How Oled TVs made me see the light (deep blacks too)

That's what I thought with my 2019 Samsung Q70R. Seduced when I started by 4K technology, I thought I was at the peak of visual comfort until I discovered Oled technology while working at Gamekult and spending time in the TV lab of Digital. The depth of the blacks, the striking contrast, these vibrant colors with (good) HDR: it was decided, I needed an Oled, and as quickly as possible! However, it took a little longer than expected, but the arrival of a LG C3 in my apartment had the effect of a revolution.

The fervent defenders of Oled were not lying: the difference with older LCD screens is indeed obvious. Of course, the TV market has evolved and each manufacturer now offers its own response to LG technology. Sony is thus banking on the Mini-Ledwhile Samsung has significantly improved its QD-Oled. Oled no longer has the mystical aura it had four years ago, but even today, the difference still impresses me. The simple fact of being able to watch films with subtitles without the horrible halo of light around the texts, typical of old local dimmingis a game changer (forgive the anglicism) like no other.

But the real revelation is undoubtedly on the video game side. No need to compromise to enjoy a 120 Hz refresh rate with HDR thanks to the numerous onboard HDMI 2.1 ports, perfectly suited to new generation consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series. Versatile, the LG C3 even transforms into an excellent PC monitor, not necessarily for spreadsheet sessions from the sofa (even if tastes and colors…), but for those who prefer to enjoy their Steam library without being stuck at their desk.

Another much more niche use, but oh so important to me: the retrogaming. As paradoxical as it may seem, Oled (and its variants) is the ideal partner for 8, 16 and 32-bit consoles, provided you have the right hardware. Without going into too technical details, it is impressive to see Mega Drive or PlayStation 1 games running on a MiSTer FPGAan emulation solution open source increasingly popular in the industry.

With the right settings, you can apply filters to the image to reproduce the appearance of some iconic CRT models, such as the JVC professional monitors or the famous Sony Trinitron. If the effect is already convincing on an LCD panel, it becomes breathtaking on an Oled screen.

The icing on the cake? Activation of BFI (Black Frame Insertion). This display option tricks the eye by inserting black images between two images, thus reducing the sensation of motion blur. This recreates a bit of the experience of cathode ray televisions of yesteryear, the fluidity of which remains unrivaled today.

Be careful though, this article is not unconditional praise for all-Oled. There remains this apprehension linked to burn-inalthough manufacturers have integrated automatic maintenance systems to minimize this risk in the long term. It is also difficult to justify its interest on the small diagonals of smartphones or connected watches. Some controllers are getting into it too… There are times when, in the great march of progress, you have to know how to stop and take a step back.