LCD vs OLED
Blaze Display Technology Co., Ltd. | Updated: Nov 27, 2018
The difference between LCDs and OLEDs are how the images are produced. LCDs utilize liquid crystals that produce an image when light is passed through the display. OLED displays generate images by applying electricity to organic materials inside the display.
On an LCD, the pixels are illuminated by a backlight. On an OLED, there is no backlight; each pixel gets its own illumination.
These different technological approaches to display technology have big impact in some features including contrast, brightness, viewing angles, lifespan, black levels, image burn-in, and price.
Everything from the environment your display will be used in, your budget, to the lighting conditions and the required durability will play a part in this decision.
You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of each display type to determine which one is right for your application.
Contrast
Contrast refers to the difference between the lightest and darkest parts of an image. High contrast will produce sharper images and more easily readable text. It’s a crucial quality for high fidelity graphics and images or to make sure that a message on a display is very visible.
By design, most LCDs will have a built-in backlight to make their graphics and images visible. This is the reason you’re still able to see light coming through on images that are meant to be dark on an LCD monitor, display, or television.
OLEDs by comparison, deliver a drastically higher contrast by dynamically managing their individual pixels. When an image on an OLED display uses the color black, the pixel shuts off completely and renders a much higher contrast than that of LCDs.
Brightness
One of the primary differences between OLEDs and LCDs is that LCDs contain an LED backlight, and OLEDs do not. In terms of individual pixel brightness, OLED displays tend to have an advantage because each pixel illuminates individually. This means OLEDs can have more intense brightness at the pixel level, as they are not relying on a separate backlight source. However, if we consider the overall brightness of the entire screen, LCDs often win. This is because LCDs use a constant backlight that illuminates the entire display area, creating an overall brighter image. This also means that LCDs can have more 'wasted' light, as the backlight is always lighting up the whole display, even if only a few pixels need to be lit.
In summary, whether an LCD or an OLED display is brighter can depend on whether you're looking at the brightness of individual pixels or the brightness of the entire screen. In general, OLEDs may have brighter individual pixels, while LCDs can offer a brighter overall display.
OLEDs are self-illuminating, so they have no backlight. This means LCDs are able to produce brighter images due to their powerful backlights.
Viewing Angles
Have you ever looked at a screen from an angle and noticed that the images became washed out or shadowy? The further away you get from the “front and center” view, the worse the image appears to be. This is an example of viewing angles in action – the wider the viewing angle, the better the images on screen will appear as you view them from different vantage points.
Having a wide viewing angle is important for displays that you don’t always view straight on. Wide viewing angles allow the images on screen to stay consistent and retain their quality no matter where the viewer is looking at them from.
Like we mentioned in the previous section, OLED displays have no backlight. This means the display is much thinner than LCD displays and their pixels are much closer to the surface of the display, giving them an inherently wider viewing angle.
Images on OLED displays maintain their quality and readability from nearly any angle. The most common type of LCDs don’t.
You’ll often notice images becoming distorted or losing their colors when tilting an LCD or when you view it from different angles. However, many LCDs now include technology to compensate for this – specifically In-Plane Switching (IPS).
LCDs with IPS are significantly brighter than standard LCDs and offer viewing angles that are on-par with OLEDs.
Lifespan
LCDs have been on the market much longer than OLEDs, so there is more data to support their longevity. On average LCDs have proven to perform for around 60,000 hours (2,500) days of operation.
With most LCDs you can expect about 7 years of consistent performance. Some dimming of the backlight has been observed but it is not significant to the quality of the display.
OLEDs are a newer technology in the display market, which makes them harder to fully review. Not only does OLED technology continue to improve at a rapid pace, but there also hasn’t been enough time to thoroughly observe their performance.
Current day OLEDs are projected to perform consistently for 100,000 hours when properly maintained. That’s 10 hours a day for 10 years.
You must also consider OLED’s vulnerability to image burn-in. The organic material in these displays can leave a permanent afterimage on the display if a static image is displayed for too long.
So depending on how your OLED is used, this can greatly affect its lifespan. An OLED being used to show static images for long periods of time will not have the same longevity as one displaying dynamic, constantly moving images.
OLED vs LCD - Feature Comparison Table