The world of quantum dot LCD TVs contains many nearly indistinguishable abbreviations representing meaningful advances in picture quality. When choosing between QNED and QLED televisions, understanding key differences helps identify which provides the superior viewing experience. This guide offers an detailed look at what sets these advanced TV technologies apart.
Overview:
We‘ll compare QNED and QLED technology differences in areas like:
- Backlighting components and dimming capabilities
- Use of specialized panels and filters
- Resulting real-world picture performance
- Available screen sizes, resolutions and pricing
- Manufacturers and brands for each
- Innovations coming down the road
The goal is to demystify terminology and help clarify that while both deliver amazing images, LG‘s QNED currently outperforms Samsung‘s QLED offerings by significant margins when it comes to critical categories like contrast and true-to-life color.
Backlight Breakdown: Mini LED vs Blue LED
A television‘s backlight plays a crucial role in overall image reproduction capabilities. Advanced backlights allow more precise control over uniformity and intensity of light across the screen, enhancing contrast and shadow detail.
QNED TVs set themselves apart by utilizing mini LED backlights – dense arrangements of thousands of tiny LEDs across the set. Combined with specialized local dimming technology that optimizes intensity down to the zone level, these mini LED systems excel at lighting control. More LEDs and dimming zones translate to higher contrast ratios with stellar highlights and deep blacks.
By comparison, standard QLED televisions rely on normal-sized blue LEDs for backlights. While capable, without advanced miniaturization these cannot match QNED for fine-tuned illumination precision. This manifests in practice as lighter black levels along with some clouding or halo artifacts in challenging shadow content.
Ongoing LED breakthroughs hint at promising future advancements. Micro LED shrinks this tech even further while enabling per-pixel lighting adjustment – but remains confined to ultra-premium demonstration models for now.
Panel Showdown: Quantum Dots vs Nano Cells
While all LCD televisions contain a foundational liquid crystal panel responsible for image formation, additional filtering layers in QNED and QLED sets enhance color and contrast performance.
The quantum dot layer contained in both TV technologies consists of tiny semiconductor nanocrystals that improve color volume and gamut through pure spectral light emission. Red and green quantum dots absorb blue backlight wavelengths before re-emitting those colors at higher purity levels for circulation through remaining display layers.
QNED‘s unique value proposition stems from addition of nano cell technology – consisting of uniformly-sized filter particles that provide enhanced color filtration. By absorbing ambient light wavelengths before they pass through liquid crystal and quantum dot components, nano cells contribute to outstanding color accuracy along with improved contrast via deep black levels.
Picture Performance: QNED Wins Key Benchmarks
In assessing comparative display characteristics, QNED decisively beats standard QLED in crucial performance areas thanks to differences in dimming and filtration capabilities conferred by mini LED backlights and nano cell panels.
Contrast and Black Levels
- QNED TV typical contrast ratio: ~5,000:1
- QLED contrast ratio: ~3,000-4,000:1
- QNED excels at near-OLED blacks; QLED more limited by blue LED control
HDR Highlights
- QNED successfully renders sparkling highlights up to around 1800 nits
- QLED matched at 1500-1700 nit peak brightness
Viewing Angles
- QNED loses some contrast but maintains colors off-angle
- QLED color and contrast drop off faster shifted left/right
Color Accuracy
- QNED produces an average delta-E of 1.5 out of the box
- QLED hits a respectable but trailing 2.3 average
- Nano cells enhance real-world color precision
Motion Handling
- QNED and QLED both handle motion cleanly with 120 Hz panels
In sum, while both deliver amazing 4K images, QNED leverages superior backlight and panel innovations to pull ahead decisively in contrast, black levels and color reproduction.
Comparing QNED and QLED Brands
As covered above, QNED TV models come exclusively from LG. Across retailers, any reference to QNED means an LG offering utilizing their proprietary backlight and display stack. Models are available in screen sizes ranging from 55 to 88 inches.
For QLED, Samsung heads up an alliance of brands leveraging quantum dot enhancements in LED LCD televisions. All major manufacturers offer QLED models – Samsung, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, Sony and others. Available screen sizes range from 43 to 98 inches.
Pricing overlaps broadly, with QNED models ranging from around $1000 on the low end to $5000+ on the flagship end. Most buyers compare QNED to higher-end QLED series when evaluating.
Future Outlook
Both QNED and QLED manufacturers continue iterating to enhance displays. As covered above,amsung added mini LED backlights to latest Neo QLED sets to close the contrast gap somewhat. Rumored future upgrades like micro LED backlights and per-pixel dimming could further improve QLED.
For its part, LG continues refining QNED performance with better local dimming algorithms, brightness boosts, black level improvements and color volume expansions in new models.
So in the long run, consumers win with two leading television brands leapfrogging each other to the next level video experience. But in head-to-head testing, QNED still leads where it counts.
The Verdict: QNED Wins on Picture Quality
In this in-depth QNED vs QLED comparison, LG’s QNED technology takes the crown for best-in-class picture quality thanks to its advanced mini LED backlights and proprietary nano cell filtration. By keeping backlights small and leveraging enhanced dimming control and color accuracy from its extra panel, QNED sets edge out even the highest-end consumer QLED televisions.
For shoppers seeking the ultimate LED LCD viewing experience outside of OLED, LG’s stellar QNED models deliver. That said, continued QLED innovation means an amazing experience awaits buyers as well – especially at lower price points. But edge case enthusiast comparisons give this round firmly to QNED.
