Quantum dots and QLED refer to the same technology.
QLED is a marketing term that Samsung and TCL use in the branding of their quantum-dot TVs.
Quantum dots are emissive particles (somewhat like phosphors on a plasma TV).
QD Vision
Larger dots emit light that is skewed toward red.
As the dots get smaller, the dots emit light that is skewed toward green.
The image above illustrates ways quantum dots can be placed in an LCD TV.
QD Vision
The chart at the top is a standard graphical representation illustrating the full visible color spectrum.
TVs and video technologies can’t display the entire color spectrum.
Quantum dots display colors that are more saturated and natural, as shown in the comparisons below the graph.
Samsung
The incorporation of LED black-and-edge-lighting systems has helped somewhat, but that hasn’t been quite enough.
Samsung incorporated true red, green, and blue light-emitting OLED subpixels.
No word on when or if such sets would come to market.
QD Vision
Still,there are areas where each has advantages and disadvantages.
Here are examples of some of those differences.
Color performance on par with OLED.
LG Display
Maintains excellent color saturation as brightness changes better than OLED.
Can’t display absolute black.
Blacks and whites aren’t even across the entire screen surface.
Samsung and LG
A narrower viewing angle when compared to OLED TVs.
High light output capability consumes more power.
Not as good as QLED at maintaining color saturation as brightness changes.
Can display absolute black.
Not as bright as a QLED TV.
Best in a dimly lit room.
Better screen uniformity (blacks and whites are even across the screen surface) than QLED TVs.
Lower power consumption than most QLED TVs.
More expensive than QLED TVs.
In the photo above, the TV on the far left is a Samsung 4K LED/LCD TV.
To the right and the bottom is an LG 4K OLED TV.
Above the LG OLED TV is a Philips 4K LED/LCD TV equipped with quantum-dot technology.
On the right side of the photo are examples of quantum dot-equipped TVs from TCL and Hisense.
Samsung and TCL brand their quantum-dot TVs as QLED TVs, while Vizio uses the term Quantum.
That tells you that the TV uses quantum-dot technology.
