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QLED blacks better than my ole RPTV?

2K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  cpizzull 
#1 ·
I know this may seem silly to ask, but I can't find an answer on google search because nobody talks about RPTVs anymore, lol.

So, my Pioneer Elite PRO610HD(58") is still going strong as it approaches 20 years old. It's in my dark basement and I still love it for movie watching. Of course, I'm itching for something bigger and, after 20 years, I'm close to realizing I finally got my monies worth, ha. Anyway, I have quick question...…..

I know OLED would give me the deep blacks I want for movie watching, but what about QLED? Are the QLEDs supposed to have better blacks than the ole Elites? I'm leaning towards QLED vs OLED, because the 85" screens look amazing and is affordable, and if I'm already happy with blacks of my Elite, than I'd be just as happy with the QLED if the blacks were as good or better. Of course, I would pick up much better quality picture for sports in the meantime.

I guess I should state I want to keep my price below $2,500, as I've already spent too much on a tv one time. :D

Thx for any advice!
Chet
 
#2 · (Edited)
Short... ish answer. Top Full Array Local Dimming LCDs can produce blacks that are deeper than even the best plasmas, when the screen is mostly dark. Where they fall down is when there is light right next to dark. Gone are the days when an LCD had to make the entire screen gray in order to produce any thing above black on the screen, but the surrounding area right around where that light section meets dark, does get elevated. How big the area depends on how many zones the FALD has. How the manufacturer chooses to handle those situations of light right next to dark has an impact as well, and it varies by maker. Some lower (or crush) the lighter area in order to keep the surrounding black area, black. Others raise the surrounding dark area as necessary to preserve director's intent. Samsung tends to be the former, and Sony the latter if one were to make a broad stroke.

All this to say, top FALD LCDs have come a long way. So if you're watching something that is mostly dark, or if you are looking at letterbox bars, they can get impressively inky black. If there's something that's light right next to that inky spot though, the immediate area (best case if it has a lot of zones) isn't going to be so inky. They can still produce quite the stunning picture. Particularly with their bright and saturated colors, but overall contrast ratio will suffer in mixed light scenes, to the point that while they are way more impressive than they used to be, an LCD still can't compete in this department with an emissive display.

I'd take one over an RPTV, though, for sure. Especially when you add in the resolution bump and HDR.
 
#3 ·
What he said.

Lot of plasma guys seem hesitant to let go of an old technology and ask similar questions (I was one too), but everyone that has made the plunge is generally blown away. Technology has come a long way and any middle to high tier LCD (let alone OLED) will be an upgrade.
 
#5 ·
I saw a samsung QLED at sams this past weekend. They had a colorful image against a jet black background. The picture looked great. I didn't notice any blooming.

OLED is better, but the drawbacks of LCD. Blooming, off angle, etc... is way overblown by many on this forum. And if your main viewing is sports, you'll see a uniformly lit screen so black levels and blooming are a non issue.

If you can get a QLED at the size you want and the price you want, I highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed. But, all things being equal, OLED is a better option.
 
#6 ·
Not sure the off-angle concerns of LCD tech is overblown. PQ definitely suffers off axis, but I guess it depends on how far off-axis you sit. And the high-end QLED (Q90) is just as expensive as OLED.
 
#10 ·
I own both. There are times when the Q90 matches my oled in blacks, and alot of times where it gets its teeth kicked in lol if u want more shadow detail, u can adjust settings on the Q90. The sonys however Will consistently have very bad blooming most of the time with HDR content.. I do have the 82Q90 though which has the worst blacks of all the Q90 sizes.
 
#8 ·
Thanks everyone for the replies so far.

Just to be clear, my ole Pioneer Elite is not plasma but the CRT RPTV.

Because it appears the best LEDs are going to have better blacks than my ole set, I'm probably going to end up jumping to the biggest size. Therefore, for value, I'll be watching the pricing on the Sony XBR85X900F (85") I think. And surely that set must be better than my ole set for motion/sports.

Thx again!
 
#19 ·
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1557215154

According to this the calibrated MLL of the Q90R is 0.006 fL, i.e. barely on par with a first generation Pioneer Kuro plasma. So, groundbreaking for 2007 standards but hardly the case in 2019.

This also ignores LCD's inherent weakness in having to raise the black floor when displaying anything beyond a low APL scene. So the Q90 is probably not even achieving that MLL a lot of the time. This was visibly obvious when I saw a Q90 flanked by a couple of C9's playing the same movie scene. The Q90 did a good job keeping letterbox bars black, but the actual content on screen was washed out and lacking in apparent detail compared to the OLEDs, which maintained their richness and clarity regardless of the content on screen.
 
#20 ·
When zones shut off, you get zero black. (so in those particular cases it can match anything). BTW, the Z9D definitely doesn't have the lowest reported black level. its actually quite average in that area. Q9FN, 940E, Vizio PQ/PQX, and Q90R all have better "numbers" when the dimming is turned on.


There you go again what makes the z9d better than those tvs is the combination of deep blacks, shadow detail and brightness, some of the newer lcd tvs might be better in one area but when you combine all three there is no lcd tv that can match it.
 
#21 ·
Excellent info in this thread, and I really appreciate it and love reading it thru. However, let's bring it back down to earth (for me) and the original question. Actually, I will make it easier cause I would love your focused opinions and ensuing debate, ha.

Again, I'm coming from my much beloved, 20 yr old, 58" Pioneer Elite PRO610 CRT (mainly movie watching). As much as I would love a 77" OLED, it is way out the price range for now. Therefore, I want something over 82" and under the $3,000 range when I buy it (possibly end of January so those TVs may be near $3500+ today, right?). And the main requirement is it must have blacks equal or better than my CRT, which I believe they all will. The list I'm watching are the following, but I'd love to hear what you WOULD buy giving the compromises. Thank you!!!
------------------
Overall Movie
TV_____________________Size_Type _Rating__Rating___Pricing 10/17/2019___Value $/in__Value $/Movie
Vizio P75-F1 (2018)_______75___LED __8.3_____8.5____$1,600_____________$21_______$188
Vizio PX75-G1 (2019)_____75____LED__8.5____8.5_____$2,400_____________$32_______$282
Samsung Q70 QN75Q70R__75___QLED_8.4 ____8.7_____$2,500_____________$33_______$287
Sony XBR85X900F (2018)__85___LED__8.3 ____8.5_____$3,000_____________$35_______$353
Samsung Q70 QN82Q70R__82___QLED_8.4 ____8.7_____$3,300_____________$40_______$379
Samsung Q80 QN82Q80R__82___QLED_8.7 ____8.6_____$3,500_____________$43_______$407
Samsung Q70 QN85Q70R__85___QLED_8.4 ____8.7_____$3,800_____________$45_______$437
Samsung QN82Q8FN (2018)82___LED__8.5 ____8.4_____$3,700_____________$45_______$440
Sony XBR85X950G (2019)__85___LED_8.4_____8.4_____$4,000_____________$47_______$476
LG OLED77C8 (2018)_____77___OLED_8.9_____9.4_____$5,000_____________$65_______$532

Don't laugh at my little spreadsheet, harr. Am I missing cheaper sets that would match my criteria?
 
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