LG OLED vs LG LCD: Which TV comes out on Top?
LG is a prominent name in the OLED TV market, but besides its OLED range, the company also offers some impressive LCD LED TVs.
LG’s OLED models are commonly referred to as WOLEDs, with a brighter variant called MLA-based WOLEDs, which use MLA ( Micro-Lens Array) technology to enhance luminance.
In the LCD segment, LG categorizes its TVs as NanoCell or QNED, depending on the backlighting technology employed.
That being said, before comparing the performance of LG’s OLED and LCD TVs, let’s first get familiar with the terminology used for these lineups.
LG OLED TVs
OLED TVs use organic self-emissive pixels, meaning each pixel generates its own light.
Because these pixels can switch off entirely in dark scenes, OLED displays can deliver true blacks and achieve infinite contrast.
LG categorises its OLED lineup into standard WOLED TVs and MLA-based WOLED TVs, with the latter being an advanced version of the traditional WOLED technology that offers improved brightness.
WOLED
WOLED stands for “White-Organic Light Emitting Diode”.
As the name suggests, it relies on a white organic light-emitting layer.
This white light is then passed through color filters to produce red, green, and blue subpixels, while an additional unfiltered white subpixel is included to boost overall brightness.
MLA-based WOLED
In conventional WOLED TVs, a considerable amount of light is lost as it passes through the color filters, which is why WOLED panels are generally less bright.
To overcome this limitation, LG employs MLA technology, which places thousands of tiny microlenses over each subpixel or color filter.
These microlenses redirect and concentrate the light, minimizing loss and preserving brightness.
As a result, MLA-based WOLEDs can achieve much higher peak brightness compared to standard WOLED TVs.
LG LCD TVs
LG primarily equips its LCD TVs with IPS panels, which naturally provide wide viewing angles but suffer from relatively low contrast ratios.
To enhance contrast, LG incorporates advanced local dimming technologies such as Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) and mini-LED backlighting.
Within its LCD lineup, LG uses the branding NanoCell and QNED to distinguish its models.
Let’s take a closer look at what these terms fundamentally mean.
NanoCell
LG NanoCell TVs are LCD models that use an LED backlight combined with a layer of nanoparticles.
These nanoparticles filter out unwanted color wavelengths, resulting in more accurate and vibrant colors.
To further improve picture quality, most NanoCell TVs are equipped with FALD, which enhances contrast by precisely controlling the backlight.
QNED
QNED stands for “Quantum Nano-Emitting Diode”.
In simple terms, QNED TVs are essentially NanoCell TVs enhanced with an extra layer of quantum dots and a mini-LED backlight instead of a standard LED backlight.
This combination delivers much higher contrast compared to conventional LED TVs.
Thanks to the powerful mini-LED backlight, QNED TVs are capable of reaching very high brightness levels, making them well-suited for bright viewing environments.
LG OLED vs LCD: Which is better?
Since we have now developed a basic understanding of LG’s LCD and OLED technologies, let’s move on to comparing them in brief.
LG WOLED vs LG NanoCell
The contrast and black levels of WOLED TVs are truly exceptional.
While LG NanoCells with IPS panels benefit somewhat from FALD to enhance contrast, they still lag much behind WOLEDs.
WOLEDs also offer superior color accuracy since each pixel can emit its own color independently.
In terms of response time, viewing angles, and HDR performance, WOLED TVs clearly outperform NanoCells.
An advantage of NanoCells is their resistance to burn-in, though this is rarely a serious issue in OLEDs now.
That said, NanoCells are much more affordable, costing roughly half as much as OLEDs.
LG WOLED vs LG QNED
QNED TVs deliver a wide and pure color gamut thanks to the combination of nanoparticles and quantum dots.
Their numerous backlight dimming zones also provide significantly better contrast compared to standard LED TVs.
However, WOLEDs surpass them with infinite contrast and perfect black levels, without any blooming around bright objects.
In QNED TVs, even with advanced local dimming, blacks may appear slightly gray, and some light may bleed around bright areas, creating a faint glow.
Since QNEDs typically use IPS panels, which have lower native contrast than VA panels, they cannot match OLEDs’ self-emissive pixel performance in black levels.
However, QNEDs are generally more affordable than OLEDs, offering wide viewing angles, wide color gamut, decent contrast, high peak brightness, and accurate colors—making them a strong budget-friendly alternative to OLEDs.
LG MLA-based WOLED vs LG QNED
This is where WOLED TVs truly outshine any LG LCD model, whether QNED or NanoCell.
Previously, their main limitation was typical lower peak brightness compared to LCDs.
However, the introduction of MLA technology has not only closed this gap but taken the brightness of WOLED to a whole new level.
MLA-based WOLEDs offer extremely high peak brightness, excellent reflection handling, wide color gamut, high color volume, infinite contrast, and perfect blacks—placing them in a class of their own.
They also deliver “pure whites” and ultra-wide viewing angles, benefits inherited from WOLED panels and enhanced by MLA technology.
Additionally, their black levels remain stable even in bright rooms, unlike QD-OLEDs, while still effectively managing reflections.
LG OLED vs LCD: Comparing Overall Features
Now that we have developed a profound understanding of LG’s OLED technologies, such as WOLEDs and MLA-based WOLEDs, as well as their LCD TV lineups like NanoCells and QNEDs along with their basic differences, let’s now compare their overall features in detail.
We’ll go through their key features one by one.
Contrast and Blacks
LG OLEDs offer infinite contrast and true blacks thanks to their self-emissive pixel technology, where each pixel can turn on or off independently.
This results in crystal-clear picture highlights with no blooming.
In contrast, LG’s LCD TVs, regardless of the type of local dimming they use to enhance black levels, don’t match the performance of OLEDs in this regard.
They mostly tend to show noticeable blooming around bright objects, especially in dark scenes.
Color Gamut
LG’s WOLED TVs naturally deliver a wide color gamut since each pixel emits its own light in the desired color.
They also stand out for producing pure whites, thanks to an added white subpixel.
In LG’s LCD range, NanoCell models typically offer a broader color gamut compared to standard LCDs.
The QNED series, which combines mini-LED backlighting with quantum dot technology, goes even further, achieving a wider color gamut than NanoCell displays.
However, the color gamut offered by QNEDs, WOLEDs, and MLA-based OLEDs is largely similar.
Brightness and Color Volume
LG’s WOLED TVs offer decent HDR brightness, though many models fall short when it comes to overcoming glare in brightly lit environments.
Still, thanks to their wide color gamut and effective reflection handling, they produce impressive color volume and realistic detail in darker or moderately lit rooms.
In contrast, LG’s LCD TVs, such as QNEDs and NanoCells, might appear bright due to strong backlighting, but they don’t always achieve high brightness levels in HDR.
However, they can often surpass WOLEDs in SDR brightness. That said, most WOLED models match the brightness of QNEDs and NanoCells while outperforming them in reflection handling.
Combined with their high contrast ratio, this allows WOLEDs to deliver superior HDR performance in dim to moderately lit settings.QNED TVs can outperform WOLEDs in SDR brightness in very brightly lit rooms, where their higher luminance helps combat glare.
However, this comes at the expense of picture quality due to their lower contrast levels.
In contrast, MLA-based WOLEDs stand out as top-tier performers across the board, offering excellent brightness, rich color volume, superior reflection handling, and outstanding HDR performance in the brightest to the darkest environments.
Viewing Angles
LG OLED TVs offer the best viewing angles because they can accurately control each pixel across the entire screen.
Among LG’s LCD TVs, models with IPS panels provide wider viewing angles than those with VA panels.
However, even IPS panels can’t match the superior and consistent picture quality of OLEDs when viewed from any angle.
Response Time
LG OLED TVs offer extremely fast response times due to their self-emissive pixels, which allows them to switch colors and scenes quickly.
In contrast, LG LCD TVs rely on a backlight, resulting in slower response times and potential motion blur during fast-paced scenes.
However, when it comes to gaming, input lag is more critical.
It depends not only on response time but also on the combined delay of the external components along with TV’s processing circuitry.
Fortunately, both modern OLED and LCD TVs generally have low input lag, making them well-suited for a smooth gaming experience.
Smart Features
Most LG OLED TVs support the advanced HDR format Dolby Vision, ensuring highly accurate and vibrant visual reproduction.
They also offer DTS audio passthrough for a cinematic sound experience.
For gamers, these WOLED models come equipped with HDMI 2.1, supporting 4K at 144Hz on premium models and 4K at 120Hz on more affordable ones, delivering smooth gaming experience on consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
In contrast, LG’s LCD TVs typically lack Dolby Vision support.
However, higher-end models such as the QNED series do include features like DTS audio passthrough, HDMI 2.1 with 4K at 120Hz, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).
While budget LCD models may miss out on Dolby Vision and DTS audio, they are more cost-effective.
Regardless of the model, all LG TVs offer low input lag, ensuring responsive performance during gaming.
Burn-in
LG OLED TVs can be prone to burn-in if static images are displayed for extended periods.
However, with proper usage and care, the risk is minimal and rarely becomes an issue.
However, LG LCD TVs are generally immune to burn-in, making them a safer choice for scenarios involving frequent static content.
Which is superior: LG OLED or LG LCD TV?
After a detailed comparison of LG OLED and LCD TVs, it’s clear that LG’s MLA-based OLEDs are the top choice overall, performing exceptionally well in both bright and dark rooms, though they come at a high price.
Slightly more affordable, standard WOLEDs are the best option for dark-room viewing.
For bright rooms on a budget, QNEDs offer a good balance of performance and affordability, while NanoCells with FALD are suitable if you want a larger screen at a lower cost, though with some compromise in picture quality.
One key advantage of LCD TVs is that they are immune to burn-in; however, this is rarely a significant concern with OLEDs if you watch a variety of content.
