From the LG Austria press release:

LG Electronics (LG), a leading global supplier and technology leader in consumer electronics, brings to Austria a TV to the latest generation on the market. The only 3mm deep and 15 inches wide 15EL9500 is equipped with the latest OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diode) for total television experience of the future. With  sharp contrast from 10.000.000:1, a reaction time of 0.001 ms and an extremely low power consumption. This design and high-tech device comes in early May on the Austrian market.

“The OLED technology uses an organic material that can apply to very thin and even flexible surfaces. Therefore, the 15EL9500 is one of the slimmest TVs in our portfolio and is ideal for any trend-setter, “said Reinhard Huebner, Retail Marketing, LG Electronics Austria.

Elegant high-tech wonder

The 15EL9500 is HD Ready () 1366×768 pixels and impresses with its extremely sharp contrast of 10.000.000:1 – This is the highest value ever achieved by LG. This TV consumes one third less power than LCD TVs of the same size.

The TruMotion 100Hz technology, and the reaction time of 0.001 ms of 15EL9500 provide realistic image reproduction without delay. The organic light emitting diodes, there is no longer afterglow, so the LG OLED TV pur pleasure guaranteed. The USB 2.0 port of the TV plays HD DivX, MP3 and JPG data, and is easily a multimedia device for any living room. The sound is not to be underestimated: the sound system with Clear Voice2 provides the optimal sound experience for outstanding picture.

The LG is available 15EL9500 LG’s first OLED TV, and available in May 2010.

Translated from German with Google Translate.

They say that overseas sales will continue, but having tried to order one of these, there doesn’t seem to be too much inventory available. Full story exerpts below from Reuters.

“Sony said it had stopped production of ultra-thin TVs using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology for Japan, just a little over 2 years since it launched its first set. It plans to keep selling the TVs in overseas markets, a spokesman said.

OLED displays use organic, or carbon-containing compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. They produce crisp images and do not need backlighting, making them slimmer and more energy-efficient than LCDs, the most popular type of flat TV.

Sony has aimed to become a leader in the technology and positioned the product as crucial in its drive to regain its reputation as an innovator after losing out to Apple Inc in portable music and Nintendo in video games.

“I want this world’s first OLED TV to be the symbol of the revival of Sony’s technological prowess. I want this to be the flag under which we charge forwards to turn the fortunes around,” then president Ryoji Chubachi told a briefing in October 2007.

It is still technologically difficult to make large OLED panels and to produce them cheaply, limiting their potential as a mass-market product. Sony’s only model is an 11-inch set sold for 200,000 yen ($2,222) in Japan, considerably smaller and more expensive than other flat TVs.

“As flat panel TVs are getting bigger and cheaper, hurdles for OLED models have become higher, at least in the short term,” said Hisakazu Torii, vice president of Japanese TV market research at DisplaySearch.

Torii said the next big trend in the market will be 3D TVs and LCD TVs using light emitting diode backlights, and that mass adoption of TVs with OLED panels is some time off.

Sony said it would end sales of OLED TV in Japan when inventory runs out. It plans to continue putting money into research and development and production for North America, Europe and other overseas markets.

“We will continue to consider new products and applications including OLED TVs,” Sony spokesman Shigenori Yoshida said.”

U.S. release date, exact specs and pricing are to be announced. Subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up to date on LG OLED TV availability.

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Source: techfresh.net

Sony announced that they won’t be coming out with a 27in OLED TV in the near future as many had hoped. They are still having difficulties with production and costs.

Mistsubishi on the other hand has displayed a 149in OLED TV. It is actually made up of 10cm x 10cm OLED displays.  How that will help drive the technology to manufacture appropriate sized OLEDs is beyond me.

More recently, Kateeva, a start-up based in California has announced a process for printing large sized OLED panels.

It’s large area printing technology will apparently print OLED panels as large as 5 by 6 feet or 1.5m x 1.8m at a cost of 60% of current LCD manufacturing costs.

This has the potential to advance widespread OLED TV production sooner than many had anticipated. However, they haven’t actually demonstrated a completed, working OLED panel. Deliveries to TV manufacturers aren’t expected to start until 2011.

Here’s a full story on the Kateeva OLED printing process.

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24520/?ref=rss&a=f

thanks to engadget

Admin: Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your websites?
Erich: Our websites http://www.oled.at (german) and http://www.oled-display.net are the leading OLED information websites. Our goal is to inform our visitors about the newest products, findings, forecasts about and with OLED Display technology.

Admin:  How long have you been involved in OLED TV technology?

Erich: We started www.oled.at and www.oled-display.net about 7 years ago.

Admin:  Do you think OLED TV will eventually take over from plasma and LCD technology?

Erich: Yes I am sure about this. OLED is the future in the HDTV technology. OLED TV promises Superior picture Quality, High Efficiency, very thin and in future also cost effective. The first OLED TV XEL-1 and the LG 15 inch hitting the market today are very expensive, but those prices will fall dramatically as the technology matures and volume ramps up. OLEDs will prove more cost effective because they require fewer materials and fewer processing steps than LCD and Plasma Tvs.

Admin:  What are your thoughts on the emergence of LED backlit TV? Can OLED compete against it anytime soon?

Erich: Not soon because the companies must build more OLED fabrication labs.

Admin:  Can you please tell us what impressed you most at CES 2010?

Erich: Sonys 24.5 inch 3D OLED, and the 14 inch transparent AMOLED Notebook from Samsung mobile Display.

Admin: Who, in your opinion, will first produce a consumer ready OLED TV with a decent screen size?

Erich: Sony is in some financial troubles, LG Display introduced the 15 inch AMOLED TV and have big plans. Samsung wants to bring out larger Displays only if they compete with LCD and Plasma at the price segment. So my opinion is LG Display will be the first with larger sizes.

Thanks to Erich for this interview on the latest OLED TV news. You can see more at his site, just click on this link: OLED Television

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to my friend Erik for posting these CES videos. His site is http://www.oled-display.net/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are not too many details but the price is rumored to be similar to the Sony XEL-1 OLED TV. In other words, still really expensive.

I’m hoping to review a larger sized LG OLED model as soon as CES 2010 opens in a day or two.

More important though is will they have anything available to consumers? It’s been 2 years since the Sony XEL-1 was released to the public. It’s understood that Sony may be losing money on each XEL-1 OLED TV as the price is far too high to interest the general public and production costs are steep as well.

What we may see at CES are the following:

Sony OLED TV

Samsung OLED TV

LG OLED TV

Speaking of LG OLED technology, here’s some news from Kodak:

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 30 — Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced today that it has completed the previously announced sale of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) business to an entity set up by a group of LG companies.

This move will tighten Kodak’s investment focus and strengthen its financial position. Financial details were not disclosed.

“As we said earlier this year, OLED is one of the businesses we wanted to reposition to maximize Kodak’s competitive advantage at the intersection of materials and imaging science,” said Laura G. Quatela, Kodak’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer and manager of the company’s OLED business. “This action is consistent with that strategy. Our OLED intellectual property portfolio is fundamental; however, realizing the full value of this business would have required significant investment.”

Be sure to visit in the coming weeks for OLED TV reviews from CES 2010