One of the most important improvements to this year’s premium televisions from LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics could be the new anti-reflective coating that has been applied to both OLED and QD-OLED.
The two Korean firms hit the headlines at CES 2023 with a number of key upgrades for their flagship TVs, offering higher peak brightness, greater energy efficiency, superior viewing angles, more vibrant colours and longer lifetimes. However, one update that was barely mentioned is that both types of display - LG’s “White OLED” and Samsung’s “QD-OLED” both have a new AR coating.
LG Display’s latest WOLED panel with Micro Lens Array technology not only delivers superior brightness but also has a new “Vanta Black” AR coating. The display, which will be used on LG’s new G3 OLED TV, Panasonic’s MZ2000 and Philips’ OLED+908, is said to reduce reflection by around 25% compared to earlier models.
“This reduction of reflection aids in contrast and sharpness as well as the ability to see more in dark images when there is ambient light," LG said in a statement.
At Philips’ OLED+908 launch event this week, the company provided even more detail, saying the Vanta Black AR coating helps to reduce total reflectance by around 30%, while specular reflectance is down by 70% compared to the previous-generation WOLED panels. The company is using the exact same coating for its OLED+908, and hasn’t modified it.
As for Samsung’s new QD-OLED panels, they will also get a new coating that will be used with all sizes produced this year, including both TV and monitor panels. However, it’s worth noting that while Samsung shifted its entire QD-OLED production to the new panel in December 2022, some brands might use older panels that remain in stock.
The newer panel comes with an “updated AR coating” that features what’s described as a multi-layer reflection reducing mechanism that helps to reduce light distortion between the layers. The result is a reduction in diffused reflections, Samsung promised. As a result, consumers will notice a more “neutral tone” as opposed to the reddish tint that was present in reflections on the 2022 QD-OLED panel. The new AR coating should also help to minimise the impact of “raised blacks” in bright environments, Samsung said.
