Black Friday TV Deals: Do I need to buy OLED or QLED?

Black Friday TV Deals: Do I need to buy OLED or QLED?

The Black Friday TV sales are reaching their conclusion. For example, should I buy an OLED TV or a QLED TV? What are the differences between the two? And which type of panel is more affordable?

These questions do not only apply to Black Friday deals. As we approach the holiday season, the best OLED and best QLED TVs from most major manufacturers are showing significant discounts. Currently, retailers such as Best Buy and Amazon are discounting hundreds of dollars off top-rated sets.

Amazon's Black Friday sale offers a 65-inch LG C1 OLED TV for $1,796. That's over $700 off the regular price of the impressive LG OLED TV.

As for QLED TVs, there is a bit more variety; LG and Sony dominate the OLED market, but there are several QLED manufacturers. Samsung is probably best known for touting QLED technology, but quantum dot sets from TCL, Hisense, and Visio also perform well.

That said, the best TV we tested this year is the cheapest so far: on Amazon, the 55-inch Samsung Neo QLED QN90A TV sells for $1,297. This is a savings of over $500, as this configuration normally costs $1,799.

Just because an OLED or QLED TV is a great deal doesn't mean it's the right TV for you. Our TV buying guide covers everything you'll want to consider before buying the new centerpiece of your entertainment set. But here's what you need to know about QLED TVs versus OLED TVs and which one to buy this Black Friday shopping season.

OLED and QLED are both names for specific types of TV panel technologies. Neither is "better" than the other, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, a very precise method of image generation. Unlike conventional LED or LCD TVs, organic pixels emit their own light when activated, allowing each pixel to be turned on and off completely individually. The result is sharp detail, wide viewing angles, and deep blacks. In fact, OLED TVs are the only TVs capable of achieving true blacks.

In contrast, QLED panels require LED backlighting, so there is still some light in the black areas of the screen; QLED stands for "quantum-dot LED," a term used to describe Samsung's top-of-the-line TVs (like Samsung's QN90A Neo QLED TVs), but the technology is by no means unique.

In other words, QLEDs do not deliver the jet blacks of OLEDs, but they do have their advantages. For one thing, QLEDs almost always outperform OLEDs in terms of brightness and contrast; QLEDs are also less susceptible to burn-in; and QLEDs are more likely to be used for lighting than OLEDs.

Perhaps the Black Friday OLED TV deals get more attention than the QLED TV deals; it's rare to find an OLED under $1,000 outside of a Vizio OLED TV. But right now, Amazon has a 48-inch LG A1 OLED TV for $896. That's over $300 less than the regular price and one of the cheapest OLED products we've seen so far.

But LG may not be your brand of choice. Fortunately, Sony is also selling attractive OLED TVs on Black Friday, with Best Buy offering the Sony 55-inch A80J OLED TV for $1,399, or $400 off the regular price. Our review of the Sony Bravia XR A80J OLED found it to be one of the most well-rounded TVs we have tested.

QLED TV deals offer more flexibility. Typically, QLED TVs under $100 are available at discounted prices. For example, Best Buy has the TCL 55" Class 5 Series QLED 4K UHD Smart Google TV for $549. The TCL 5 Series Google TV was already a killer OLED value, but even better on Black Friday.

If you're looking for something even cheaper, Amazon has the Insignia 50" QLED 4K Fire TV for $379. Normally $600, so you can save big on the Black Friday TV sale.

If you are looking for the most affordable TV, the QLED is your best bet. There are many options for all budgets, large and small. There are also many sizes of QLEDs.

Another reason to buy a QLED is brightness. If you plan to place your new TV in a room with lots of natural light and want to watch during the day, QLEDs do not white out as easily as OLEDs.

But if you want the most cinematic viewing experience, with perfect blacks and ultra-precise images, OLEDs are the ultimate treat. Black Friday sales offer some of the lowest prices of the year, and if you've had your eye on OLEDs, especially those released this year, know that you won't get them for less than they cost now.

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