What is QD-OLED? The Next Evolution in Gaming Monitors

QD-OLED is one of the most advanced display technologies available today, with applications in gaming, creative work, and beyond. By combining self-emissive OLED pixels with quantum dot color conversion, QD-OLED delivers richer colors and stronger HDR highlights while retaining the fast response times and contrast that OLED is known for. If you’re looking into high-end gaming monitors, understanding QD-OLED is essential to making a more informed decision.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about QD-OLED technology, or explore ViewSonic’s full range of monitors to compare your options.

You’ve heard about OLED, which already offers near-infinite contrast, perfect blacks, and excellent motion clarity. QD-OLED builds on that foundation by changing how colors are produced, which leads to more vibrant visuals and better use of available brightness. To appreciate why this matters, it helps to take a closer look at how QD-OLED monitor technology actually works.

How Does QD-OLED Work?

QD-OLED, short for quantum dot organic light-emitting diode, aims to improve on OLED by enhancing color performance and peak brightness. It should not be confused with QD-LED, although both types of displays use quantum dot technology.

Traditional OLED monitors have a layer of white organic pixels, or diodes, that self-illuminate when powered by an electrical current. Red, green, and blue filters are placed on top of that white OLED (WOLED) base layer, blocking portions of the light to generate color, which can reduce brightness and color intensity.

QD-OLED, however, adds a layer of quantum dots, or tiny crystals that change the wavelength of light, over an OLED diode layer. These quantum dots simplify color generation and expand a monitor’s color gamut to better support HDR content, while retaining OLED’s fast response times and high contrast.

How Are QD-OLED Colors Generated?

QD-OLED starts with a blue OLED base layer. Red and green colors are produced by quantum dots that convert portions of that blue light instead of blocking it, while some light remains blue. That leads to noticeably more saturated and vibrant colors compared to traditional OLED displays.

XG2738-2K-OLED

Say hello to QD-OLED gaming.

Explore Now >

At the core of QD-OLED technology are quantum dots assigned to each pixel on the blue OLED base layer. As these dots “wash” light rather than block it, they don’t muffle or reduce color intensity compared to traditional color filters.

It’s important to add that the technology was pioneered for LED/LCD monitors and then made its way to OLED. This is why you likely heard of QD-LED monitors before you did QD-OLED monitors.

Read more about LED vs. OLED technologies.

What Makes QD-OLED Different From OLED?

Most definitely the biggest factor when considering QD-OLED vs. OLED is that blue OLED base layer used for color generation. With the diodes themselves starting the color generation process, you get much more impactful chroma performance and higher peak brightness. The base layer of QD-OLED panels is typically blue, while in OLED it’s white (so you can also think of this as QD-OLED vs. WOLED). The largest differentiators are color depth, or color gamut, and max light output, or peak brightness.

QD-OLED monitors achieve true 10-bit color without resorting to subsampling. That’s 100% sRGB at full 4:4:4 chroma, near-100% DCI-P3 coverage, and wide Rec. 2020 coverage, all without subsampling. Chroma subsampling reduces color detail in the signal, which can affect color precision and fine visual detail. QD-OLED monitors, and quantum dot layers in general, help overcome that limitation.

In terms of brightness, QD-OLED improves color brightness and highlight intensity compared to WOLED, with peak luminance gains varying by panel generation and size. While perhaps not a huge difference, it makes QD-OLED better for HDR, or high dynamic range. HDR content benefits from QD-OLED’s higher color brightness and improved highlight detail compared to traditional OLED or WOLED.

What Are the Pros and Cons of QD-OLED?

Let’s review the strengths and weaknesses of QD-OLED while keeping other display technologies in mind. They all have pros and cons, though they do improve with time, and QD-OLED is among the most future-proof display technologies available today.

Pros of QD-OLED

• Wider color gamut compared to OLED and matching that of LED and QD-LED. Colors appear more natural and vivid vs. OLED or WOLED.
• Higher peak brightness than OLED/WOLED for improved HDR depiction.
• Retains OLED’s virtually infinite contrast ratio for the purest blacks.
• QD-OLED also retains OLED’s lightning-fast pixel response times, which are superb for gaming, esports, and highly responsive use. Fast response means smooth motion, image clarity, and no visible blur or ghosting. Those are common issues on LED and QD-LED unless mitigated by high refresh rates.
• Exceptional viewing angles, among the best of any display technology.
• Extremely future-proof due to high technology standards and readiness for next-gen color and hardware standards.

Cons of QD-OLED

• OLED burn-in risk remains, though it is significantly reduced thanks to modern materials and active panel protection technologies.
• Text and small detail “fringing” or blur could occur. The tiny quantum dots may create a structure that some viewers perceive as a type of halo around text and small image details. This is a very individual experience, and most people don’t notice it.
• To make the most of QD-OLED colors and brightness, you need a glossy screen. For some people, that can generate glare and cause eye strain, but this is also very subjective as many people love glossy displays.
• QD-OLED still doesn’t match LED and QD-LED in brightness. The latter are generally better for HDR.
• QD-OLED provides impressive picture quality, though it tends to cost more than LED, QD-LED, or even traditional OLED displays. If you prefer strong colors, the investment is worth it.

Understanding and Reducing QD-OLED Burn-In

The “O” in OLED stands for “organic.” The base diode layer uses organic compounds that emit light directly when powered. That creates a beautiful image, but organic compounds are gentler than the synthetic materials used in LED/LCD and QD-LED. Also, in OLED the diodes light up directly, while LEDs use indirect lighting and have a light source separate from the image-producing diodes.

Hence, OLED and QD-OLED technologies put more stress on gentler diodes. The base layer can degrade over time, faster than in LED/QD-LED. Strong colors and static image elements like channel logos or game UI may even burn onto the diode layer and appear as stuck pixels. This is known as burn-in. Meanwhile, LED and QD-LED are virtually immune to this problem.

But there are ways to prevent burn-in. Modern OLED and QD-OLED displays use improved materials that are very resistant to it. Beyond materials, manufacturers use a host of smart technologies to further ensure burn-in doesn’t occur over a product lifespan of many years.

These technologies include dynamic brightness level to prevent needless stress on diodes and static image detection that dims pixels where elements like icons and logos show. Quality QD-OLED monitors like the ViewSonic XG2738-2K-OLED also employ techniques such as pixel movement and OLED image cleaning to make sure the panel is not static and can be calibrated when needed, which stops any one pixel from becoming stuck.

With that, burn-in becomes far less likely than it was for early OLED displays.

How is QD-OLED Future-Proof?

In addition to the long lifespan of good QD-OLED panels, the technology’s high watermarks in terms of color gamut, response time, viewing angles, and refresh rate mean readiness for next-generation technology.

If new color standards come along or new consoles and graphics cards release, a good QD-OLED monitor offers far more compatibility and performance headroom than competing technologies. Which is why a QD-OLED monitor is a good long-term investment in quality visuals.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a premium monitor, QD-OLED may be your best bet. You get the contrast, viewing angles, and super-fast response of OLED with improved brightness and vastly superior colors. For gamers, the combination of near-instant pixel response and wide color gamut leads to very responsive and immersive experiences.

As we’ve seen, QD-OLED monitors not only look great, they can now last just as long as their LED/QD-LED counterparts. For anyone looking for the best visuals and a long-term investment, QD-OLED is a feature that warrants consideration. Take a look at the complete range of ViewSonic gaming monitors and compare the features that matter most to you. Happy viewing!

FOR THE
MODERN GAMER

ViewSonic GAMING Monitors

See All >

Frequently Asked Questions About QD-OLED Monitors