Every so often, we see a
writeup pitting whatever the hottest display technologies at the time are
against one another, and sure enough, CES 2008 lit a fire under the folks at
Sound & Vision and out came the latest shootout. This particular one highlights OLED, LCD and plasma, and doesn't hesitate to point out that
SED isn't included because it simply "seems DOA," while the
Laser TV was dissed for still relying on rear-projection design. Ready to check out the strengths, weaknesses and domination potential for each of the three? Hit up the read link -- and be sure to dodge those stray punches.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
massive_98 @ Jan 27th 2008 5:44PM
OLED gets my vote once they make it wall mountable. Until then I'll stick with my bravia lcd. I'm also a bit of enviromentalist so its nice to see a eco friendly option (OLED).
And with Sony and Samsung (my two favourite manufacturers) leading the OLED charge, theres lots to be excited for.
Samuel.N.Woods @ Jan 27th 2008 5:54PM
The main problem with OLED is lifespan, specifically the lifespan of the blue organic compounds that are used. Otherwise (at least in theory) its superior in cost, potential size, image quality of every kind, and viewing angles over LCD.
If OLEDs become affordable enough and the yields increase it should be able to become the new CRT.
primo @ Jan 31st 2008 4:07AM
OLED does not cost as much as lcd or plasma to make for one thing. Comparing the methods of manufacturing, OLED is very inexpensive compared to the others. So with that fact alone the cost of OLED will be lower than LCD and plasma overall once facilities are up and making product for mass retail.
Prototype 20.8" OLED with 50000 hrs has been made in research phase so life span of oled dsplays one day will be moot.
Eco friendly, better pictures, less cost to manufacture over competitors, lightweight, superthin, cost savings on mass shipping worldwide, etc etc. Lots of advantages. OLED is the future of displays.
Godskitchen @ Jan 27th 2008 6:04PM
OLED now has a longer life span than LCD, there was an post on it here this week.
Its way above the others in picture but what will really sell it is the power it uses, very little. And we all know how important that is becoming.
massive_98 @ Jan 27th 2008 7:00PM
Lifespan or not, once the price comes down there are no disadvantages for OLED.
Deep blacks, razor thin screens, instant response times. Its no wonder the big guns are investing in this technology.
hemmy @ Jan 27th 2008 7:28PM
The blue components stopped being a problem long ago actually.
OLED is the best of the 3, by far. Go check out the XEL-1 in person if you can, it's nothing short of amazing. Small, yes, but no less impressive. In the next year or two we'll start to see desktop monitor sizes and above. And in some years after that, we'll be laughing at what LCDs where like, with their comedic "dynamic" contrast ratios of 3000:1 and speeds measured in milliseconds while OLEDs sport 1,000,000:1 contrast ratios, black levels comparable to CRTs and speeds so fast, they're measured in microseconds.
Yeah, I want one, badly :)
EQC @ Jan 27th 2008 8:40PM
OLED's *should* be low power. Sony's 11" model eats 45 Watts. You can easily find 20" LCD's in that power range -- that's an LCD with a constant back light and more than 2x the screen area. Once they get to the promised "low power" instead of bragging about it without delivering it, I'll be quite happy with OLED.
Also: it seems stupid to leave out laser TV. Not everybody cares about screen depth. If (yes, *if*) picture quality of a laser TV is superior to OLED, and the TV costs half as much, you can be damn sure I'll buy it even if it's 10" thick instead of 1" thick. Picture quality should come first (although if we were talking about a 600 pound 4-foot deep CRT, there'd be an issue for me).
EQC @ Jan 27th 2008 8:46PM
just a slight correction: a 20" LCD computer monitor (like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005085) eats 45 Watts just like Sony's 11" OLED TV. It's got nearly 4x the screen area (I said 2x before), but it does lack TV tuner hardware. Upgrading to a 20" LCD TV on NewEgg, I'm seeing around 60 Watts. But, again, that's almost 4x the screen real-estate for 30% more power on the LCD compared to the OLED. Even just assuming the TV hardware eats the 15 Watt difference, that puts an OLED 11" monitor at 30 Watts compared to 45 Watts for a 20" LCD monitor. Again, not power efficient by comparison.
I'm still waiting to truly see a low-power OLED...
Samuel.N.Woods @ Jan 27th 2008 8:54PM
Specifically, OLED CAN be low power, just like LCD can use less power than CRTs, whether this actually happens or not is up to manufacturers and relevant law though.
Thanks for telling me about that story Godskitchen and hemmy, its certainly not "long ago" even PHOLED was only 20,000 on blue..but I'm not going to make a big deal out of that.
HDpurist @ Jan 28th 2008 12:13AM
Pioneer Kuro Plasmas are out now.
No need to wait the next 10 years for OLED to play catchup with affordable 60" panels. We've watched LCD play catchup to Plasma and LCD is still junk to this day. OLED will be no doubt the best but it will take years before we see anything remotely affordable.
AG23 @ Jan 28th 2008 2:29PM
I would have to disagree with your comment about LCD being "junk". The XBR 4/5(which I have) as well as the Samsung 71 and 81 series rival the best plasmas(Kuro included)
GhostDoggy @ Jan 28th 2008 5:22AM
This would also be vs. SED if it were not for the RAMBUS-style attitudes of the SED patent holders. Great technology that will get thrown away by bad business decisions. Sounds like a political topic. :)
Laser-TV.org @ Feb 24th 2008 2:34AM
Laser TV is worth a mention, as it could be a very strong force in the display world. The demo at CES 2008 got rave reviews and there are rumors Mitsubishi is working to trim the current cabinet size for all you "size queens" out there. I'm not convinced OLED will ever be affordable with Kodak and others fighting over patent rights, and I believe the technology behind laser tv creates a superior picture.
http://laser-tv.org