OLED vs LCD -- What’s The Difference?

OLED and plasma displays output their own light, which allows them to produce true blacks, whereas LCDs rely on their backlight, which makes blacks look grayish in comparison – unless there's local dimming.

No new plasma TVs are being made nowadays, while the old CCFL LCDs have been replaced with mini LED and LED-backlit LCDs.

There are two types of LCDs.

The older models were backlit by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), but nowadays, all modern LCDs have a mini LED or LED backlight, which requires less power and also allows for the display to be even thinner.

LED TVs either have an IPS or a VA panel, while LED monitors can also have a TN panel in addition to IPS and VA.

The type of panel determines the picture quality, among other things.

IPS displays have the most consistent colors and the widest viewing angles, while VA panels offer the highest contrast ratio for deeper blacks.

Lastly, TN panels usually have the quickest response time, which is why they are mostly used for gaming monitors, but they have inferior image quality.

However, there are IPS and VA panels nowadays that are just as quick as some TN displays without any of the drawbacks.