QLED TV Problems: 6 Most-Common Issues (Solved)

Do you own a QLED TV, or are you planning to buy one? It pays to know how to fix any issues that may arise so you can avoid unnecessary trips to the repair shop.

That said, here are six of the common problems you may encounter with QLED TVs.

1. QLED TV won’t display in 4k and 120 Hz with HDR

An inability to display in 4k and 120 Hz with HDR is an issue that’s been noted with the QLED TVs by Samsung.

Users have noted that, when using the Sony PlayStation 5 with their Samsung QLED TVs, it is unable to do HDR at 4k resolutions and a 120 Hz refresh rate. It’s either you play 4k at 120 Hz in SDR, or 4k at 60 Hz in HDR.

The problem here is not with the QLED TV, but with the PlayStation.

Thus, if you are encountering this issue, you should check for firmware updates for your console. Sony acknowledged the issue and said a firmware update will resolve this problem.

2. QLED TV stutters when watching sports games or playing sports-related video games

Another issue that you may encounter with QLED TVs is a frame rate drop, which causes stuttering.

This issue happens when watching sports games or playing sport video games, particularly when movement is slow and speeds up quickly. This can be quite annoying and may look like a defect.

There are two ways of fixing this.

• You may opt to set the blur reduction to zero or turn game mode on.
• The latter will result in lower picture quality, so it’s best to try the blur reduction first.

3. QLED screen flickers

You may encounter flickering on the screen of QLED TVs, particularly with the Samsung QLED TVs.

We’ve written extensively on resolving TV flickering.

While it does not happen to all QLED TVs, there is still that chance it may occur with your TV.

To troubleshoot this problem, you need to check where the problem lies. Is it with the TV, or with an external device?

• If your QLED TV has a Picture Test feature for self-diagnosis, open it and check if the flickering still happens.
• Should your TV not have this feature, consider switching to other sources, or try streaming a video from an app.
• If the flickering stops with the Picture Test or when streaming, the problem is likely with the external device connected.
• You can switch cables to check if it fixes things.
• If the flickering continues, the issue is with the HDMI port:

If the flickering still happens during the Picture Test or after switching video sources, the problem is with the display settings.

• You may try disabling Brightness Optimization, Brightness Reduction, Contrast Enhancer, or Motion Lighting.
• The Brightness Optimization, Brightness Reduction, and Motion Lighting may be found in the Power and Energy menu under the General Settings.
• The Contrast Enhancer, meanwhile, may be accessed through the Expert Settings in the Picture menu.
• After disabling all of these settings, run a Picture Test to see if the flickering continues.

Should the flickering persist, it’s time to take your TV to a service center for evaluation.

4. Dimming on QLED TV results in bright subtitles

You might notice some excessive glowing on the subtitle text when you dim the brightness of your TV.

• One fix to this is to lower the local dimming, but this fix will also reduce picture quality, especially in HDR.
• Another fix to this is to set the picture mode from Movie to Standard. Then adjust other image settings to compensate and match the movie mode.

5. Vertical banding during HDR mode

You may notice vertical lines appearing at times, such as when the TV is loading a video.

This issue is called vertical banding.

• Vertical banding sometimes becomes evident during panning, and at times may become noticeable when the screen is blank.
• Some say it’s a normal thing that happens to these TVs, which people have called the dirty screen effect.

But that does not mean you can’t try checking for fixes.

• The first thing you can do is check for any firmware updates for your TV.
• Should there be any updates available, install them and reboot your TV by unplugging it and powering it up after two minutes.
• If the problem is still there, or there are no firmware updates available, you should coordinate with Samsung’s customer support and check if you qualify for a screen swap or replacement.

6. Colors look dull when using QLED TV with Microsoft Xbox

Sometimes, the color on your TV may not appear as expected, especially when using the Microsoft Xbox console.

This happens because the QLED TV is not calibrated, and you will need to adjust settings to get a better color quality.

To calibrate, you need to set your TV to the following:

• Picture Mode: Movie
• Contrast: 45
• Brightness: 0
• Gamma: BT.1886: -1
• Color: 27
• Tint: R5
• Sharpness: 0
• Color Tone: Warm 2
• Backlight: 27
• Auto Motion Plus: Custom (Blur Reduction: 10)
• Film Mode: Auto 2
• Color Space Settings: Auto
• HDMI Black Level: Low
• Any other setting must be set to off or zero.

For Samsung QLED TVs, you have the option to apply these settings to all input sources.

For the picture size, set to fit on screen. When it comes to individual RGB color controls, these must remain in the default setting.

It’s also recommended to not touch in-game brightness and gamma.

General Pros and Cons of QLED TVs

QLED TVs can handle moisture better

QLED TVs use Quantum Dots (hence, the Q in QLED) are moisture-resistant, unlike the typical LED TVs.

And with the moisture resistance, QLED TVs don’t need vacuum evaporation, making the costs of QLED TVs cheaper to produce.

QLED TVs have more sizes available

Unlike OLED TVs, which usually have sizes that range between 55 and 65 inches, QLED TVs have more sizes available.

You can get QLED screens with sizes from 49 inches, and scale up to 85 inches in size.

So if you have a smaller room, QLED TVs make a logical choice.

QLED TVs are thinner and light

You won’t have a problem mounting QLED TVs to the wall, as they are thinner and lighter than the typical LED or plasma TV. Plasma TVs in particular often have more mass and weight.

QLED TVs are brighter than older TVs

QLED TVs have brightness levels that are 50 to 100 times more than CRT and LCDs. They provide more clarity and offer more vivid images than LED TVs.

QLED TVs are more energy efficient

QLED TVs use less power compared to OLED and LED TVs.

You get up to twice the power efficiency compared to OLEDs while getting up to 40 percent improvement in brightness with its power efficiency.  

They are not prone to burn-in

Unlike OLED and plasma TVs, you don’t have to worry about permanent image retention or burn-in.

Burn-in is perhaps the main weakness of OLEDs. The resistance to burn-in is what gives QLED TVs an edge over OLED TVs.

If you have the habit of playing games that have a lot of static images or watch the news throughout the day, a QLED TV might be perfect. 

For more information on OLED TVs and their risks, read our article Are OLED TVs Reliable? (Explained For Beginners).

General Cons of QLED TVs

• QLED TVs still rely on a backlight, unlike OLED TVs.
• QLED TVs have a light bleed effect, which produces a slight haze that blurs sharpness.
• Viewing angles on QLED TVs are not as good as OLED TVs.
• QLED TVs have a lower blue saturation.

Final Thoughts

The main problem with QLED TVs often involves picture quality, but this is also an issue that plagues LED and even OLED TVs.

That said, you should not worry about owning QLED TVs, as most of the problems with these TVs can generally be resolved. 

For more information on QLED TVs, check out our article How Long Do QLED TVs Last?.

 

Source:

Advantages of QLED | disadvantages of QLED

PS5 players report bug affecting visual performance on certain Samsung TVs