OLED technology is closer to retail than we think
Sure, Panasonic has been all the talk with its jaw-dropping 150" Plasma screen and Mitsubishi has been touting the re-birth of DLP with its Laser TVs, but are these CES demos really the future? The feasibility of wall-sized plasmas and thicker DLP screens make these displays seem to be merely headline catchers.
Samsung on the other hand are keeping it real(ish). Amid its arsenal of TVs at CES are two OLED screens in 14" and 31" models. The 31" model pictured below is an AM-OLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode technology) screen that simply trumps most screens on the market today.
It'll consume half the power of a modern TV whilst providing a 1080p picture, a 1 million to one contrast ratio, truly deep blacks and eye-popping colours. CES has been somewhat of a contest for "World's thinnest TV" and this Samsung OLED measures in at a mere 4.3mm thick. Not the thinnest on show at CES, but thinner than any LCDs on the market today. As well as thin, the OLED TVs weigh some 40% less than LCDs of the same size.
Despite difficulties in creating large OLED displays, Samsung are hoping to begin commercial production of mid-to-large size OLED screens in 2010. By doing so, we could see the successor to LCD sooner than we'd thought. After all, Sony has already managed to bring a small and pricey OLED to the market.
