Panasonic plans 37-inch OLED TV for future

Panasonic under its current Matsushita parent name said on Tuesday that the company is in the last stages of drafting plans for a 37-inch, OLED-based HDTV. Actual designs and development are still in the future but should see a screen available within three years that should be priced below $1,400, putting the new display technology within competition of today's existing LCD screens.

The company also says it's mulling entering the OLED TV business sooner but that it would have to set a timeframe and choose a screen size, which will likely involve a significantly smaller TV at a higher price.

The announcement marks a break from Panasonic's typical emphasis on plasma outside of small screens and points to more mainstream use of OLEDs within the next few years. The technology, which is only available in TVs through the 11-inch Sony XEL-1 today, promises to fix many of the problems inherent to either LCD or plasma, including much stronger contrast ratios of 1,000,000:1 or more and a virtually lag-free image. As the pixels themselves generate light, OLEDs also save power and bulk over most flat panels and produce true blacks by shutting off some pixels entirely.

Filed under: gadgets, digital imaging
Other story tags: sony, Panasonic, OLED