LG announces 55-inch OLED HDTV, looks good enough for an Apple Television

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Various reports throughout the year claimed LG is providing the television behind the Apple HDTV.  However, nothing conclusive has surfaced.

As far as the big display makers are concerned, Apple’s relationship with LG is probably the strongest.  LG makes iPod Touch and iPhone Retina Displays, some iPad displays, and Apple secured a $500 million dollar investment in LG displays in 2009. The net investment was a temporary exclusive on panels for the 27-inch display that Apple’s iMacs and Thunderbolt Displays now use. Sony also makes OLEDs, but it does not have a strong relationship with Apple – at least as far as displays are concerned. The other big OLED maker is Samsung, and it is currently tangled with Apple in patent disputes.

With that said, look at the things that will be shown at the Consumer Electronic show. They have a 4 mm bezel -that is half the thickness of an iPhone 4S- and weighs in at a paltry 16.5-pounds. In addition, things like “1,000 times faster than LED/LCD displays” and “infinite contrast ratio” makes this sound like one of the best displays of 2012.

(Full sized images and the press release are below.):

WORLD’S LARGEST OLED TV FROM LG OFFERS MORE REALISTIC COLORS, BRIGHTER PICTURE, FASTER SPEED

LG Unveils Much Anticipated 55-inch OLED TV for First Time at CES 2012

SEOUL, Jan. 2, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) will present the future of TV technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with the unveiling of the world’s largest OLED TV with a display size of 55 inches. By incorporating the company’s 4-Color Pixels and Color Refiner features with LG Display’s advanced OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels, LG OLED TV generates the most natural colors of any TV set at a much lower price point than could have been achieved using the standard manufacturing process.

“Working closely with LG Display, we have a product which not only delivers on all the advantages of OLED over LCD but at a significantly lower cost than what could be achieved using existing OLED manufacturing technologies,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “OLED is clearly the future of home TV entertainment and LG is very focused on making this exciting technology as easy as possible for consumers to embrace.”

What sets LG’s TV picture apart from other OLED TVs is 4-Color Pixels and Color Refiner which work together to generate natural and accurate colors that are sharp and consistent. The 4-Color Pixels feature allows for more accurate color depiction by using a set of four colors (red, green blue and white) in comparison to the RGB setup used by other OLED TV manufacturers. Color Refiner ensures consistency in colors from a wider viewing angle via an LG algorithm which improves and refines hues and tones. This is in contrast to other OLED TVs which often exhibit drastic changes in hues from different viewing angles and abnormal color gamut.

Boasting an infinite contrast ratio, LG’s OLED TV exhibits vivid colors and the smallest details regardless of the overall luminance of the on-screen image. In turn, colors and details throughout an entire image are preserved with utmost clarity and sharpness, even when displaying scenes with dark lighting. Such color capabilities are technically impossible with LED and LCD display panels. And at 1,000 times faster than LED/LCD displays, LG’s OLED TV shows crystal clear motion without any blurring or bleeding.

And LG’s OLED TV is as aesthetically pleasing as it is technologically sophisticated. LG’s Slim and Narrow Bezel design gives the TV a sleek, minimal look and at only 4 mm thin and a mere 7.5 kg, LG’s OLED TV practically blends into the wall.

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