New Wave For Flat Screen TVs – and I Mean Flat

We may not make a regular habit of discussing television technology here on PCMech, but we are all about cool technology and helping you get the most out of it. And what’s coming in the world of flat screen televisions is exciting and is sure to affect the world of computers, too.

Plasma TVs are so yesterday. And rear projection has long been dead. LCD televisions are still popular, but what’s coming is sure to put the LCD out of business.

It is called organic light-emitting diodes, or OLED. It uses a very thin layer of organic material which emits light when electricity passes through it. This means that no backlighting is required. And that means it can be extremely thin and flexible. It is also more environmentally friendly, brighter, and cheaper to build.

Sony created one of the first flexible OLED screens and this video shows it:

And here is a quick video of Veronica Belmont showing the Sony prototype of a 27″ OLED television which is the width of 3 credit cards:

The only available model right now is the Sony model XEL-1, which measures 11 inches and costs $2500. Why anybody would buy one right now, I don’t know. It is obviously a proof-of-concept type of product and not something that is really yet meant for primetime.

Where could this technology lead us? Well imagine a television on your wall which barely protrudes from your wall at all. Imagine full-color screens literally built into the walls. Or full color screens on small electronics or even on the windshield of your car. We’ve already seen OLED used on some cell phone models

We have a few years left before we’re going to see OLED televisions come down to the prices of LCD televisions today. Many LCD manufacturers are probably going to keep the prices high for a while longer since LCD sales have been so strong. But, its just a matter of time.

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hitchface
I, for one, am incredibly stoked for OLED. This is the dawn of the “screens are everywhere” age.
Drew
This is kind of old news really… Sony unveiled their rganic technology almost 18 months ago! I believe the SONY store at International Plaza has an 8″ organic screen on display if I’m not mistaken.
“Plasma TVs are so yesterday. And rear projection has long been dead. LCD televisions are still popular, but what’s coming is sure to put the LCD out of business.”
Actually, tube/CRT TV’s are yesterday, rear-projection is still alive to an extent, for those wanting a flatscreen with over 65″ of screenspace they’ve got DLP, LCD’s are not going to be put out of business anytime soon and plasma’s aren’t anywhere near yesterday.
Sure, I may be biased partially as I sell them, but being in the industry I also know what’s out there. Plasma technology is still better than LCD and therefore a better TV. LCD TV’s are going to be around for as long as they can be used as computer screens and/or gaming TV’s and they are far from becoming obsolete anytime soon.
And as far as LCD prices are concerned, they aren’t high anymore. Nowhere near as high as 2-3 years ago. They’ve come down dramatically in price and are actually much better than their predecessors. A 1080p TV now costs much less than a 1080i TV did a few years ago.
Organic technology is more than likely going to become a competitor of LCD’s and plasma’s but it surely won’t put them out of business. At least not anytime too soon. Just like the desktop computer is far from obsolete.
There’s a long way to go before that happens.