Mini LED vs. OLED: I’ve tested dozens of TVs with both types of displays, and this one is better

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TV technology changes every year, and if you’re buying a new set, you may not even know where to start. Choosing the right TV for your needs may seem overwhelming, but it’s not too hard once you break things down.

Right now, there are two main technologies you need to know about: Mini LED and OLED. These two TV styles work in completely different ways, and each has its own advantages and limitations.

Also: The best OLED TVs you can buy

In short, in an OLED TV (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), each pixel glows when the set applies power to it. To create different colors, the set passes the light through different filters. If no power is applied to a pixel, it remains black – for the darkest colors.

Mini LED (which may also be called QLED or QNED depending on the manufacturer) uses a backlit LCD panel where each pixel is made up of red, green and blue filters to create different colors.

Where the “mini” part comes in is that, instead of one big backlight, the display has thousands of smaller backlights. In this setup, individual areas, not individual pixels like OLEDs, turn off when they need to go black.

Specifications

You should buy Mini LED TV if…

1. You want to save a little money or want a bigger TV

Of course, this depends on the size and brand, but as a general rule, mini LED TVs tend to cost less than their OLED counterparts.

For example, looking at TCL TV’s latest lineup, customers can get last year’s 65-inch TCL QM8K for $1,499 (or as low as $998 at the time of writing), while Sony or LG’s 65-inch OLED costs closer to $3,000. And the older you get, the higher the prices.

So if you want to get a bigger screen in a lower budget, Mini LED is a good option. Although you won’t get as clear a picture, you’ll still get a great-looking screen with good sound for streaming, live sports and news, and console gaming.

2. You want (or need) a brighter TV.

The way the panel produces images means Mini LED TVs can achieve higher overall brightness than OLED sets. The gap between the two has narrowed considerably in recent years due to technology advances, but Mini LED is still the clear winner.

For example, “LCDs can produce 3-4 times more brightness than OLED when displaying a full-screen white image, allowing them to maintain wide color volume even in the bright field while maintaining superb contrast of black levels,” says Wong.

Also: TCL QM8 review

The Hisense U8QG, another great mini LED set, can emit 5,000 nits of brightness with 5,600 dimming zones. This is most beneficial if you watch TV in a room with a lot of natural light or in a room with bright lights that may cause glare.

3. You’re worried about burn-in

Television manufacturers say burn-in, when part of an image on the TV remains as a ghostly background even when another image is on the screen, is rare. But it is not so rare that it never happens; Google, SonyAnd lgAmong others, everyone has specific tips to avoid it.

If you look on Reddit or manufacturer support forums, you’ll find repeated complaints about image burn-in. This usually only happens when a user plays the same game or watches the same channel for too long, but the point is that it can happen.

Due to their screen construction, Mini LEDs are much less susceptible to this problem. OLED sets have introduced technologies to avoid burn-in, but if you want to avoid it altogether, choose Mini LED.

You should buy OLED TV if…

1. You want the best picture quality and viewing experience

If you’re looking for the best picture quality, you’ll want to go with OLED. Since the set can control lighting on a pixel-by-pixel basis, it generally produces a clearer image with better contrast and deeper blacks.

Mini LED TVs tend to be brighter, but this isn’t always a good thing, as pictures can sometimes appear blurry. OLED Mini also offers better viewing angles than LED TVs, which is ideal if your seating is off to the side.

Also: LG G6 vs Samsung S95H

While LG, Sony and Samsung are pushing to make OLED technology even brighter with innovations like layered panels and better processors, you’ll still get a much dimmer picture than Mini LED.

2. You want the best gaming experience

If you’re a competitive gamer, you know that every millisecond counts. Between Mini LED and OLED, the latter has a faster response time, or the time it takes for a pixel on the screen to switch from one color to another. While mini LED TVs and monitors have response times as low as 1 ms, some OLED sets have a response time of just .1 ms.

An OLED TV is more likely to support VRR technology like Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync to prevent screen tearing and stuttering.

Additionally, OLED TVs were among the first to support Dolby Vision gaming 4K at 120Hz, allowing for more fluid graphics. For casual gamers, either option will be fine. But if you take your gaming sessions seriously and want the best TV display for it, go with OLED.