OLED materials emit light when electrical current is applied, and do not require a backlight or a filter system like the one used in LCDs. Up until today OLEDs were used only for small displays such as the ones used in MP3 players or mobile phones.
So first of all, the XEL-1 is a small television inded. 11-inch in fact. It is just 3mm thin (now that is really thin!), and has 960×540 resolution. The contrast ratio is an amazing 1,000,000:1. The OLED TV also includes a terrestrial digital tuner, speakers, HDMI, USB and Ethernet jacks. It weights 2kg.
The picture quality on the XEL-1 is awesome. The reviews are raving – the colors are crisp, the refresh rate is fast, and the contrast is amazing. Indeed the blacks are really blacks – unlike the ‘gray’ we are used to see on LCDs. The picture on an OLED TV simply looks good!
The XEL-1 is very pricey. When it was first introduced in Japan it went for around 2,000$. The US version is priced at 2,500$. In the beginning of 2009 Sony started to distribute the TV in Europe as well, for around 5,000$. Sony do not expect their OLED TV to be sold in large numbers (in fact they are only making arond a thousand in a month). This is more of an available prototype and technology demonstration. In fact it is said that Sony started to sell this TV just to show that they are still innovative (after being late to the LCD/PDP game).
Sony are already working on newer versions of the TV. They plan to launch a larger version at 27″ (XEL-2?), and are also making it thinner, too. Their latest screens prototypes are less than a millimeter thick. OLEDs can also be made flexible, and Sony say they will work on such screens – foldable book readers might be a hit in a few years.
Other companies are also working on similar devices – Samsung has shown several OLED TV prototypes, including a HD 42″ set and LG can already make 15″ OLED screens. Panasonic, Toshiba and CMEL have active OLED TV research program. Sony sure made a big bet when they announced the XEL-1, and so far they are seen as OLED leaders.
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