IPS vs OLED: Which TV panel shows colors more accurately?
IPS vs OLED: Which TV panel delivers more accurate colors?
To find the answer, let’s first go into the basics of IPS and OLED in brief.
IPS
An IPS panel in an LCD TV relies on an LED backlight for illumination.
It offers wide viewing angles but delivers comparatively lower contrast.
Thanks to the LED backlight, an IPS LCD TV can achieve high brightness levels.
OLED
An OLED display uses self-emissive pixels, eliminating the need for a backlight.
Since each pixel can switch off individually, OLED TVs deliver perfect blacks and infinite contrast.
However, their peak brightness is often restricted to avoid pixel wear and degradation.
IPS vs OLED: Which one has better color reproduction?
IPS and OLED are both known for delivering excellent color reproduction.
Whether it’s for gaming, HDR content, or everyday viewing, each one of them has its strengths.
To determine which of these technologies offers superior color performance, let’s compare them across the following factors.
Number of colors
The range of colors an IPS or OLED display can deliver isn’t determined by the panel type itself, but by its color bit depth.
For example, a 10-bit IPS display can render more colors than an 8-bit OLED, and vice versa.
Color volume
Mini LED TVs with IPS panels and quantum dot technology, e.g., QNED TVs also achieve high color volume and bright highlights.
A QNED TV can actually surpass many OLEDs in color volume, thanks to its higher peak brightness and no risk of pixel degradation.
QD-OLED panels use quantum dots to generate pure red and green light, enabling a wide color gamut.
By removing traditional color filters, they can also reach high peak brightness and deliver a large color volume.
The near-infinite contrast of QD-OLEDs gives their colors a more vibrant appearance compared to IPS-based mini LEDs.
That being said, the mini LED TVs with VA panels pose stronger competition to the QD-OLEDs, since VA panels inherently have better contrast than IPS.
Color accuracy
Both OLED and IPS panels deliver highly accurate colors.
IPS panels, with their wide viewing angles, maintain color accuracy even when viewed from the side, though colors may gradually lose intensity at extreme angles.
In contrast, OLED TVs preserve consistent color accuracy from any viewing angle thanks to their self-emissive pixels.
Color vibrancy
OLED TVs can render both bright and dark colors with exceptional clarity, thanks to their superior contrast.
In comparison, a typical IPS panel handles bright colors well but may struggle to reproduce dark tones and shadow details accurately due to its lower native contrast ratio.
As a result, colors on an OLED TV appear more vivid and lifelike than on an IPS display.
OLED or IPS: Which TV panel displays better colors?
Overall, OLED TVs deliver superior color reproduction compared to IPS LCDs.
QD-OLED models offer some of the best color performance available, though they come at a premium price.
On the other hand, QNED TVs with IPS panels, mini LED backlighting, and quantum dot technology provide precise detail, bright and vibrant colors, and good contrast, making them a more affordable choice, especially for bright room viewing.
