First Glimpses of LG OLED Display Impress

By Nick Mokey January 9, 2009

First Glimpses of LG OLED Display Impress

First off: There were no new commercial OLEDs displays being unveiled at CES. I know, we’re disappointed too. Despite giving the industry an entire year to catch up, Sony remains the only manufacturer with a commercial OLED television set available to buy right now.

That said, there are still some impressive demos out there. Having drooled over Samsung and Sony screens last year, I wanted to check out LG’s freshman effort in the new technology. Not surprisingly, the company’s concepts hit it out of the park.

Right now, the company is only showcasing one OLED display: a 15-inch model it has pinned up to panes of glass to showcase how stunningly thin these screens can really get. How thin? Just 0.85mm. Given a quick glance, the image almost appears to be embedded in the glass or expertly projected onto its surface somehow. It’s an impressive effect, for sure.

As with other OLED displays, LG’s truly shines in viewing angle and color reproduction. Still images look so good from all angles that you may be tempted to think it’s not a TV at all but an illuminated piece of signage, and colors looked so vibrant and spot on that tomatoes looked as if they were sitting right there on the other side of the glass. Although the models in question only had 720p resolution, packing that many pixels into such a tiny display creates an incredibly tight pixel density, and even with your eyes just inches away from the screen it’s virtually impossible to pick out individual pixels.

LG reps wouldn’t pin down an exact launch date (“Maybe next year… if not that then the year after that…”), and of course price remains a giant question mark, but I suspect consumers will be waiting for these screens with cash in hand when LG kicks production into gear.

Editors' Recommendations

Managing Editor

As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…

Computing

IPS vs. VA displays: Which is best for your monitor or TV?

Product image of the Viotek GFI27DBXA 27-inch 180Hz gaming monitor

IPS and VA displays are two of the most common and enduring LCD display types, with years of use in cutting-edge monitors and televisions, and they're still competing with the likes of modern OLED displays today. They've been enhanced over the years, with the latest generations of Mini-LED backlighting helping LCDs remain competitive and outputting incredible brightness and contrast, with faster refresh rates and response times than ever before.

But if you're looking to buy one of these more-traditional display types, with an In-plane switching (or IPS) or Vertical Alignment (or VA) TV or monitor, which should you pick? There are advantages and disadvantages to each, so let's take a closer look at them both to see which might be right for you.
Color accuracy and coverage

Audio / Video

LG soundbars are ridiculously cheap at Best Buy today

The LG S90QY soundbar in the living room.

Grabbing a soundbar deal is the simplest way of upgrading your home theater setup's audio output, and if you're thinking about it, you may want to check out the LG soundbars that are on sale from Best Buy. The LG S65Q 3.1-channel soundbar is down to just $200 from $350 following a $150 discount, while the LG S90QY 5.1.3-channel soundbar is discounted to $412 from $800 for savings of $388. We're not sure how much time is remaining before these offers expire, so if you're no longer satisfied with the sounds in your living room, you should hurry with your purchase because these bargains on soundbars may be gone by tomorrow.
LG S65Q 3.1-channel soundbar

LG S90QY 5.1.3-channel soundbar

Audio / Video

The 6 best OLED TVs for 2024

A toucan shown on an LG G3.

Chances are, if you've been on the search for a new TV you've come across a wall of big, beautiful options at your local Best Buy slapped with the acronym "OLED" on their labels. If so, you've got a good eye, because OLED TVs are the cream of the crop when it comes to picture-perfect panels.

But what is an OLED and why should you want one? The main idea behind OLED (which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diodes) engineering is the complete absence of traditional LED backlighting, like you’d find on today’s leading QLED sets. Instead, the individual pixels on an OLED screen are completely self-emissive, meaning that they produce their own light instead of being back-lit like in TVs such as QLEDs, OLEDs main rival. This also means that each pixel has the ability to be completely turned off, producing pure, inky black levels that deliver incredible contrast, and stunning images.