LG Electronics has announced it will show off some new (and old) models of OLED TVs in the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2014, in a push to reinvigorate the stalled next-gen screen technology. However, the most important part of LG's announcement is not something you'll see on the showroom floor in Las Vegas next week.
The South Korean electronics manufacturer said in a release on Thursday that, come January 7-10 at CES, it would "present the most comprehensive OLED TV lineup on the planet."
OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens are not a brand new technology, having been hyped for years as the successor to the LED (Light Emitting Diode) flat-screen LCD displays that are now ubiquitous in TVs and computers.
Offering technical advantages like better darks, contrast ratios, and viewing angles, as well as offering the possibility of TVs that are lighter-weight, less power-hungry, and curved, OLEDs haven't taken off, despite a couple of examples being on the market already.
They're just prohibitively expensive - and the hype has recently been more focused on 4K video-capable LEDs.
LG will attempt to re-ignite the OLED flame next week, showing off two previously seen OLED sets, along with a range of new, second generation OLEDs.
For one, visitors to CES can expect to become (re-) acquainted with LG's massive 77-inch curved 4K OLED (77EC9800), which was first shown at IFA Berlin, where it won the "Best of Innovations" award. Another first generation OLED on display will be the 55EA8800, a 55-inch flatscreen OLED with standard 1080p resolution. This was also at IFA in early fall, winning an Innovations Award as well. The claim to fame for this concept model is that it features a "Gallery Mode," which turns the TV into a picture frame for displaying art, making "an average living room feel like an actual art gallery," according to LG's release.
LG has disclosed less information about the new OLEDs headed to Las Vegas, though according to CNET, they will include a next-generation version of LG's only OLED on the market: a 55-inch, curved, 1080p set - one that is made of more recyclable materials and fewer parts than the previous model. LG also hints at some new models of 55-inch and 65-inch OLED TVs, with various configurations of 4K and 1080p resolutions, 30p and 60p, and different curvatures -along with undoubtedly different price points.
Speaking of price, there's not much hope for any OLED TVs this year to be priced anywhere in the ballpark of comparable LEDs, much less at a mainstream level, but LG disclosed an encouraging bit of information in its CES teaser. The company is currently establishing new production bases in several countries, including Brazil, Poland, China and Thailand, and an "advanced facility" in Mexico is beginning production of LG OLED TVs for markets in North America this year.
Putting that much investment towards OLED technology, in the hopes of jumping into the market early, might hint that LG expects the still-expensive screen technology to start coming down in price soon.