TORONTO – Today’s average 55-inch TVs are impressively thin, especially considering how much TV technology has changed over the last 10 years. But nothing holds a candle to LG Display’s latest prototype – an extremely thin OLED display that sticks to your wall with a magnetic mat.
The screen measures 55 inches diagonally and weighs 4.2 pounds, but it’s less than a millimetre thick. To be exact, it’s 0.97 millimetres (or 0.04 inches) thin.
The display, which was unveiled during a media event in Korea earlier this week, has already been nicknamed the “wallpaper” TV.
While the device is only a proof-of-concept – meaning you won’t be able to stick it to your wall any time soon – it shows LG’s continued push into the world of OLED technology.
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays have become a big trend for TV manufacturers, as the technology is widely seen as the next step in high-definition video from LED TVs.
“Unlike traditional, synthetic LEDs (light-emitting diodes), OLED uses an organic substance that glows when an electric current is introduced,” according to LG’s website.
“The light passes through a combination of filters to reproduce spectacular high-definition images.”
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That means, unlike LED or LCD TVs, OLED panels do not need a backlight, allowing the displays to be incredibly thin and light, paving the way for new designs, such as curved TVs.
OLED TVs aren’t new – in late 2007, Sony started selling an 11-inch OLED TV for about US$2,500, but never came out with a bigger model. Samsung also has OLED models on the market.
But, as with all new innovations, the technology comes at a high price for both manufacturers and consumers. You can pick up a 55-inch curved LG OLED smart TV for $4,999.99 on Best Buy Canada’s website.
Alongside the unveiling of the so-called “wallpaper” TV, LG Display also announced this week that it would focus its display strategy on OLED – the head of the company’s OLED business unit, Sang-Deog Yeo, called the technology “groundbreaking” for the industry.
The company said it expects to sell 600,000 OLED TV panels this year and 1.5 million next year.
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