It seems like an eternity since Sony's 11-inch XEL-1 OLED TV was released and despite a plethora of prototypes, no other model has hit the consumer market. Until December 2009 according to an interview with Won Kim, LG's vice president of OLED sales and marketing. That's when LG will begin shipping its 15-inch OLED TV which has 1, 000, 000:1 contrast ratio, 1366 x 768 resolution and a 30, 000 shelf life. The OLED set will first launch in Korea and hopefully other markets will follow.
Seiko Epson says it will pump out bigscreen OLED TVs by 2015 due to ink-jet innovation
Seiko Epson has claimed to have made an advance in ink-jet technology that enabled the company to mass produce OLED TVs by the middle of next decade. That's a few years off, but Seiko plans to show off a 14-inch OLED display at the Society for Information Display conference in San Antonio next week. The display is said to reproduce the resolution density found in a typical 37-inch plasma or LCD display.
So how does this supposed technical advance work? Seiko says it has found a way to use ink-jets to evenly deposit the organic material that provides the lighting for OLEDs. Previously that wasn't possible, leading to ink-jet-produced OLEDs that produced uneven pictures. The company says that it plans to begin producing ink-jet OLEDs in sample scale beginning in 2012 followed by large-screen mass production around 2015.
Panasonic, Sumitomo team up for 40-inch OLED panel in 2010
We heard last May that Japan's Sumitomo was looking for possible partners to create a 40-inch OLED panel using technology it had created. Finally, one year later, the chemical company has reportedly teamed up with Panasonic to do just that. By combining resources the two companies believe that a 40-inch OLED panel--not necessarily a TV--could be a reality by Panasonic's fiscal 2010. Let's not hold our breath though. Since Sony released the 11-inch XEL-1 to global fanfare at the end of 2007 we've heard promise after promise of bigger and better OLED TVs. So far nothing has come to fruition. The latest claims? Wasn't it Panasonic that said just days ago that it would have a 37-inch OLED TV on the market within 18 months? Confusing, confusing...
Panasonic debuting a 37-inch OLED TV in next 18 months? Yeah right.
Despite early promises of an OLED TV from Panasonic, a commercially available set never materialized. According to Panasonic that's because the company wasn't happy with the current lifespan of OLED technology. However, the company is confident that new technology in development will allow it to extend the current 30, 000 lifespan of Sony's XEL-1 to at least 50, 000 hours. Using a newly developed metal membrane that can move light more efficiently, Panasonic has reached lifespans of more than 60, 000 hours with some of its plasma TVs. If things keep going at this rate, Panasonic, in collaboration with Toshiba, could release a 37-inch OLED TV in the next 18 to 24 months. We'll believe it when we see it.
Who knows if this is actually true, but apparently this 23-inch OLED TV from Sony will be available--yes, to actually buy--sometime in 2010. At 1.6 centimeters thin, it seems like Sony opted to build the tuner into the set rather than supply it as an external component like the XEL-1. Other known specs include 2, 000, 000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI and DVI inputs, and 40% less energy consumption that a similar-sized LCD monitor. No actually availability dates have been mentioned, nor has there been any mention of price, but we'll keep our eyes open.
Philips, not particularly known for success in HDTV circles, has decided to scrap entering the OLED TV market and opted to debut an OLED wall instead. The wall, which can only be described by the above video, displays shadows of objects in front of it. Definitely looks like something that would be loads of fun at a bar or drunken wedding reception.
It's interesting that while the OLED TV market is moving pretty slowly--the only commercially available model is the Sony XEL-1 and the rest are prototypes like Sony's recently unveiled 21-inch model--OLED displays are becoming very popular in smaller, mobile devices and now...walls.
Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV finally comes to Australia, costs a bit
Finally, after what seems like an eternity after the first consumer-ready OLED TV, the Sony XEL-1, launched, Australia has finally got it. Well almost. Expected to launch in mid-April, the Sony XEL-1 with its 11-inch OLED display, 1, 000, 000:1 contrast ratio, 960 x 540 pixel resolution, and a thinnest point of 3 millimeters, is said to be priced AU$6000 and AU$8000. I think it's fair to say it won't be competing on price, but then again it's the only OLED TV out there, so what the hey.
Chi Mei EL's Got A 1 Millimeter Thin, 25-Inch OLED Panel
A 1 millimeter thin OLED panel measuring in at 25 inches? Oh yes, we'd love to see that in TV form. Taiwan's Chi Mei EL has the panel part figured out, showing off the OLED panel with 1366 x 768 native resolution and 16.7 million colors at the FPD International expo in Japan. Okay, so it's not 40-inches, nor 1080p like Samsung's recent prototype but it's nice to see some new names competing in the OLED TV space. A CMEL OLED TV next year maybe?
While there's been talk of Samsung rolling out a commercially available OLED TV in 2009, it'll supposedly be a 14-inch panel. However, that doesn't mean Samsung hasn't continued tweaking the technology for larger displays down the road. Today Samsung SDI pulled a 40-inch prototype out of its corporate hat with 1080p resolution and a claimed 1, 000, 000:1 contrast ratio, of course in part due to self-luminating LED's. Way back in 2005, Samsung was showing a 40-inch OLED prototype but at that time all's the company could muster was 1280 x 800 pixels and by today's standards, a horrible 5, 000:1 contrast ratio.
Right now we're left to dream though, as there of course is no shipping date for the new prototype if it ever hits shelves. But we're looking forward to CES 2009, where we're sure Samsung will be showing off next year's OLED TV release should there be one.
Is Samsung Set To Release A 14-Inch OLED TV In 2009?
Across the pond in Korea, Samsung and LG Display are pulling out all the stops at the International Meeting on Information Display conference that kicked off yesterday. Samsung is busy showing off a 7.9 millimeter thin 42-inch LCD TV as well as a 52-inch LCD display only 9.8 millimeters thin. Meanwhile LG continues on the path toward a 2011 deadline for mass OLED TV production, rolling out a 19-inch OLED panel driven by amorphous Si TFT. Unfortunately Samsung is still carting around the same 31-inch OLED TV they've been talking up since CES back in January, however they also had a 14-inch OLED display on tap. If we recall correctly, wasn't Samsung saying a while back they'd be rolling out a 14-inch OLED TV in 2009?
Sony Shows Off Its 0.3 Millimeter-Thin OLED TV At CEATEC
It's been showcased at a few conferences this year, but it doesn't hurt to once more behold Sony's 0.3 millimeter thin OLED TV (at its thinnest part). This picture, taken at the ongoing CEATEC conference in Japan shows the fantastically thin television, that is identical to the XEL-1 aside from its dimensions.
Matsushita, AKA Panasonic Corporation, Mass Producing 40-Inch OLED TV's By 2011?
We're totally not surprised to see another bigscreen OLED TV rumor making its way across the world with the help of Japanese rag Nikkei Daily. Only a month after Panasonic denied rumors that they would begin pumping out 37-inch OLED TV's within three years, Matsushita (parent company of Panasonic, soon to be renamed Panasonic Corporation) is apparently set to test produce 40-inch OLED displays starting early next year, with mass production planned for 2011. The company has invested somewhere around $2.8 billion in the production plant which will mainly produce LCD displays, most likely raising part of the money from the Japanese government whom earlier this month stepped in to hasten the development of OLED technologies. Matsushita has declined to comment on the rumor in any detail so far, only verifying that they are working on OLED technology at the rumored production plant.
World War III: Japanese OLED Makers Team Up With Government To Compete With Korea
Over in Japan there's no messing around with the future of OLED TV. Last week a flurry of Japanese OLED panel manufacturers including Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sumitomo Chemical, Dainippon Screen, Shimadzu, and Hitachi Zosen formed a coalition with the country's government to develop key technologies needed to make large next-gen displays while at the same time cutting manufacturing costs. The company's have teamed up in order to better compete with Korean manufacturers such as LG and Samsung who both look to be big players in the future OLED market. The Japanese government will pitch in slightly less than US$33 million to the massive project which is set to run through 2012.
Sony: 27-Inch OLED TV's "Awfully Close" To Release
A couple days back at a dinner with reporters and industry analysts in San Francisco, Sony Electronics president and COO Stan Glasgow spilled all kinds of juicy details regarding the goings-on inside the company's home theater business. Perhaps most interesting was Glasgow's comment that Sony's 27-inch OLED TV is "awfully close" to becoming available commercially. First unveiled at CES back in January, the 27-inch OLED TV will be the successor to the 11-inch XEL-1, the world's first commercially available OLED television. The 27-incher is expected to be followed by a 40-inch model which will be impressive, but first Sony has to find ways to better automate OLED panel production, currently very labor intensive. With their recent $210 million investment into OLED production, we're sure this won't be an issue for too much longer.
OLED TV's weren't the only topics of interest discussed though. Here's a few more tidbits from Glasgow:
90% of Sony's products will be wired or wireless by 2010
Expect more video services for Bravia LCD TV's by 2010
In the standalone Blu-ray player market, Sony has a 46% market share in units and 44% market share in dollars without the PS3. With the PS3 included, the company's Blu-ray market share sits somewhere between 95%-98%
Will Smith's Hancock will be offered up on Bravia TV's via the new Bravia Internet Video Link before it is released on DVD
Sony says they are increasing production of Blu-ray players to meet demand and are having no problems acquiring parts
To really see the difference between a Blu-ray disc and upconverted DVD you need a screen size of at least 40 inches, only improving as the screen size increases
LG shipping 15-inch OLED TV in December 2009
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