Samsung drops jaws with 40-inch 1080p OLED display

Anyone who figured OLED would go the way of SED has another thing comin', and Samsung's got the prototype to prove it. Over at the OLED-heavy FPD International 2008 show, Samsung is showcasing the biggest panel (of this nature) that its pilot line can even create: a 40-inch Full HD OLED display. 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of delicious OLED goodness, mixed with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, a color gamut of 107% NTSC, a luminance of 200cd/m2 and a thickness of just 8.9-millimeters. Judging by first hand reports, the actual quality wasn't top-notch, but we're willing to forgive the early glitches in hopes of a better tomorrow. Hit the read link for one more look.

[Via OLED-Display]

[xCrunk Posted Oct 30th 2008 10:31AM]

Wow...that's awesome. How much you guys think this thing costs? $20,000?

Maybe I can hang onto my circa 2005 SONY 720P RPTV till these things become feasible.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 30th 2008 12:28PM]

$20,000 if you're lucky. And for now Plasma still remains king, but I have high hopes for OLED in the next 10 years or so. Plasma was a different story even 5 years ago, but now it rules the roost. Hopefully OLED will do a similar thing.

[tylersmyler Posted Oct 31st 2008 12:25AM]

ummm don't you mean LCD?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 31st 2008 10:10AM]

Ummmm, no, of course I didn't mean LCD. Sure LCD is king of the hill in sales, but I was talking about picture quality, and Plasma reigns supreme in that arena. I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge these days.

If you'd like some unbiased information on LCD vs. Plasma, feel free to read Home Theater magazines 2008 HDTV faceoff. You'll notice the KURO and the VIERA take #1 and #2 spots.

So yes, Plasma remains king of the HDTV hill until OLED becomes affordable.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 30th 2008 12:44PM]

Not to cast a shadow on your blog, Darren, but I'm trying to understand how 1080p OLED technology with an insane contrast ratio can be anything but top notch. I thought OLED was the second coming in flatscreen technology...at least until Laser TV and 1440p become mainstream, lol.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 30th 2008 1:54PM]

Contrast ratio, while very important, is not the only thing that governs how good the picture looks on an HDTV. There's also accurate color reproduction, black levels, etc. And who knows how they got that contrast ratio spec. Most contrast ratios are misrepresented anyway.

My point is that just because a spec sheet says 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 1080p, doesn't mean it's the ultimate TV.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 31st 2008 12:12AM]

OLED by is nature has superb contrast, since a "black" pixel is literally switched off. There's no backlight to block off, the pixel simply stops emitting light...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 31st 2008 7:19AM]

"a color gamut of 107% NTSC" why would anyone care about this? I'd much rather focus on the ATSC color gamut which is used in HDTV. What percentage of the ATSC color gamut is available on this unit?

Oh, wait, I forgot that EngadgetHDlite only cares about things non-HD. Like the HDlite color gamut.