Sony's OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV, the XEL-1, is truly the next big thing in television technology. It boasts a 3 millimeter thin panel and offers unparalleled picture quality with amazing contrast, outstanding brightness, exceptional color reproduction, and a rapid response time. It delivers astounding performance in all the key picture quality categories. OLED technology can completely turn off pixels when reproducing black, resulting in more outstanding dark scene detail and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. OLED also creates unmatched color expression and detail and enables rapid response times for smooth and natural reproduction of fast moving images like those found in sports and action movies. The XEL-1 features the latest connectivity options including two HDMI™ inputs, a digital tuner, and a Memory Stick® media slot for viewing high-resolution photos.
Incredibly Slim
OLED TVs are incredibly slim because organic material directly emits light so OLED display panels do not require a thick backlight or complex construction like other flat panel technologies. The Sony® XEL-1 is an unbelievable 3mm thin (without its stand)!
Blazing Fast Response Time
When turned “on,” individual organic elements are stimulated directly by electric current, and therefore response time is incredibly fast.
Outstanding Contrast
When an organic pixel is turned “off” the result is complete darkness. This results in deep blacks and an unheard of contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Yes, that’s a one million to one contrast ratio!
Exceptional Color Reproduction
Sony’s unique “Super Top Emission” technology, which combined with a special micro-cavity and color filters, enhances color purity, achieves extraordinary high color contrast. In fact, 105% of the NTSC color space can be achieved!
Wide Viewing Angles
OLED colors and contrast look amazing even at wide 178° viewing angles due to the direct view nature of the panel. Pixel colors look fantastic even at wide 178° viewing angles for an outstanding viewing experience.
High Brightness
Because OLED elements individually emit light that are directly displayed on the screen, high brightness levels can be achieved.
Energy Efficiency
OLED technology delivers a more efficient means of utilizing light, which is generated by the organic material itself instead of an always on backlight; also, when elements are in their “off” state, they consume no power whatsoever.
OLED Story
What’s so great about OLED– Lots! Blazing fast response times, wide viewing angles, exceptional color reproduction, outstanding contrast levels, and high brightness. The nature of its technology lends itself to extremely thin and lightweight designs along with the ability to use it in a variety of different applications. OLED is the holy grail of TV display technologies!
What is OLED–
OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. The "organic" in OLED refers to organic material. Carbon is the basis of all organic matter. Examples of carbon-based substances include sugar, wood and the majority of plastics. The "LED" stands for "Light Emitting Diode" and describes the process of converting electric energy into light. There are two types of OLED — small molecule OLED and polymer OLED. Sony uses the small molecule type because it has a longer lifespan.
How does OLED work–
A layer of organic material is sandwiched between two conductors (an anode and a cathode), which in turn are sandwiched between a glass top plate (seal) and a glass bottom plate (substrate). When electric current is applied to the two conductors, a bright, electro-luminescent light is produced directly from the organic material.
How is color created–
OLED has more control over color expression because it only expresses pure colors when an electric current stimulates the relevant pixels. The OLED primary color matrix is arranged in red, green, and blue pixels, which are mounted directly to a printed circuit board. Each individual OLED element is housed in a special “micro-cavity” structure designed to greatly reduce ambient light interference that also works to improve overall color contrast. The thickness of the organic layer is adjusted to produce the strongest light for each of the colors — red, green and blue - used to render the color picture. The three colors are further refined by a color filter, which purifies each color without the need for a polarizer, rendering outstanding color purity.
What’s next for OLED–
Sony established a milestone with the introduction of the industry’s first Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) television, the XEL-1. This 11” diagonal desktop color television is just the first step Sony is taking in the world of OLED televisions. Larger screen sizes and higher native resolutions are possible. As substrates get thinner, the displays will in turn get thinner. There are a variety of other uses for OLED technology. In fact, Sony has developed a new application for OLED technology called Organic Thin Film Transistor (TFT). The newly developed Organic TFT can be deposited on a flexible plastic display, which is the world’s first full-color display that can project full color moving images even when the display is bent. - Sony OLED Digital TV
Sony's Flexible OLED