OLED

Scott Wilkinson ... 22 miles

Scott

Episode 1659

Scott joins Leo to talk about all he saw at CES 2020. One of the nifty things he saw was an OLED gaming monitor that was 4K OLED with a variable 360fps refresh rate. 8K TVs were everywhere, including a 292" Wall by Samsung. MicroLEDs are the next generation TV, and while we're a few years away from being affordable, the technology will be the future once they make the production of the MLEDs scalable for production. Another trend was "miniLED." Tens of thousands of dimming zones and LEDs make for more consistent lighting from light to dark. TCL will be offering miniLEDs this year. 

Scott Wilkinson ... CES 2020 Pregame

Scott Wilkinson

Episode 1657

CES begins next week and Scott joins Leo for the 16th straight year to talk about what we can expect to see. In fact, they met at CES during the first week of the Tech Guy 16 years ago. What can we expect? Scott says we'll see more 8K displays, which Leo says is rather silly. Just how realistic do we need TVs to get to real life? Scott says that while resolution is one consideration, there is a greater sense of depth, thanks to HDR and video processing. So the depth of field looks more realistic. Upscaling will look much better as well, like going from HD to 8K. Or 4K to 8K.

Learn the Difference Between OLED and QLED

Sometimes it can be confusing when acronyms are nearly identical. It would be in consumers' best interest to learn the difference between OLED and QLED before browsing for new TVs. OLED stands for "organic light-emitting diode" while QLED stands for "Quantum Dot LED" (according to Samsung). Quantum dots are extremely small semiconductors that backlight a Liquid Crystal Display. Many people think "QLED" was a label intentionally chosen to look similar to "OLED", despite not being the same technology.

QLED versus OLED, and What is Microlithography?

LG B8 65" OLED - OLED65B8PUA

Episode 1603

Tom from Harrisburg, PA

Tom purchased a new OLED TV and it brought him to do research into the average diameter of an atomic nucleus and cutting circuit lines. Tom wants to know how production facilities are able to cut circuit lines so small and address the wiring grid within so that they don't overlap one another. Leo tells Tom that the process is called Microlithography, which he explains is similar to the idea of silk screening: Painters paint on a screen of silk and then apply ink to it, and the ink goes through the part of the silk that isn't painted. It's a fascinating process.

What 4K TV should I buy?

LG C8 OLED

Episode 1546

Marcello from California

Marcello wants to get a new 4K TV to go with his new home. Should he wait for HDMI 2.1? Leo says the only real reason to wait for HDMI 2.1 is to buy an 8K TV, which isn't really practical right now because they're too expensive and there's no content for them. It's still a few years away. The more important feature is HDR. So there's no real reason to wait. If money is no object for Marcello, then the LG C8 OLED is the best TV ever. But it's $8,000 for a 70". If he can afford it, it's gorgeous display.

Scott Wilkinson on Home Theater

Scott Wilkinson

Episode 1537

What is the difference between OLED and QLED? Scott says that OLED is Organic Light Emitting Diodes, and is based on organic chemistry, or carbon. That's how it makes light. QLED, on the other hand, stands for Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode, and it's just a higher end LCD TV. The light source behind the panel is using quantum dots, including LEDs to illuminate the image. They are completely different technologies. But the "QLED" term confuses people, and they may think they're getting a special OLED screen, but they aren't.

What OLED 4K TV should I buy?

LG OLED B8

Episode 1523

Vincent from Louisiana

Vincent has an Nvidia Shield and the Channel Master over-the-air DVR and he's loving it. He's glad he cut the cable. But he wants to upgrade from his old Samsung 1080i TV. What should he get? Rich says that all he really needs on a TV these days is an HDMI and Coax input for his antenna. He doesn't even need a smart TV because they rarely get updated. It's better to get a TV without smart features and a Roku or Apple TV. There is one exception, though. Roku enabled smartTVs are worth it because they do get updated. Amazon also offers TVs with Fire TV built in.

Is the iPad better than Samsung's tablets?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4

Episode 1521

John from Winthrop, MA

John has a Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and it has an OLED screen. Leo says that's a great model. Is it better than an iPad? Leo says an iPad has True Tone, which helps calibrate the image to the ambient light. Leo's opinion is that nothing beats OLED. But then again, we haven't heard if the new iPads will have OLED yet. Apple's position is that the iPad screens are great. But then again, iPhone X screens are OLED. If they do use OLED, they will be made by Samsung. So it won't be any better.

What 4K TV should I buy?

LG B7

Episode 1501

Tom from Oceanside, CA

Tom is buying a new TV today and wants to know what to get. Leo says it depends on his budget. If he's spending a few thousand, then OLED is the way to go. Better yet, he should get a larger size than he would think. If he's at less than a 10' viewing distance, 55" is OK, but Leo likes 70". HDR makes a significant difference if he likes to watch movies. 4K, for sure. But everything else in the chain has to be 4K HDR in order to get the benefit.