The Pros and Cons of OLED Displays

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23515' target='_blank'>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23515</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Well, if the techies are to be believed, OLEDs are the way forward for little and big screen deployment. OLED displays are made up of organic light emitting polymers which light up themselves when a current is passed through. Unlike LCD panels, there's no backlight needed. In general, OLEDs deliver brighter images, higher contrast ratios, wider viewing angles and, without the need for a backlight, require less power to run. This makes them ideal for phones, notebooks etc. But we are here to talk about big screens that will be plugged in so forget power savings. Even better, OLEDs will allow for even thinner screens - around three centimetres - and are cheaper to produce than LCDs because they use less materials and the polymers can be "printed" onto plastic or glass sheets using a process similar to inkjet printing. Theoretically, they will be cheaper to produce and so should be cheaper to buy."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Samsung_OLED.jpg" /> <br /><br />Much of what we really know about OLED is marketing speak, but I truly think that in the long run, OLED will be the choice of the future. Of course thanks to this article, I now know OLED TV's can rot.<br /><br />Yikes! :drinking:

[Felix Torres]

OLED=Organic-Light-Emitting-Diodes

If its organic, it can degrade and "rot".
But so can LCDs, which also rely on organic chemicals.
(that's why they're so temperature-sensitive.)

The real question is how long the display can last.
CRTs are 10-20 year devices; notebook LCDs seem to be good for at least eight years, probably more.
Plamas seem to be 4-6 year devices although the newer models are supposed to be better.
OLEDs?
TBD.

Long term, the real value of OLEDs will likely lie in their ability to run on non-glass substrates, which makes them lighter and more rugged.
If you look at LCDs and Plasma displays, the bulk of their weight is the glass panels and the need to protect those panels.
A non-glass OLED display could likely drop a third or more of the weight of an LCD display. But, except for portable devices, that may not matter...

So no, OLED domination is no sure thing.
But the tech has a chance because it is *theoretically* cheap to manufacture.

But so far, nobody has actually built a cheap OLED display yet... ;-)

[Jerry Raia]

I had an old Motorola Startac that had an OLED display. It only had a couple colors though. I wonder why they never came out with another one.