What type of TV looks better?

OLED is still in its infancy from a manufacturing standpoint; I think we’re a couple years out from 40” OLED displays-read this for more details.

In any practical sense, LCDs or plasmas are your only options. LCDs generally are crisper with more realistic colors while plasmas are more vibrant and colorful. However, what makes the most discernible difference is the model and manufacturer. You can find an LCD that looks terrible or one that looks fantastic based on price range etc.

What you will notice the most is probably the contrast ratio. The higher the better to ensure that the blacks look black and not grey. Another thing is the resolution; A higher resolution will give you a crisper picture given that you are using an HD input but will be more expensive. If you are using a standard definition input a lower resolution will probably look better.

Ultimately, it depends on what you’re willing to spend. LCDs will probably be better for action packed gaming but you might find plasmas prettier. Whatever the case, the more money you’re willing to shill out the better picture quality you will get.

I greatly prefer DLPs for all picture quality; trouble is, it’s pretty much always big, heavy, clunky, etc. But it’s very pretty, display-wise.

More relevant is a nice little article I found that compared the two, in reference to the OLEDs:

“Advantages

The radically different manufacturing process of OLEDs lends itself to many advantages over flat-panel displays made with LCD technology. Since OLEDs can be printed onto any suitable substrate using an inkjet printer or even screen printing technologies, they can theoretically have a significantly lower cost than LCDs or plasma displays. Printing OLEDs onto flexible substrates opens the door to new applications such as roll-up displays and displays embedded in clothing.

OLEDs enable a greater range of colors, brightness, and viewing angle than LCDs, because OLED pixels directly emit light. OLED pixel colors appear correct and unshifted, even as the viewing angle approaches 90 degrees from normal. LCDs use a backlight and cannot show true black, while an “off” OLED element produces no light and consumes no power. Energy is also wasted in LCDs because they require polarizers which filter out about half of the light emitted by the backlight. Additionally, color filters in color LCDs filter out two-thirds of the light.

OLEDs also have a faster response time than standard LCD screens. Whereas a standard LCD currently has an average of 8–12 millisecond response time, an OLED can have less than 0.01ms response time.

Disadvantages

The biggest technical problem for OLEDs is the limited lifetime of the organic materials. In particular, blue OLEDs historically have had a lifetime of around 5,000 hours when used for flat-panel displays, which is lower than typical lifetime of LCD, LED or PDP technology – each currently rated for about 60,000 hours, depending on manufacturer and model. But in 2007, experimental PLEDs were created which can sustain 400cd/sq.m of output for over 198,000 hours for green OLEDs and 62,000 hours for blue OLEDs.

The intrusion of water into displays can damage or destroy the organic materials. Therefore, improved sealing processes are important for practical manufacturing and may limit the longevity of more flexible displays.

Commercial development of the technology is also restrained by patents held by Eastman Kodak and other firms, requiring other companies to acquire a license. In the past, many display technologies have become widespread only after the patents have expired; a classic example is the aperture grille CRT.”