OLED TVs – Are They Ever Going to Get Here?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, Central Coast, California on 10.10.08
Sony's 11" OLED TVs on display. Photo via Ed Kohler
With so many people buying new TVs for the switch to digital, it’ll be awhile before a big chunk of the population really needs a new TV. That should provide us with a little patience when it comes to getting better TVs.
But in a flash of Generation Now spirit, we’re wondering where on Earth are our OLED TVs – the greener boob-tube option that seemed just over the horizon a year ago? Apparently there are a number of issues that stand in the way.
The technology for excellent OLED screens is definitely here - for smaller versions. But scaling the screens up to TV size is proving sluggish.
This year at CEATEC, Sony showed off new super slim OLED TV that is a boost up from those they displayed at last year’s gathering. But the folks running the booth had lackluster feelings about seeing these on the market any time soon.
A Tech On writer went to CEATEC and reports:
In spite of all this, Panasonic and other manufacturers aiming to commercialize OLED TVs did not have any OELD-related exhibits. And I heard many of the display engineers I met at the show say, "I don't feel the same impact that I felt last year." I suppose such an impression stemmed from their disappointment that they could not see any progress toward larger OLED TV products this year.
Anyone else feel a bit deflated?
Standing in the way is a laundry list of problems – variations among driver devices, the notion that OLEDs won’t be able to outpace the quickly advancing improvements on LCD TVs and so won’t faire well as competition, and more.
It looks like the science behind OLED TVs is struggling, and their appearance at the party is questionable.
Via Tech On
More on OLED Screens:
OLED Screen with World's Longest Lifetime and Best Efficiency by TMDisplay
OLED Breakthrough at U. of Michigan and Princeton: 70 Lumens/Watt!
Competition for LCD: Better Image, A Lot Less Power
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- How to Find Green Energy Anywhere
- 9 "Green" Gadgets of Questionable Repute
- Five Ways to Make Money with Green Technology
- We Want Renewable Energy & Green Jobs Too: Native American Groups Tell Obama
Dell’s Free Computer Recycling Expanded to Virginia, Wash D.C.
|
Move Over Dongtan - Tianjin "Eco-City" Breaks Ground
|
LED backlit LCDs are going to be it for a while. Then they'll move to SED or laser backlit screens or something.
That Sony is $2,500 for an 11" screen. It uses 34 Watts which isn't great either. An 11" LCD would probably be about 12 Watts. If they made the small LCDs with the same PVA/MVA/IPS tech as the larger models, the choice would be easier still.
Don't we sad. It takes time for new methods and technologies to catch up to long-standing ones, and speed of development is inherently unpredictable. We can't say when OLED TV's will get here, but we do know that they will.
Example: Look at the solar PV industry. Any engineer can tell you that silicon, because of its indirect band gap, is a really bad absorber & emitter of light. But we understand silicon REALLY well, having invested many, many billions of dollars engineering it to make computers and other cool electronic stuff. So it's tough for other (theoretically better) materials to compete.
I have to agree about the LED backlit LCD comment.
Unfortunately, the amount of time and money it's going to take for consumer ready OLED models will delay acceptance of this technology for at least a couple more years.
There's always SED TV and FED TV waiting for their turn in the spotlight...