Samsung To Show 31” OLED TV

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 12/27/2007 9:32:00 AM

Seoul, South Korea — Samsung SDI, the display screen manufacturing unit of Samsung Electronics, plans to show a prototype 31-inch ultra-thin OLED screen at International CES, Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, according to a Reuters report.

The announcement came as Sony began selling an 11-inch OLED-based TV in Japan.

The Samsung SDI 31-inch OLED screen measures 4.3 mm thick, and consumes less than half the electricity needed for a 32-inch LCD screen, the company said.

The panel’s lifespan was said to be 35,000 hours, which is among the best existing active-matrix OLEDs.

Active-matrix OLED displays produce brighter images with higher contrast ratios than today’s LCD panels. They also allow nearly paper-thin panel depths and consume less power.

However, the technology is difficult to produce in larger (TV size) panel dimensions and in the early stages at least is expensive to produce compared to LCD and plasma screens.

Samsung SDI officials did not say when their 31-inch OLED screen would be ready for mass production.

Reuters reported Samsung SDI is also planning to mass-produce 14-inch screens in 2008, according to Yoo Eui-jin, head of Samsung SDI's AM-OLED team.