Why are OLED TVs turning green?

OPINION: We’re coming to the end of 2024, which means looking back on the year with the fire burning in the background, and tech journalists wistfully remembering all the things they wanted to do but never had to time for.

A few trends (non-trends?) have popped up this year in the field of TV and audio. Expensive over-ears have become more of ‘A Thing’ (Dyson, Sonos, etc), smart speakers appear to have disappeared into hibernation, TVs are getting bigger, projectors are getting smaller – and OLED TVs are getting greener.

Not green in the idea of being more sustainable (although there is that too), but green in that the image is showing a green tint, and it’s becoming more prevalent than less.

Let me take you back to 2023 when LG launched its G3 OLED TV. Everything seemed fine with it until the image went green. Most of the time it was white tones that looked green whereas on other TVs they were just white. Other times the colour yellow had a green zest to it. I ended up going to LG’s HQ to try and get to the bottom of it, and by the time the G4 OLED came out, it seemed to be fixed.

Until it wasn’t.

Like the G3, the G4 OLED was practically picture perfect until something happened that caused the green tint to come back across its cinema modes. Not as bad as before but there if you were looking for it. Viewed on its own and I suspect most people wouldn’t notice it but to me, with another TV beside, I could not stop seeing a tinge of green. I felt there was something wrong with my eyes.

By this point, the LG G4 OLED was the third OLED I’d noticed that looked queasy (the Philips OLED+908 was looking green). And now it’s joined by a fourth in the Panasonic Z90A, except this ‘green tint’ is altogether different from the other issues.

The Panasonic Z90A looks absolutely fine straight on, but from where I face in the room (which is straight at a wall like a naughty child), I have to swivel around at an angle to view the two TVs currently on the test bench.

When the Panasonic was being reviewed, I was always at an angle and noticed there was something that looked slightly off with its colours. But as soon as I sat head-on I didn’t see the problem again. I dismissed the issue as something to do with lights in the room, or maybe even the TV’s light sensor affecting the image.

But I kept on seeing it and then I realised that if I shuffled from a head-on view to a wide-angle view, the OLED screen would develop a slight green tint. I have no idea why this happens, and at least with the Panasonic it’s very subtle, but you can just about see the levels of green are a bit higher than the TV next to it, but if you were facing it, that problem would not be present.

This would make it the fourth OLED TV I’ve spotted that has a green look, and it’s not a blanket issue with OLEDs. The Sony Bravia 8 has no issues whatsoever, neither did the A95L QD-OLED, and though I’ve not tested the Samsung OLEDs for 2024, I imagine they would not be affected by it.

LCD LEDs are often afflicted by green tints (usually when describing black levels), but that’s often an effect of using a poorer quality panel (Sky Glass has this exact problem). Arguably you could calibrate the picture to get rid of the green tint, but I’m not sure how you would do so if the tint only appeared at wider angles.

OLED TVs seem to be quietly developing a green tint – not all but certainly some – and there doesn’t seem to be a clear idea of how to fix it, where the problem came from, or if people are actually aware of it.

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