What are MLA and QD-OLED TVs?

Understanding various smart TV screen technologies and what they offer is key to finding the right type of TV to satisfy your entertainment needs. It’s not easy though: there are countless different abbreviations and trademarked phrases, from HDR to Neo QLED to UHD and ALLM. Knowing what everything means will help you sift through all the marketing and promotional material that manufacturers throw at you, so you can figure out what really matters to you.

When it comes to OLED TVs, there are two more abbreviations worth knowing: MLA and QD-OLED. These both seek to improve upon the deficiencies of OLED screens, but in different ways — and by different companies. If you’re seeking a high-end TV to faithfully watch shows and movies with vibrant colors and stark contrast, these technologies can make a huge difference.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is Micro Lens Array technology?

LG’s innovation improved OLED TVs

Micro Lens Array is a technology crafted by LG that is used to enhance the quality of OLED screens. MLA is a layer of very tiny lenses that are built into the OLED screen; they are so tiny that there are billions of them on your screen. They’re implemented to focus and redirect light, not unlike a magnifying glass. What this does is, most notably, boost brightness and increase the viewing angle of the TV. Color and contrast are improved compared to standard or traditional OLED TVs without this tech.

With these additional lenses, less of a burden is placed on the OLED screen itself, which in turn improves efficiency and energy use while also reducing the risk of burn-in. MLA tech can be found on select high-end TVs, including LG’s most impressive G4, as well as top TVs from Sony.

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What is QD-OLED technology?

Samsung’s OLED answer to LG is most impressive

Quantum-dot OLED tech is a similar innovation that’s made and wielded by Samsung. The company has been all about quantum dots for some time, and it’s incorporated the tech into its line of OLED TVs, a line that for many years it claimed it wouldn’t start making. Like MLA, this tech seeks to enhance brightness and color accuracy, improving contrast and maintaining those true, inky blacks that make OLED TVs so desirable.

Instead of covering the OLED screen with those super-small lenses, the panel is covered with quantum dots. These dots allow the TV to become brighter and more efficient, in part because the technology uses a blue light OLED source instead of a white light source.

This technology, however, is one of the reasons why TVs that use it tend to be pretty pricey (on top of the high price that comes with OLED screens to begin with). Still, it goes a long way in significantly improving OLED screens to make up for any apparent drawbacks, making these TVs among the best at faithfully recreating cinematic content.

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What’s next for OLED TVs?

LG is ditching MLA for new and improved tech

This year, LG announced it was doing away with MLA tech in favor of something new and presumably better. The announcement is surprising considering both the relative newness of the technology and its proven success. LG’s G4, which employed MLA tech, was one of the best TVs made last year.

The new innovation will feature four stacks, or layers, instead of three, and has been referred to as Primary Tandem RGB OLED (for now — it’s a lot to say and write) and looks to further boost brightness and color volume, leaning more towards warmer tones than the cooler ones you could sense with MLA.

Energy efficiency is believed to be improved as well, and the cost of the new tech looks to be more economical as well; whether those savings are passed on to the consumer is another matter.

LG will be implementing this in its G5 TV, to be tested and released later this year. That LG has vowed its new top TV will be quite brighter than the G4 is somewhat staggering, considerably just how bright that one got in a dim room. Its manufacturing partners in Philips and Panasonic will also be leveraging the tech as well. Not to be outdone, Samsung is looking to improve its QD-OLED screens as well, as the TV arms race continues to ratchet up every year.

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FAQ

Q: Which smart TV screen technology is better?

There’s a lot that goes into determining which screen technology is superior, and which is best for your viewing needs. OLED screens employ emissive pixels, so these screens can achieve perfect contrast with true blacks. TVs that use a backlight, like LEDs, can struggle with contrast but tend to offer impressive brightness.

However, manufacturers layer on other technologies to improve upon any deficiencies, which is why LG and Samsung incorporate innovations on OLED screens to improve brightness, while other efforts are made to improve contrast on LED screens.

When deciding on a new TV, look at all the technologies and innovations used, consider what kind of content you enjoy watching, how important fidelity is to you, and of course, the cost.