It’s a test carried out on dozens of televisions over a period of almost 3 years. Over this long period, this intense endurance test stretched 102 TV sets to their very limits. Obviously, a TV and a monitor are not quite the same thing. Nevertheless, the reliability of the panel, depending on its technology, is an interesting parameter to take into account, especially if you’re thinking of buying a new screen in 2026.
OLED is reliable because it’s simple
The statistics also underline a seemingly self-evident technical fact: the simpler the backlight system, the greater the likelihood of longevity. OLED panels (including WOLED and QD-OLED variants) have demonstrated superior robustness, precisely because of the absence of additional backlight. On the other hand, LED screens with side illumination are often responsible for serious failures. Between these two extremes are the top-of-the-range Mini-LED models. While these perform far better than conventional LED displays, around a third of them still experienced problems. However, their advanced backlight management technology seems to offer better redundancy and more effective thermal protection than direct- or side-lit models. At the bottom of this ranking are products equipped with IPS panels, with 15 out of 24 affected by anomalies. However, this may be explained not by the technology itself, but by the dominant trends in the sector. Manufacturers rarely couple IPS panels with sophisticated local dimming mechanisms, opting instead for economical and more vulnerable backlight solutions. As IPS products are for them aggressively priced ranges, savings are also made on electronics.
The other important finding of this long-term test is the ability to repair. Of the 20 failures observed, only two could be repaired, which suggests that for most users, a failure during the warranty period is the only real protection… Beyond the legal warranty period, repair is an economically unviable solution.
Two reliable brands: LG and TCL
Finally, it’s time to talk about brands, and this exercise brings out two names: LG and TCL, which top the ranking. Although their marketing and pricing positions differ, these two brands posted exceptionally low failure rates throughout the evaluation phase. TCL’ s TVs showed that affordable prices don’t necessarily mean poor quality, as only one of its products malfunctioned at the very end of this round of testing. At LG, it should also be noted that the rare incidents mainly affected its LCD ranges and never its OLED TVs.