Understanding OLED Burn-in, ABL, MLA and Panel Types: QD-OLED vs WOLED

🏷️Technology
⏱️26 min read
📅2025-01-01

Understanding OLED Burn-in, ABL, MLA and QD-OLED vs WOLED

OLED displays offer outstanding visual quality, perfect blacks, fast response times and unmatched color accuracy.
But OLED panels also come with unique characteristics such as:

  • Burn-in risk
  • ABL brightness limits
  • Image retention
  • Pixel Refresh cycles
  • Panel structure differences

This guide explains everything you need to know about OLED monitor longevity and performance.

✔ What Is OLED Burn-in?

Burn-in occurs when organic pixels age at different speeds due to static elements:

  • UI icons
  • Taskbars
  • Game HUDs
  • News tickers
  • Channel logos

Burn-in is permanent, unlike temporary image retention.

Modern OLED monitors have strong protections, making burn-in far less likely.

✔ Why Does Burn-in Happen?

OLED pixels emit their own light.
Over time, high-brightness pixels degrade faster.

Factors that accelerate burn-in:

  • Static bright objects
  • High brightness levels
  • Heat
  • Long HDR sessions
  • Fixed UI layouts

✔ Image Retention vs Burn-in

  • Image Retention → temporary, disappears within minutes
  • Burn-in → permanent pixel wear

Temporary retention is normal in OLED displays.

✔ QD-OLED vs WOLED

🟩 QD-OLED (Samsung)

Pros:

  • Higher color volume
  • Better HDR brightness
  • No white subpixel
  • Wider viewing angles

Cons:

  • Slightly higher heat
  • Potential color fringing at high brightness

🟦 WOLED (LG)

Pros:

  • Lower power consumption
  • More consistent pixel aging
  • Lower burn-in probability under heavy static usage

Cons:

  • Slightly lower peak brightness
  • White subpixel affects color saturation at high brightness

✔ What Is ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiter)?

ABL reduces brightness in full-screen white scenes to protect the panel.

Reasons:

  • Prevent overheating
  • Reduce power draw
  • Maintain pixel lifespan

Monitors have less aggressive ABL than TVs.

✔ MLA (Micro Lens Array)

MLA uses microscopic lenses to direct more light toward the viewer.

Benefits:

  • Up to 60% more brightness
  • Lower power usage
  • Improved viewing angles
  • Less aggressive ABL

MLA is one of the biggest OLED innovations of recent years.

✔ Pixel Refresh & Panel Maintenance

Pixel Refresh balances pixel wear across the panel.

Types:

  • Short refresh (automatic, every few hours)
  • Long refresh (manual, every 1000–2000 hours)

This process dramatically reduces burn-in risk.

✔ Best Practices to Reduce Burn-in

  • Lower brightness (120–150 nits ideal)
  • Use dark mode apps
  • Enable auto-hide taskbar
  • Vary on-screen content
  • Allow Pixel Refresh cycles
  • Avoid direct sunlight

✔ OLED vs LCD Comparison

| Feature | OLED | LCD | |---------|------|------| | Blacks | Perfect | Moderate | | Response time | Instant | Slower | | Brightness | Medium/High | Very high | | Burn-in | Possible | Impossible | | Color accuracy | Excellent | Very good |

✔ Conclusion

OLED monitors provide unmatched visual quality.
With MLA, Pixel Refresh and modern burn-in protection systems, longevity has significantly improved.

Used correctly, an OLED monitor can last for many years with minimal risk—while delivering the best picture quality in the industry.