The newest TV technology on the market today is OLED, which stands for “organic light-emitting diode”. This technology uses a thin layer of an organic compound that emits light in response to an electric current.
One of the key functional features of OLED displays that makes it different than other TV technology is that OLED displays work without a backlight, allowing it to achieve a higher contrast ratio and display deeper black levels.
OLED displays are thinner (one of the models currently on the market boasts a thickness of only 4 mm, and prototypes are even less!) and lighter than liquid crystal displays (LCD’s), have a faster refresh rate, and don’t use a lot of power in proportion to the amount of light produced. Viewing angle is also significantly improved with OLED displays, almost up to 180 degrees. Reports from people who have gotten to view these displays in person in a dark room have said that it’s not just like a better TV- it is like a whole new experience. With the lights off, images on the screen seem to float in space because the black levels are so deep and the high contrast makes the colors so vivid.
There are only a few OLED TV’s currently on the market, and they are still out of price range for most buyers. For example, in January 2013, LG announced that their 55” OLED TV, weighing only 3.5kg and only 4mm thick, will be coming to the US soon for $12,000. There are also limits to current OLED technology, like for example the fact that the current size limitation is about 55 or 56 inches. However, over time, prices will slowly drop as the manufacturing process required for OLED displays is scaled up, and more applications of the display technology are realized.
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