The amazingly thin television is the latest to be unveiled by LG, and becomes the thinnest in the world.
The new model was revealed at a press event in South Korea, according to reports. Although the television is a 55-inch monster, it weighs less than a 13-inch MacBook Pro due to the fact that it is thinner than a DVD.
LG OLED TV: Sadly just a concept, for now
LG Display showed off the new TV panel to the assembled media on Tuesday, and it weighs just 4.5 pounds. Due to its extremely low weight and incredibly thinness, it is mounted on a wall using a specially-designed magnetic mat.
Television fans should not get too excited just yet, because the super-thin TV is still just a proof of concept. It is thought that it will be years before such a television is available commercially.
Despite the expected wait, it certainly shows the potential of OLED technology, which enables engineers to make flexible, thin and lightweight high-definition displays. The head of LG Display’s OLED department told the press that the company is set to increase OLED production over the course of this year.
OLED set to revolutionize displays
The technology uses sheets of carbon-based, organic materials to make up the displays. The materials emit their own light, allowing manufacturers to remove the fluorescent backlighting necessary in traditional displays, including LCD screens.
Both LG and bitter rival Samsung already have several OLED TV models on the market, but their price tags are very high even though the displays are not anywhere near as thin as the concept unveiled yesterday. Analysts at the U.S. Department of Energy believe that the prices of larger OLED displays will remain high for the next five years, until they drop and become commercially viable.
Although the advent of OLED displays will be a boon in the television market, the real impact of the technology is expected to be felt in other sectors such as wearables, digital cameras, smartwatches, tablets and mobile devices. One of the major benefits of the technology is that it can display more saturated colors, a greater range of contrast and better brightness than existing LCD displays.
