There's an odd amount of pressure to get TV specs right, no matter if you're shopping for yourself or others. No one wants to return something that cumbersome, yet no one wants to put up with a TV that's too small, too dim, or ill-equipped for the latest speakers and consoles. You'll save yourself a lot of grief by getting things right the first time.
The three leading panel types at the moment include OLED, QLED, and mini-LED. For the sake of simplicity, I'm defining QLED as based on conventional LCD panels, and largely avoiding the quantum-dot (QD) variants of OLED and mini-LED -- suffice it to say that QD is superior if you can afford it. I'm also ignoring micro-LED and RGB mini-LED, since those technologies are so new and expensive that they're reserved for the rich.
OLED: The reigning champ
Not without its faults
For some time now, OLED has been the format of choice for cinephiles, or at least anyone who's willing to make sacrifices for the best possible picture quality. It all boils down to one thing: lighting technology. Whereas other formats tend to rely on backlights that illuminate many pixels at once, resulting in light bleed, OLED TVs turn individual pixels on and off, making it easy to achieve perfect blacks. This results in higher contrast and better color reproduction, since nearby pixels aren't influencing each other as much. If you want to see the full impact of HDR (high dynamic range), OLED is the way to go.
There are a few drawbacks to OLED, chief among them being cost. All else being equal, OLED will always be more expensive than QLED or mini-LED. Most new sets cost upwards of $1,000, and you can quickly spend over $2,000 if you want the best of the best. That's difficult for many people to rationalize, given what else the money might buy -- the savings from choosing mini-LED could be enough to buy a Switch 2 or a better soundbar.
OLED panels also have a shorter lifespan. Their organic materials degrade faster, and there's the threat of burn-in if images stay static for a long time. Modern OLED sets have a variety of ways of mitigating these issues, such as pixel-shifting and scheduled refreshes, but there's a real risk that a TV will look worse or be outright unusable after five to 10 years, assuming it's on for several hours every day. You certainly shouldn't pick OLED if you're going to leave a 24-hour news channel on most of the time -- those logos and news tickers may end up sticking around forever.
Lastly, there's the matter of brightness. I've been reasonably impressed by the performance of newer OLED panels, but if you ever find yourself watching in daylight conditions, you'll probably be better off with QLED or mini-LED. OLED is best experienced when the curtains are drawn and the lights are down low. Indeed some people may prefer the intense brightness of mini-LED on an aesthetic level, but that's something I'll touch on later.
QLED LCD: Bang for the buck
More than good enough
The "Q" in QLED stands for quantum dot (a.k.a. QD). What this actually refers to are nanocrystals, used to emit different colors based on their current size. A 1nm crystal will appear blue, for instance, while a 3nm one will appear red. Effectively these improve brightness and color reproduction versus non-quantum panels, regardless of the underlying technology, which is why QD-OLED and QD-mini-LED are possible. Note that QD-mini-LED is sometimes referred to as QLED mini-LED, for obvious reasons.
Applied to a conventional LCD, QLED is a way of achieving excellent picture quality while keeping prices in check. It's no problem to find a large QLED set for under $1,000, or even under $500. The tech is becoming so cheap that many QLED sets are firmly in budget territory. There's almost no point in shopping for a non-quantum model, and going with QLED can sometimes open categories that would otherwise be impractical, like sizes nearing 100 inches, or matte models meant to simulate wall art.
There's no serious deficiency with QLED LCDs, but if you're after the best contrast and color, you'll want to go with OLED or mini-LED. The backlighting zones on QLEDs cover wide areas, making it hard or impossible for them to achieve true blacks. You won't notice this in most situations, but next to an OLED, the shadows on QLED LCDs can appear dark gray instead of black. You may also notice issues like "halos" around bright objects on dark backgrounds.
It's worth adding that at the lower end, manufacturers will exclude their best features from QLED LCDs, such as high refresh rates. The assumption seems to be that if you've got the money for higher specs, you'll at least be choosing mini-LED.
Mini-LED: The sweet spot
Potentially preferable to OLED
Mini-LED TVs are based on the same core technology as QLEDs and conventional LCDs. The difference is in the size of their backlights -- hence the name. Whereas a regular LCD might have anywhere between a few dozen and a few hundred lighting zones, mini-LED TVs extend that into the thousands. This enables better contrast without the expense of OLED. In fact, with higher-end mini-LEDs, it can be difficult to tell the difference.
As I mentioned, you may prefer this over OLED if you want to watch under bright conditions. Although the brightest OLED sets can approach 2,000 nits, the brightest mini-LED models can hit anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 nits -- enough to be clearly visible in direct sunlight. For a frame of reference, my Apple Watch Ultra 2 is readable midday, outdoors, at 3,000 nits.
Some people also prefer the stylistic "punch" mini-LED provides. Colors become very vivid, and the highlights in HDR content are enough to be blinding. OLED may be cinematically accurate, especially if you enable Filmmaker Mode, but what ultimately counts is your enjoyment.
Mini-LED isn't a miracle -- it can still be subject to some of the same light bleed problems as other LCDs, including halos. It's just that they're significantly reduced, to the point that the average viewer won't be bothered.
Should you choose OLED, QLED, or mini-LED?
Time to set your priorities
If money is no object, you'll probably prefer OLED. The contrast and color accuracy is something to behold, and few people need a TV that can outshine the sun. Longevity is a legitimate concern, but if your TV is only on for a few hours a day, it's likely to last all the way through to your next upgrade.
Mini-LED is not only close enough to OLED in most circumstances, but increasingly affordable.
The average person should focus on mini-LED. The format is not only close enough to OLED in most circumstances, but increasingly affordable, to the extent that you can find decent models for less than $500 on sale. Otherwise, $700 to $1,000 seems to be a reasonable ask if you want quality specs.
QLEDs should be treated as a budget option unless you're chasing a wall art model (like the Samsung Frame) or the largest possible screen size. Even then, size isn't everything -- I'd rather own a 65-inch OLED with superior HDR performance than a 98-inch QLED that can never render night scenes properly.