There are a million tech terms out there from the newest G3 to the hype in CFL, and most of the time I have no idea what they mean. OLED is just the newest in a long line of up-and-coming technologies with snappy acronyms, but what is the OLED display and why is it so much better than regular LCD (liquid crystal display) technology?
LEDs are very well known for their recent use in Christmas lighting, but OLEDs are a little different. OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode and is praised mainly for its properties concerning energy usage. Because the diodes can emit light without a backlight they can be used in much thinner devices and can run for longer on the same charge as a traditional LCD screen. OLED screens also be produced at a fraction of the cost of LCD screens because the diode printing process can be performed on a variety of surfaces even with household inkjet printers. In addition if the diodes are printed onto a flexible surface this creates the possibility of flexible screens of light, a method that is key to the future of roll-up and fabric displays.
The actual quality of the light emitted from OLED displays is also of a higher quality than LEDs since the pixels are able to directly emit light, again without a backlight. This also allows a greater range of screen vision, even up to a 90 degree angle. If you’ve ever struggled to get a good view on your LED television screen, you know what a benefit this is. In addition to the vibrancy of color and quality of light, OLED screen can also portray “true black” by turning off individual pixels, not only giving a better picture quality but saving energy. To top it all off, OLED screens have a much faster response time, being .01ms as opposed to the 2ms time of LCDs, giving you not only better picture, but better accuracy.
But OLEDs do have a downside. Because they are composed of “organic materials” these screen have a very limited lifetime, averaging only about 14,000 hours (around five years of use) while LCD screen average about 60,000 hours- over four times as long. But there are innovations in this area, with the development of a metal membrane which helps deliver light to the screen more effectively, using half the energy and doubling the screen’s expected life.
Is OLED the future? It seems so considering the benefits of such a screen. Already labeled one of the hottest gadgets of 2009 by a number of online articles and journals, the OLED screen is sure to be a big improvement in computer and television technology.
Thank you that made interesting reading, I understand a little more now. The limited lifetime is a big issue, I wouldn’t buy something with such a limited life.