LG entering OLED-TV market

The OLED TV market is ever so slowly heating up with the announcement from LG that it will launch a 15-inch OLED TV in the Korean market at the end of the year. LG first revealed a prototype 15-inch OLED TV at CES 2009 in January where it impressed with the incredible contrast and 0.8mm thin profile that OLED technology provides.

The as yet unnamed TV will boast a larger screen size than Sony’s 11-inch XEL-1. However, with no further details just yet, we can only hope it offers a picture quality and contrast comparable to the XEL-1’s 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Speaking to OLED-Info.com, the LG Display’s OLED sales and marketing VP, Mr Won Kim, said he expects OLED to supersede LCD, but not for a while. LG’s intentions regarding OLED have been a little unclear with earlier reports suggesting LG didn’t want to release the prototype OLED as a ‘luxury’ item like the XEL-1 and that it would wait until it found someone willing to put the displays into laptops before beginning production.

Even stranger is the fact that LG is producing OLED displays for mobile phones, but currently no LG branded phones use them. Kim says this is because of cost and the inability of the technology to offer resolutions above 230ppi. Although Kim went did go on to say that, “our phone division is mulling over OLEDs in every aspects.”

It appears LG have a rough price in mind for the now OLED TV with Amitabh Tiwari of LG saying, “LED-backlit displays might be 1.6 times the cost of present generation LCDs, whereas OLEDs might cost 2.1 times the price of an LCD.” Still a little on the steep side, but finally seeing some competition in the still very limited OLED TV market will hopefully see some movement on prices.

The 15-inch OLED TVs from LG are expected to be available in Korea between December 2009 and January 2010, followed by a global release.

Via OLED-Info.com / Engadget.