inorganic nanoparticles. They can range in sizes from two to 10 nanometers, and this size determines which wavelength of light they will emit. Each wavelength produces different color, so essentially, different-sized quantum dots emit different colors when illuminated.
Manufacturers use a layer of quantum dots and attach it to a TV’s LCD stack. For those unfamiliar, an LCD stack is a sandwich of different layers, like film, glass, filters, and electronics, which create a display.
More accurate and lifelike colors
When the quantum dots attached to an LCD stack are blasted by blue LED or micro-LED backlight, they produce red and green colors. This, mixed with the blue from LEDs, makes a more accurate white color. This white color is then passed through color filters, and you get more accurate red, green, and blue colors. These colors are then used to construct the picture that you see on your TV.
In contrast, regular LCD TVs have white LEDs or micro-LEDs, and they use color filters to transform the white light to red, blue, and green. The RGB colors are then used to make other colors and the picture you see.
Yes, as it sounds, quantum dot technology in the current generation of QLED TVs is all about colors. It increases the color gamut of LCD TVs by up to 50%. So QLED TVs can show more accurate colors than TVs without quantum dot technology.
Who is making QLED TVs?
Several television manufacturers are using quantum dot technology in their TVs. Some use the QLED acronym, whereas others don’t, and they mention the quantum dot tech in their TV’s specs and marketing material.
You can find QLED TVs or TVs with quantum dots from Samsung, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, and LG. QLED TVs are available in HD, full HD, 4K, and 8K resolutions. But the 4K models are most common. Some of the best QLED TVs on the market include Samsung QN90A, Hisense U8G, TCL R635, and Samsung QN900A.
Is it worth buying QLED TVs?
There is a lot more to consider than quantum dot technology in TVs. Although, of course, the presence of quantum dots helps with more accurate and richer colors, you have to consider things, like how’s the contrast ratio of a TV, whether it offers good viewing angles, its brightness levels, gaming features, HDR performance, and more. So just having quantum dot technology isn’t enough. But if you have to choose between two similar TVs and one has quantum dots while the other doesn’t, go for the one with quantum dots.
I hope this answers most of your questions about QLED TVs. If you are in the market for a new TV, check out my best OLED TV recommendations.
