Introduction
If you’re new to this site, then welcome! This blog is all about creating the best home theater, man cave, and gaming room set up.
Today we’re talking about OLED TVs compared to projectors. These TVs could very well be the future of all modern TVs for a lot of reasons. They do some really impressive things which you’ll see throughout this article.
One question that comes to mind then is whether or not these are a better option than projectors. Projectors beat out TVs in a lot of aspects, but do OLED TVs make up for this in their own unique way?
This article will answer this question in depth and help you understand what the main differences are, and whether or not an OLED TV is a better option for you.
So how do you know if an OLED TV or a projector is a better option?
OLED TVs are only a better choice if you want to invest in a higher quality TV and don’t want an exceptionally large image from a projector. OLED TVs will have greater contrast and be easier on your eyes but they are significantly more expensive. Your OLED TV will also last a lot longer than your projector. I created an easy flow chart at the bottom of this article that will help you decide which one is best for you.
If you’re not totally familiar with these TVs, or you need a quick refresher then I’ll explain, in brief, what OLED TVs are and what makes them more special then regular ones.
Use This Flow Chart to Help You with Your Decision
I based this decision tree off of the research I did in regards to OLED and projectors. I’m currently a projector user, even though my family has an OLED TV in their living room. This was the thought process that was behind our decision to purchase either one.
We first bought the projector and loved how big of a screen we could watch a movie on Sometimes this can feel a little overkill for some people. My family decided to purchase a new OLED tv after moving out of our original house. My family decided to purchase an OLED because they wanted the same stunning image quality of our projector but they wanted it more condensed. An OLED TV was the right media player for the living room because they didn’t want a projector taking up an entire wall.
Refresh Rates and Response Times will be different on a projector. See my article on if 5ms Is Enough Response Time for Gaming if you plan to use it for that.
This is what an OLED TV is…
An OLED TV is an organic light-emitting diode. There are a lot of scientific terms I can get into to explain why these are technologically different, but I’ll keep that at surface level.
Ultimately, these are designed to be more effective than the original LED models.
They use carbon-based organic compounds, which also means they’re more economical to make, but that doesn’t always mean less expensive.
The most important thing to know is that they don’t require any type of backlighting, unlike LED TVs.
Every single pixel emits its own light when activated by the image. The pixels will turn off and be completely black if not in use, giving images a greater contrast than ever before. Take a look below to see some examples of OLEDs.
Examples of OLED TVs
There is one thing I want to note real quick. A QLED TV is not the same as OLED.
QLED TVs still use an LED backlight, which means that you don’t have the same contrast quality as an OLED TV. Just make sure to not get these confused.
LG OLED65C9PUA
You can get this one in 55, 65, and 77 inches. Immediately what you’ll notice is that these are a lot more expensive than typical TVs. If you’re a projector owner, you’ll agree with me that you can get a 4k projector on a larger surface for $500 less!
This is also assuming that you were buying the TV brand new. Something to consider is getting these used, because they are designed to last for quite a while and you can easily save up to and over $500.
Also, keep in mind that you won’t need to buy a screen, which will cost you an additional couple hundred dollars if you go the projector route.
Sony XBR-55A9G 55 Inch
Another example. LG dominates most of the OLED TVs right now. But Sony is slowing making some leeway into it as well. The common denominator between the two companies is that their products are still more expensive than regular TVs. I guess that’s what happens when you make anything “organic.”
It’s unlikely that the price of these TVs will go down anytime soon, because they are built from the highest quality possible. You definitely will get an exceptional image from your purchase because of that.
NINJA TIP: How to get OLEDs for a way more affordable price
The first thing I wondered about when looking up these TVs was how much more expensive they would be. When compared to regular TVs, they’re definitely more expensive.
Even if you compare them to projector prices, they’re still more expensive even for a 55 inch TV! So what do you do? There’s actually a very good reason as to why you should strongly consider buying these used.
OLED TVs are designed to last up to 100,000 hours. This means they won’t be deteriorating in value for MANY years. Buying them used will easily shave off $500+ on their Buy New price. Maybe regular 4K LED TVs are better off being purchased brand new, but the higher quality technology OLEDs have point to the Buy Used as the best option.
At this moment, there is no such thing as an OLED projector.
If you also factor in the money you save from never having to replace the projector light bulb, you’ll save a couple hundred dollars in the long run if you go with a TV. You also won’t need to invest in a projector screen.
It is very likely that if you buy an OLED TV, you will be able to use it throughout an entire decade or more.
Projectors and OLED TVs are different in more ways than they are similar. I noted the main differences in the bulleted list below:
Main differences
- OLED TVs use organic film to create a better contrast of images, a projector only uses the bulb, which heats up to a certain temperature to project the image.
. - OLEDs, because of the material they are built with, are more durable and eco-friendly. I highly doubt that anyone is going to take our ecosystem into account when purchasing a TV, but it is interesting that they are built from a more organic material. This is also part of the reason they are significantly more expensive than LED TVs.
. - Projectors require more filters to create an image, OLEDs do not.
. - Projectors can’t turn off pixels when projecting to a screen. This means that they will not be able to have darkness and brightness contrast in scenes. There will always be some amount of light emitted even from black colors. If you were to turn off all the lights in the room and leave your projector displaying a blank screen, you would still notice that there is a projected amount of light on the surface of your screen. The same is true for any regular TV. An OLED TV will literally look like it is turned off when projecting a completely black, pixelated screen.
. - Projectors have a way higher power consumption than OLED TVs. They require fans to keep the projector cool enough, but they also have to maintain a certain temperature to continuously display images on the color wheel. They’ll even have a warm-up time around 15 seconds before you can actually see the image they’re displaying.
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Any similarities?
Projectors and OLED TVs can both produce an outstanding image on their own. This is not to say that one is going to be significantly better than the other. Good investment towards either of these media players will be worth the money.
OLED Comparison to Regular TVs
This video is a full review of the LGC9 series, but there is a good snippet where he compares a regular one side by side.
I haven’t done a video review of our OLED TV yet. This was the best video I could find that gives you the best understanding of LGs new TV. As mentioned earlier, LG tends to dominate the OLED market right now. It’s likely that the most reviewed and highly rated TVs are going to be an LG series.
Notes from the video if you can’t watch: The first thing you notice about the C9 is the color contrast. The pixels provide a true color representation almost like a picture in a picture frame. The pixels have no backlighting so ambient light doesn’t take away from image quality.
Both these TVs are 4k, but what makes the stars more visible on the OLED is the TVs ability to individually light the relevant pixels and keep all the others completely dark.
This model isn’t cheap by any means. The instance in which I would personally buy an OLED would be if I knew this would be my main source of entertainment viewing. I wouldn’t get this just to upgrade my living room set up if I already had a projector I loved. I also like bigger picture viewing, so projectors are the most practical way to achieve that (this is all just my opinion).
Best Projectors
This is the video review I did of our family’s projector. It’s the Epson Home Cinema and we still use this one today. I haven’t felt the need to upgrade this at all. I use it for gaming, watching movies, and it’s awesome.
Best projectors with built in speakers: This is another useful article that is specific to projectors with speakers. Not all of them have them, but there are instances in which you would want this feature. Outdoor home theater set ups are made easier with projectors with speakers. There’s a wide range of prices that will fit any budget.
Best Projectors: This article is composed of all the recommended projectors. I’ve either had experience using one of them at some point, own them myself, or have done extensive research. This list is essentially composed of the projectors I was looking at purchasing before I went with the Epson Home Cinema series.
Related questions
Do OLED TVs have any problems?
Yes, sometimes they can be defective. The most common reviews that had issues with their TV all complained about either screen burn or being able to see permanent light blocks when the TV was turned on.
It is also important to note that these people also got full replacements because they contacted the manufacture and let them know that they had a defective TV. I do think it is worth getting an additional warranty on these because you will likely plan to have these for years to come. Some of the reviews who had these issues only had their TV for as little as two years.
But they didn’t specify whether or not it was still within the standard warranty. It’s always better to be safe than out of money. LG dominates the OLED TV products right now, and because of their popularity and brand, you can be sure that they will have customer support lines already established.
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Are OLEDs good for your eyes?
Yes, they are considered to be better for your eyes because they also have an eye strain setting that can be adjusted on a spectrum, similar to the Windows 10 feature. The light coming from the pixels on the TV will be a lot more natural, and it won’t look like there is an excess amount of backlight coming from the screen.
Action scenes that change frames really fast will look more natural, you won’t see any kind of motion blur, and it will be easier for your brain to process. Almost every single one of these TVs will have a blue light setting if you really need a major adjustment or are gaming for many hours.
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Will OLED’s come down in price?
I don’t see them coming down in price anytime soon. Of all the research I did, everyone else seems to think so too. they’re just built from more expensive, organic material. they do deliver on providing an insanely good image quality, and that’s also part of the reason they will be more expensive than the rest. I can see the price only going down a little bit if they get massively popular in the next decade.
Additional Resources
This article was designed to give you the most essential pieces of information to help you make your decision on whether or not you should get a projector or an OLED TV.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors that can affect someone’s decision. It always seems like the answer is “it depends.” For this case, that is no exception. And I hope this article gave you all the information you need so that you understand what you’re paying for if you do decide to go with either one.
I do think that the biggest factor for this decision comes down to price because they are significantly more expensive than projectors. that might be a little bit of my bias because I am a dominant projector user though.
If you want any additional resources, be sure to check out the following articles.
Why do projectors need to warm up: I mentioned this earlier in the article because that can be something that annoys people. there’s actually a very deliberate, scientific reason behind this.
If you do decide to go to the projector route and you have additional money to invest: Check out this article on ALR screens. It’s a complete guy that will help you understand what type of screen to purchase.