Is OLED really that much better than QLED? needing a TV for man cave for under 2,000.

QLED is mostly just a marketing term for the latest technology (quantum dots) in an LCD panel. There are a lot of manufacturers who make LCD panels with quantum dots. Some use the “QLED” branding and some do not. Regardless, there’s a pretty wide range of quality available in QLED panels.

OLED is a completely different type of panel technology (not LCD) that does not require a backlight - instead, each “pixel” produces its own light directly. The vast majority of OLED panels are made by LG, with the rest being made by Samsung (unless that’s changed very recently). Pretty much all OLED panels will be high-quality displays.

The biggest thing with OLED panels is that because there’s no backlight, you get much better contrast, black levels, and uniformity. With QLED panels you’ll get varying degrees of “bloom” and backlight “shadows” in the image depending on the specific manufacturer’s backlight system. Higher end QLED displays will be better because of more zones, better software, etc... but OLED panels will outperform the best QLED’s in this area. OLED’s are capable of producing very sharp lines between bright and dark areas, which makes the picture look great.

There are generally two main downsides to OLED panels (other than cost):
1. They won’t get as bright as QLED’s, which can potentially be a problem if you’re watching TV in a room with a lot of bright light/glare/etc.
2. They are more susceptible to burn-in, which could be important if you play a lot of games or leave a specific channel turned on all the time.

I think both of these downsides are overstated, though, and that most people will prefer an OLED TV over a similarly-priced QLED TV. FWIW my TV is a pretty high-end 65” Samsung QLED (QN95B). I didn’t buy OLED at the time because I was worried about burn in. While I really like my Samsung (despite some annoying Samsung quirks) I would probably get an LG OLED instead if I could go back in time.

Go to that local best buy. Look at both. Buy the $1500 one if you think it looks $700 better than the $800 one. You sound like the kinda dude that is going to be very underwhelmed overall with that which the TV enthusiast hold dear. The bigger cheaper TCL will probably suit you better, but the anti chicoms will be in here soon.

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At the same cost, i'd take an 85 inch qled over a 77" OLED.

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Yeah I should have said most people will prefer an OLED over a similarly-priced QLED of the same size.

Example: A Samsung 65” QN90D (high-end 4K QLED) is $1,600 at Best Buy. A 65” LG C4 OLED is $1,700. Both are really nice TV’s, but I think most people would prefer the LG OLED if they actually had the chance to try both in their living room. And again I say this as someone who bought a QN95B (which I think was the top-tier Samsung 4K QLED) instead of an OLED in 2022.

Agree 100%, same size for around the same cost OLED is an easy choice.

I'll bet, however, a 75 inch Samsung 85d (one step down from the 90d) is similar price as the 65 lg OLED, and in that instance, I'd take the larger Samsung qled.

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Unless things changed, Samsung TVs don’t have Dolby Vision.

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Meaningless.

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They are also considered inferior to LG’s OLED.

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This is not true and hasn't been for two years now. They score the exact same on Rtings and the Samsung's actually look better in person because of the QD panel versus the non QD LG's (C4 vs S90D).

In fact, Rtings just straight up tells you the S90D is better than the C4.

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The Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED is mostly better than the LG C4 OLED. The Samsung gets brighter in HDR, so bright highlights stand out more on it, and it maintains its HDR brightness better while in 'Game Mode.' The Samsung TV also has a wider color gamut, better color volume, and better HDR gradient handling, so colors in HDR are more vibrant, lifelike, brighter, and have less banding. The Samsung has a wider viewing angle, and the image doesn't have a green tint that worsens as you move off-center, so it's the better choice for watching TV in a group setting.

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Gotta be careful with the 5 year old way of thinking that LG was the best then means they still are now, just not the case. No quantum dot panel really really hurts them vs the competition nowadays, they simply can't compete with QD colors.

The best TV for the money remains the Hisense U8N Mini-LED, the 75" costs $1599 at BB. LINK

OLED is objectively better. It is actually LED, not just a marketing gimmick for backlight tech. Still overpriced. Just get a $400 75” 4K LCD from Walmart. By the time you ever notice the difference, you’ll be a TV snob and nobody will want you around their living rooms.

A LG C3 77" OLED can be found for <$2k online right now, even through Amazon. Occasionally that size will go on sale as low as in the $1600 range because it has now been replaced with the C4 model but is still a quality TV. You won't be disappointment by this TV unless it will go in a very bright room.

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it will be going into a bright room.

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So not a 'cave'. In that case, the general advice is avoid OLED (except brighter high end models which = $$$$$) and opt for TVs using backlight tech, as noted above.
Use rtings.com to see brightness or other metrics to help you narrow down the list or to make an informed decision between given choices provided here.

Is it going to be mainly for sports or movies as well?

If just for sports, the less expensive TCL would be plenty.

If for movies too, where contrast and dark scenes are prevalent, higher quality will show itself.

Sony Bravia 9 will be the top of the line LED with their new local dimming tech but will be way over your budget.

Samsung QN95 series is way up there on the quality list as well.

The flagship TCL and Hisense TV's are actually impressive for their price. The TCL shows blooming compared to the other LED options on side of them.


Regarding Dolby Vision, going forward I honestly would almost look for a TV where I could turn it off, or it didn't support it, If I had to buy in the futrue.