Both LG Display and Samsung Display have made improvements to the anti-reflective (AR) coating on their OLED TV panels this year. Here's what you should know.

Competition has arrived. There are now two OLED TV panel technologies, and consumers can in 2023 expect upgrades in key areas such as fullscreen and peak brightness, energy efficiency, lifetime, color, and viewing angles. A less talked-about change is the new AR coating.


'Vanta Black' in MLA WOLED
LG Display's 2023 WOLED panel (with MLA) has a new 'Vanta Black' AR coating. This panel has so far been confirmed for LG's G3, Panasonic's MZ2000 and Philips' OLED908.

- "The Super Anti Reflecting coating on the G3 reduces reflection by about 25% from that of the C2. This reduction of reflection aids in contrast and sharpness as well as the ability to see more in dark images when there is ambient light," a spokesperson for LG Electronics told FlatpanelsHD.

Philips went a little further by saying that it reduces total reflectance by up to 30% and specular reflectance by up to 70% compared to the previous-generation WOLED panel. Philips confirmed that the AR coating is a feature of the 2023 MLA WOLED panel – Philips has not modified it in any way.

Here is a short video of the difference, shot by FlatpanelsHD in Amsterdam this week. Notice the reflections from the camera flash in the two OLED TVs.


 Left TV: Philips OLED908 (2023). Right TV: Philips OLED907 (2022)

'Vanta Black' is not the same AR coating used in the first WOLED monitors such as LG Electronic's 27 and 45 inch monitors. This more matte coating is referred to as 'Gaming Black' by LG Display.


New AR coating in 2023 QD-OLED
A spokesperson for Samsung Display confirmed to FlatpanelsHD that the 2023 QD-OLED improvements will appear all sizes of QD-OLED TVs and monitors this year. As of December 2022, Samsung Display's entire QD-OLED production shifted to the new panel, but some consumer brands may still use the 2022 panel until stocks run out.

This new panel has a "completely updated AR coating" with a multi-layer reflection reduction mechanism designed to reduce light distortion between the layers for reduced diffused reflections, he explained.

Samsung Display did not put a number on it but said that consumers will notice that the 2023 QD-OLED display has a more neutral tone rather than the reddish tint in reflections seen last year. It should also minimize the effect of raised blacks on QD-OLED in a bright environment, although it can still occur.

FlatpanelsHD will review the 2023 OLED TVs later this year.