OLED. QLED. ULED. Much like the Jonas Brothers, there’s a cool one, the adorable one, and the one that everyone forgets. Kenneth? Kermit? Kellan?

But rather than have you find out the hard way, we’ve broken down what those silly letters actually stand for and which TV technology makes for the best viewing experience, making you press ‘Continue watching’ without feeling shamed by Netflix. This is your safe space.

What Does OLED and QLED stand for? And where did ULED come from?

Let’s break it down real quick. OLED, QLED and ULED? They all have the same basic technology: Light Emitting Diodes. These tiny, little bulbs come in red, green, and blue, turning on and off to give you a full spectrum of color for any image. This color then needs to be boosted with a white light which is where the technologies differ.

Hisense’s ULED TV’s is our special sauce. It combines 20 different patents to create the most vivid and true to life viewing experience. We can show you the world in all its shining, shimmering, splendid glory. Just jump on our magic carpet ride.

What is OLED?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. OLED screens are made up of millions of tiny LED lights that individually emit light in a huge range of color, without needing a backlight (like Nick Jonas).

The biggest perk of this kind of TV technology is its reproduction of deep, rich black colors. While backlit TVs dim the backlight to reproduce darkly lit scenes, OLED pixels can individually turn off to create the truest depiction of the darkest shades. So great, you can see black, but isn’t the point of television to see the light?

Basically, OLEDs are the Whole Foods of TVs—overhyped, overpriced, and you can’t really taste that organic difference.

What is QLED?

QLED is short for Quantum Light Emitting Diode. QLED TVs have a backlight made up of thousands of LED lights, and in front of it sits a quantum dot color film that enhances color and makes the brightness much better.

QLED TVs are among the best TVs out there, with incredible clarity and a picture that makes movie nights as good as going to the movies—but maybe not movie popcorn butter good. Much like Keenan Jonas.

What is ULED?

ULED, or Ultra LED, is Hisense’s proprietary ultimate viewing experience. It combines technologies across four key areas: Ultra Local Dimming, Ultra Wide Color Gamut, Ultra 4K Resolution, and Ultra Smooth Rate. It’s the ultimate screen for sports, nature, docs, movies and gaming. You know Joe and Sansa would have this television in their home.

OLED vs QLED vs ULED – Which is better?

Between brightness and contrast, ULED, QLED and OLED TVs are pretty close. That’s what legal and our techies would like us to say, but we all know or have a favorite child. For us, it’s the ULED TV. It combines all the best bits of available television technology in one space. Once upon a time, OLED screens were leagues ahead of the alternatives for color (and getting the best contrast), but these days our ULED TVs put up some stiff competition.

ULEDs, like the Hisense U6K, do a better job keeping your content looking sharp and clear even on the sunniest days so you don’t have to draw the curtains at 1 in the afternoon like you’re Boo Radley. No, you’re on full display, baby. Because the LED bulbs in the OLED emit their own light, they can’t produce as bright of a picture as the backlight in a ULED.

Moreover, the quantum dot film in a ULED can display over a billion different color combos—the equivalent of that 120 box of Crayola. You may not have been the coolest kid in school, but you will be now.

And if you’re a big time gamer, it’s important to think about all the things that make next gen gaming truly next gen. We’re talking refresh rate, response time and input lag – all these things will make a big difference to your success on the virtual pitch, court or battlefield. For a TV that ticks all the gaming boxes, check out the Hisense U8. That awesome ULED tech also includes Ultra Smooth Motion Rate, which in this case supports a 120 Hz refresh rate. That’ll take your PS5 or Xbox Series X to the peak of its capabilities. Clearly, we don’t use the word Ultra lightly.

But beyond that boring technical stuff, there’s the price of buying and running the TV. The price of TVs really varies from model to model, but generally, OLED TV panels cost more to produce and naturally will cost more. They’re also power-hungry as you’re powering each individual bulb. So getting a ULED is really a no-brainer in this case (even if we do say so ourselves).

The final verdict on OLED TVs vs. ULED TVs vs. QLED TVs

OLED TVs are great for contrast and watching that episode of Game of Thrones that no one could see. But ULEDs combine all the features that you’re looking for—from slick real-life smooth video to vivid colors and more to transform your viewing experience from being a Kelvin to a total Joe.

There you have it! Those are the ins and outs of OLED, ULED and QLED technology. You’ve now graduated with a PhD in LED-ology. Stay tuned for more handy guides and TV content, and in the meantime, check out our full range of incredible Premium Mini-LED ULED TVs to find your dream entertainment machine…