OLED HDTV Prices

Just wanted to provide an update on Sony's offering of the first OLED TV in actual commercial production.

Although the retail pricing in North America is $2500, and that seemingly is the price everywhere, there is at least one seemingly reputable retailer on Ebay selling them at a deep discount.

Now, they are selling the Japanese model directly from Japan. The shipping cost is $121, but they're selling them for just $1899. This is quite a deal and discount.

Japanese TVs are NTSC, so it should work just fine with a North American TV, but an adapter may be required for those wanting to use PAL or SECAM inputs.

The downsides are that the instructions, menus and remote are all in Japanese, and the warranty is JAPAN-only. The retailer has stated that he/she will facilitate warranty service in Japan if required.

The device also has Ethernet and USB inputs, which is interesting, I do wonder what formats the USB player can play, knowing Sony's past dislike of more open standards (recall: the MiniDisc, MemorySticks, and their other digital music format I can't even remember the name of).

Luckily, the unit is rather lightweight and thin. The screen itself is apparently 3mm thick, but they do put that annoying base on it that makes the thing look a bit like those old overhead projectors. Clearly, this unit, though in commercial production is mainly for demonstration purposes.

Anyways, the Ebay link to the Sony Xel-1 retailer is here. I have zero connection to them, and I assume zero liability on anything and everything forever and ever.

Remember that there may be tax/duties on this item if you were to buy it, but it does seem to be the way to go if you want to buy one, but save yourself several hundred at the time.