Samsung, LG in tit-for-tat over screen burn-in

By Baek Byung-yeul

Han Jong-hee, president of visual display business at Samsung Electronics

As with Coca-Cola and Pepsi's rivalry, Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have been fiercely competing against each other for global leadership in the TV market.

While Samsung and LG are in fierce competition, the latest thing they are quarreling over is a screen burn-in issue.

Screen burn-in happens when a persistent part of an image remains as a background no matter what else is on the screen. Screen burn-in can be seen on smartphone screens or TV screens when phone navigation buttons or channel logos are displayed for an extended period.

Global TV market leader Samsung sells a metallic quantum dot-based light-emitting diode (QLED) TV. It is similar to conventional LCD TVs that use backlights, but the quantum dots are known to create brighter and more vivid colors with more power efficiency.

Kwon Bong-seok, head of Home Entertainment unit at LG Electronics

Samsung claimed that the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, which LG and other TV makers are adopting for their screens, is not suitable for TVs as it may have screen burn-in issues.

The OLED display has been received well for delivering outstanding picture quality, but it also has its disadvantages as it is vulnerable to screen burn-in.

Samsung said OLED TVs have had the burn-in issue as panels are made of organic material. While Samsung makes OLED screens for small devices such as smartphones, the company didn't develop a large OLED TV as it couldn't solve the problem that organic compounds fade over time when they are left turned on brightly.

“OLED displays are suitable for smartphone screens, which have shorter life expectancies, but they are not suitable for devices like TVs as durability is crucial,” a Samsung official said.

Samsung said the source of QLED TVs' durability lies in its use of inorganic quantum dot materials. “Unlike display technologies based on organic materials, quantum dots do not degrade over time. This allows QLED TVs to offer exceptional picture quality that not only lasts much longer than other displays, but is guaranteed to be burn-in free,” Samsung said.

Samsung has claimed its QLED TVs are free from the potential screen burn-in issues, stating that its products feature the most durable displays on the market.

Its QLED TV has recently been recognized as “burn-in free” by German tech magazine Video. The magazine evaluated vulnerability to burn-in and afterglow and the test results showed that Samsung's QLED TV was as free of both issue. The magazine said Samsung's QLED TV remained unaffected by the screen burn-in after a 72-hour stress test.

Another test showed Samsung QLED TV's distinguished durability. TV review site Rtings.com recently conducted a durability test of dozens of TVs from the market's leading brands and Samsung's QLED TV earned a perfect score for image quality and lack of the burn-in issue.

This is not the first time Samsung has targeted LG's OLED TV regarding the burn-in issue. Last year, Samsung released an advertisement comparing the QLED panel with the OLED panel on its YouTube channel. Titled “QLED vs. OLED: The 12-Hour Image Retention Test,” Samsung showed its QLED TV was superior regarding the screen burn-in problem as the video showed Samsung's QLED TV did not have the problem at all.

LG is apparently not happy with Samsung over the burn-in problem, saying the OLED TV may induce the screen burn-in problem when used in severe conditions.

“The screen burn-in issue of an OLED TV rarely happens to home users. The burn-in issue may happen when a TV is on for 24 hours,” an LG official said, adding that home users don't experience that kind of issue.

The LG official said OLED has strength in picture quality compared with the QLED TV. “The OLED TV has outstanding picture quality compared with the QLED TV. That is why the OLED TV is described as a next-generation technology.”

Samsung said it doesn’t have any imminent plans to commercialize TVs with OLED displays as the company is committed to pursue a “dual-track” approach to further boosting its conventionally-strong LCD TV business by promoting QLED and MicroLED TVs.

Han Jong-hee, president of visual display business at Samsung, told reporters last week that it will start selling super premium TVs for households using its new MicroLED TV technology, a variant of LCD technology.

MicroLED TVs are modular, with screens built of conjoined smaller panels. Unlike LCD and OLED displays, MicroLED displays don’t need bulky backlights and to rely on color filters as they use elements which can emit core base colors such as red, green and blue lights.

Han said Samsung will roll out “The Wall” MicroLED TVs starting September for both commercial and households use. Han added Samsung plans to introduce new TV called “The Wall Luxury,” which has a thickness of a mere 30 millimeters, for next year’s technology fair in Las Vegas.