August 2008 OLED Pricing and Trends

Consumer TV/Computer OLED Screens are still a ways away.

The largest in-production LCD is from Sony, the XEL-11, an 11" Display, which retails at the Sony Store in Canada for $2500. I believe the pricing in the USA is similar. It is also a Widescreen 11", so that means that it has even less screen area than a 4:3 TV of the same 11".

Toshiba announced in April-ish of 2008 that they'll have a 30" OLED TV by 2009, but shelved that plan later in the year, deciding to focus more on their SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) technology, which is hitting snags still too. I'll put up a comparison article between the two techs shortly. SED is unfortunately rather proprietary, with most of the work being done by Canon and Toshiba working together.

OLEDs as small displays are increasing in popularity and production. From what I've read around the internets, OLED yields are rather low. Think about it, a batch with a small imperfection could ruin a large display, but could still produce many small displays. Many users with OLEDs in their cell phones are indeed extremely happy with their brightness. Another advantage with smaller displays (like those in cell phones, and perhaps in the future in TV remote controls or as external displays for laptops or PCs) is that they're not on all of the time. OLEDs are still suffering from short lifespans, but I figure the tech will one day overcome this issue.

Sony's TV has a lifespan of about 30 000 hours, compared to LCDs which usually are 50 000 hours+. Toshiba and Panasonic have announced that they have been able to double this lifespan, but we already know about Toshiba's lack of interest in commericalized OLED in the short term.