DECIDING ON OLED TECHNOLOGY
Buyers who prefer to have detailed research before purchasing a product would find OLED a hard sell. First, the price is a lot more expensive than other technologies. Second is the possibility of burn-in, which is not a problem with other LED tv’s. Third reason not to buy is that the experts say that it cannot go as bright as the other technologies, and ideally should be used on dark rooms (dedicated HT rooms perhaps).
The first reason (price) is still valid, it is still the most expensive technology, but the prices have significantly gone down and continues to go down as production ramps. A few years ago, a 55-inch OLED with very limited features would sell for 300k – you can now buy an older generation 65-inch OLED for 70k+ (Sony A9G). Price is not so much of an issue now as it is not that far off than other technologies, especially if you purchase when newer models are being released.
Second reason is less of a problem now as newer mitigation technology are made available. This was a major concern for me two years back because I had a Samsung S9+ with OLED display that suffered bad burn in images after a few months of use. But like Plasma technology, burn in issue was mitigated after several iterations. At this point I am convinced that it should no longer be a big issue.
Third reason not to buy OLED – low brightness levels, only suitable for darker rooms. This is something that bothered me coz’ I did not want to buy a very expensive tv that would probably not be suitable for our living room. At the same time, I have a lot of doubts on this common feedback from experts – I’ve been using OLED display on my mobile phone for so many and not have noticed brightness issues even on direct sunlight and take note that all major appliance showrooms here (Abenson, Anson, and SM) have very well-lit room and OLED tv’s picture quality still stood out from other technologies. It just bothered me a bit that most OLED demos are dark scenes, hence prior to buying an OLED tv, I asked for the sales representative to show bright scene demos. I was finally convinced that this is a non-issue after watching videos of actual owners (non-experts), showing how good their OLED tv’s on their well-lit rooms, some close to windows with bright sunlight.
Now that I already purchased my Sony A80J OLED, I can accurately say that the brightness concern is just plain BS – my tv is on a well-lit living room with a window nearby, and its picture quality is way beyond my expectation. While it’s true that other tv technology have higher brightness, do you really need to use their max brightness setting?