What type of displays are characterized by self-illuminating pixels?

Self-illuminating pixels are a defining characteristic of OLED displays. In OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, each pixel emits its own light when an electrical current is applied, allowing for deep blacks and a wide color gamut. This self-illumination mechanism eliminates the need for a backlight, which is present in technologies such as LCD and LED, where the light source is separate from the pixels themselves. As a result, OLED displays can achieve higher contrast ratios and respond faster to light changes, leading to superior picture quality.

In contrast, LCDs rely on a backlight to illuminate the pixels, which means they cannot achieve true black levels. Similarly, while LED displays use light-emitting diodes as the backlight for LCDs, they are still fundamentally that—backlit displays rather than self-illuminating. Plasma displays use a different technology that involves gas-discharge cells, also not self-illuminating in the same manner as OLED. Thus, OLED stands out for its unique ability to manage and illuminate each pixel independently.