OLED: The Next Generation of Televisions
Television sets have improved in leaps and bounds over the last 60-odd years: from the tiny, fuzzy screens dwarfed by a surrounding a crate of mechanics that were the norm in the late 1940s to the slender, crisp-pictured, wide screens of today. Of course, their evolution hasn’t yet stopped. Even though it seems now more than ever like all has been done with TV technology, innovation keeps on coming.
The next generation of televisions look to be the ultra-high definition OLEDs, so advanced they seem straight out of a retro-futuristic science-fiction film – one we've only seen before on our television screens.
The dynamics alone are quite unbelievable. Even with current televisions, it's quite hard to believe that all the components needed to run the thing could fit inside, especially if you grew up with the old analogue boxes, as pretty much anyone over 16 did. These new designs will, however, blow your mind.
Ultra-thin
What you get with the OLED televisions is a piece of viewing technology that's as thin as a pencil - or three credit cards. Mounting one of these on your wall is little different to hanging a picture: a crystal-clear, moving picture. It's really is hard to believe that all the components needed are in there.
Picture quality
So at that size, the picture quality must suffer, right? You'd think this was surely an exercise in space management rather than one to help with the evolution of image quality. Well, you'd be wrong. Both in 2D and 3D, OLED provides you with a picture quality that far surpasses anything you've seen in LED-backlit TVs and even plasma screens.
The OLED's response time - the measure of how quickly each pixel can change colour - is spectacular. What this means is that you'll get a viewing experience with no discernible blur whatsoever. It doesn't matter what you're watching. You could be watching the fastest-paced action flick out there and everything will remain razor-sharp and crystal clear throughout - every detail.
Cost and availability
Currently, these are only available in Korea, where they were developed, and at a whopping $10,000 a pop. Of course, they’ll drop in price over time, just like LED, plasma screens and 3D TVs before them, but when they hit the showrooms in Europe and the US this year, expect the price tag to still be a little hefty.
So, if you're looking to upgrade, it might be worth saving and saving hard. It's probably worth trading in your old set too - and maybe some of the other stuff you have laying around that you don't use anymore too.
Maybe it's a good time to head over to Music Magpie where you can trade in your old DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays and video games for quick cash. You can also trade in your electronics if you live in UK. It's easy to do and takes no time at all - head over to the website for more details.
