Samsung Display QD OLED technology surprised and surprised everyone at the recent CES. What exactly is this technology?
If you are interested in the latest technology in the world, you have probably followed the news of CES 2022 in Wironal and in the meantime, you have heard many new things. One of the new technologies that surprised and amazed many users was the TVs with QD-OLED screens, which companies such as Sony and Samsung introduced their latest products based on this technology.
The technology, which is the new product of Samsung Display and has made a lot of noise, is a new type of OLED display that is to be used in large TVs and monitors. Now, what exactly is QD-OLED and how is it different from regular OLED?
What is QD OLED display?
QD-OLED is actually the abbreviated form of “quantum dot organic light-emitting diode” introduced by Samsung in 2019. The technology is rumored to enter mass production in November. It goes without saying that Samsung has sometimes referred to QD-OLED technology as QD-Display instead of QD-OLED.
Whatever the name of this technology, it can not deceive users; Because it is not completely new and is only an improved version of OLED technology, which Samsung Display claims can offer the widest range of colors among existing display technologies.
According to CNET, Samsung QD-OLED TVs can cover 99.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. This ability to cover a wide range of colors is impressive; But compared to the new OLED TVs and monitors, it does not exceed the expectations of the users.
In short, Samsung’s new QD-OLED panels are like the old OLEDs, which had a lot of contrast with deep black; But they are supposed to have more vivid colors and brighter levels. According to Samsung, QD-OLED panels are supposed to provide more detail in very bright places, or so-called highlights, which previously were only seen in the form of white light.
Also, darker spots will show a better color image, which will improve the detail of the blacks. It should be noted that due to the use of quantum dots, there will be a very good viewing angle in this type of panel.
The importance of having QD-OLED panels is very clear to those who are interested in OLED TVs. LG Display today manufactures most of the large OLED panels for TVs and monitors; Samsung, on the other hand, has only produced one OLED TV and then focused on making QLED TVs that have a wider color gamut than LEDs. Because of the expensive TVs made with this technology, they can not be completely replaced by OLED. QD-OLED technology is now available to companies such as Samsung, LG, Visio, Panasonic, Philips, and major monitor vendors to build TV panels.
QD-OLED vs. OLED
The main difference between QD-OLED and current OLEDs is the use of very small semiconductor components called “quantum dots (QD)”. These quantum dots can emit light when they encounter a certain frequency of light. The color of light also depends on its wavelength, which also depends on the size of each of these quantum dots. This size can be between 2 and 10 nanometers.
Again, most large OLED panels are made by LG. LG Display panels use yellow and blue OLED materials to produce white light. This light is reflected into the red, green and blue filters of small pixels to produce the thousands of colors you see on the screen. Some newer OLED panels, especially those that support HDR, also come with a small white pixel to maximize screen brightness; Because OLED panels are generally darker than LEDs.
It goes without saying that QD-OLED panels use blue OLED material to provide their light source; Because, according to Samsung, blue has the strongest energy among colored lights.
This blue light passes through a layer of quantum dots to create the broad colors that are to be displayed. QD-OLED displays also use a TFT layer to control the other two layers.
Samsung says about adding quantum dot technology to OLED panels:
This is to produce accurate colors in each level of contrast to avoid the detailless and light and dark state of some areas.
According to Samsung, quantum dots have a simple structure and use very efficient light; Because here the light is not lost with the filters. QD-OLED does not have a bad viewing angle or blind spot; Because quantum dots emit uniform light. According to CNET, Samsung Display supplies quantum dots from specialized suppliers.
The QD-OLED display should not be expected to be much brighter than a standard LED or OLED display. CNET reports from Samsung Display that a TV with a full QD-OLED panel can have a maximum of 200 nits in full-screen mode or a maximum of 1000 nits with a 10% brightness screen.
CNET also noted that 10% of the LG C1 O1D display has a maximum brightness of 800 nits; While a standard LED TV can have a maximum of 2,000 nits of brightness. The monitor introduced at CES can have a maximum brightness of 250 nits in full-screen mode and a maximum brightness of 1000 nits with 10% of the screen. Despite the flagship monitors with displays up to 1400 nits of brightness, here is one of the weaknesses of quantum dot OLED.
While the ability to increase brightness in small chunks can help create the much-anticipated brightness of QD-OLED panels, the high contrast and accurate colors in shadows and bright spots can diminish the negative load of a slightly darker display with QD-OLED panels. Nevertheless, we are still waiting to see the actual performance of QD-OLED panels to see if this technology is really worth upgrading.
According to LG, from the second quarter of 2022, all LG OLED displays will use panels with OLED EX technology that utilize deuterium and machine learning combinations with 30% more brightness than current OLEDs.
QD-OLED monitors
Although Samsung has been talking about quantum dot technology for months, if you’ve never heard of QD-OLED technology, CES 2022 was a great opportunity to talk about Quantum Dot again with the advent of new technology TVs. One of the TVs equipped with this technology can be produced this year.
QD-OLED TVs, meanwhile, are hotter; But there seems to be a lot of talk about the Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED monitor introduced at CES.
It is claimed that the AW3423DW Eleanor monitor can reach 250 nits in normal mode and 1,000 nits in maximum mode. The display of this monitor covers 99.3% of the DCI-P3 color space, which is very desirable for the monitor; But for the OLED type, it is not more than their average. Thanks to the DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification, this monitor can achieve a light contrast of 0.0005 nits in black spots with significant contrast.
The Alienware monitor features a 175Hz display, a response rate change from gray to gray of 0.1 milliseconds, a resolution of 3400 x 1400 pixels, and a curvature of 1800R. Price of AW3423DW monitor is not known yet; But it is scheduled to be released soon, in the winter of 2022.
QD-OLED TVs
Most QD-OLED noise is related to TVs; Where Samsung will announce the production of 65-inch 4K TV, will make its first use of QD-OLED screens in TVs. Of course, the company has not yet revealed the exact name of this TV, and all we know about the Samsung QD-OLED TV is that it has four HDMI 2.1 ports and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, and we will have to wait a few weeks for more information about it.
Following the news of Samsung’s new TV, the head of Sony’s new TV with QD-OLED panel from the flagship series was found. This product is called A95K and is produced in two sizes of 64.5 and 54.6 inches.
Sony has not announced the exact brightness of this TV; But it claims that the A95K display is up to 200% brighter than current TVs.
The exact brightness of the LG OLED TVs introduced at CES 2022 is not known; But it is expected that due to the use of a new processor and better algorithm and more heat dissipation to achieve a brighter image, their maximum brightness will be slightly increased.
The new Samsung, Sony and LG TVs do not come with many specifications, especially in terms of screen color coverage; Of course, Sony claims that the A95K TV offers the widest color palette and can reproduce beautiful natural shades and colors.
Price and other specifications of QD-OLED displays
After the introduction of some QD-OLED based products at CES 2022, the exact information of these products is not yet available and we will have to wait until their release to get more specifications of them. For example, it is not yet clear whether the new QD-OLED version will be expensive and have the common pixel burnout problem of OLED panels.
A report from CNET quoting Samsung points out that the new quantum dot panels perform better at pixel burning and pixel performance adjustment, thanks to the use of a new technology called “instant image stick compensation”. This technology is a great advancement in pixel control; Because doing this operation manually takes about 20 minutes.
While the cheapest models of 4K TVs with OLED panels can be found in the price range of less than a thousand dollars, OLED monitors with 4K resolution are more expensive due to their limited supply and size. Now with the introduction of the new QD-OLED TVs, they are likely to be more expensive than the models on the market; This is because it has more limited manufacturers compared to the LG Display, which is six times more powerful in the production of OLED panels.
In 2022, Samsung will also launch OLED displays with LG Display panels, allowing the company to compare consumer exposure to different technologies. It’s interesting to note that QD-OLED panel pixels are not small enough for 8K, and this is something that big companies like Samsung should consider for their future.
The use of QD in OLED panels should have a significant impact on devices equipped with QD-OLED displays; But for now, we have to wait for the first TVs to come with this technology and see if the addition of two new acronyms QD over OLED is worth it.
