55” OLED TV Panel to Debut at CES 2012

Korean electronics giant LG has announced they are ready to show off a 55 OLED TV Panel only a few millimeters thick. At five millimeters thick, the new panel is said to be able to achieve a contrast ratio of over 100,000:1 and be able to produce more colors than LCD panels.

The technology won't be widely available for sale for likely a few more years, and the prices of current OLED screens has allowed only small screens to become widely available.

OLED stands for organic light emitting diode, and it works differently than the LCD displays that are so popular. The OLED display controls pixels better than the backlit LCD panels that utilize liquid crystals. OLED displays allow light emitting diodes to self-generate light rather than depending on a separate source of light. That's how LG got their new display down to only five millimeters thick. This lack of separate lighting allows the OLED display to use less energy as well, LG said in a statement.

LG has said they planned to have this technology ready by mid-2012, but technology has a way of getting delayed, so the 55 display they are showing off at CES 2012 could be the last one we see for a while.

LG's new display uses white OLEDs overlaid with colors, that it claims makes for a lower error rate and clearer screen. That means there is a color layer below the TFT base panel and then the white OLED that shows the screen information. Whether or not that constitutes a true OLED display or a similar to LCD panel backlit set up is up for debate, but either way, Samsung is sure to be working on a competing technology they may even be showing off at CES. Tell us in the comments if you got a television this holiday season.