OLED now up to 55” thanks to LG, to be teased at CES 2012
Posted Monday, December 26, 2011 at 6:32 pm by Jason Cartwright
LG have done it, the world’s first 55” OLED HDTV. The technology that one day could replace LCD, has been a long time coming and is usually limited to around 20” at best. The technology provides superior power consumption, ,thinner, better black levels, and better response times, but with a screen that’s better in almost every way, price is the barrier.
Most of us are familiar with the the early adopters tax, but this one doesn’t even come with a price tag. The equation is probably best summed up by an Engadget commenter – “I would buy a 100-inch LCD TV over a 55-inch OLED TV for the same price.”
That statement probably isn’t far from the truth, you’d be talking tens of thousands of dollars for this set, but hey that 42-55” HDTV in your living room once cost that. The price will come down as manufacturing techniques evolve and are refined along with increased demand.
LG’s 55” OLED HDTV will be shown off at CES early next month, if you get a chance to see it in person, your eyes are likely to tease that credit card from your pocket. You have been warned. LG have been touting their ability to make OLED at 55” for some time now, but this announcement marks the readiness to take it mainstream.
It’ll also be interesting to see if there’s been any scientific breakthroughs with Transparent LCD displays, one of which was on display at CeBIT earlier this year.
More info @ Engadget
Samsung to show off insane high-density panel at SID 2011
Posted Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 12:09 pm by James Murphy
Wow. According to Engadget, SID 2011 is gonna be interesting next week, people – it may just feature one kick-arse display from Samsung. Said tablet is a 10.1-inch LCD panel which has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, and a PPI of 330, slightly higher than the iPhone’s LG-manufactured Retina Display which sits at 326ppi. It’s been a while coming for larger screens and hopefully we’ll finally see some very cool looking tablets, and if Samsung can release a tablet with this sort of screen before Apple they’ll be in a good spot to gain some market share (providing they don’t just let Apple source these displays!). The display will also be easy on batteries, as it uses the RGBW matrix – something as simple as the display may revolutionise the tablet game already.
LG is also set to make an appearance at SID 2011, however details are scarce – LG has told Engadget that there’ll be a multitude of sizes coming, between 3.5- and 84-inch and all using (presumably) some awesome resolutions, with LG stating that they’ll be using ‘ultra-high resolutions’ and Advanced High Performance IPS technology.
So what does this mean? We should be seeing some impressive tablets in the next year or so as Samsung in particular appear to be trying to get these to market quickly and LG hopefully not far behind. It could also spark Apple into using a Retina Display on the iPad 3, which could be sourced from LG seeing as they already use LG screens on the iPhone 4. Either way, we should expect some pretty big steps forward in consumer tablet screens in the not too distant future. Cool!
More @ Engadget.com & SID.org
DIY Philips Ambilight TV – Ikea LED Dioder kit
Posted Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 10:21 am by Jason Cartwright
Whilst Philips has their Ambilight TV range, having a glowing lightshow of colour behind your screen comes as at a cost. A creative guy by the name of Marc Lane of IkeaHacker has created an alternative. Making use of an Ikea bookcase turned sideways and a IKEA LED Dioder kit, it makes for a unique cheaper option.
Naturally the Philips solution is a little more advanced with it’s colours being an extension of the image currently being displayed on the screen. Still, Marc’s looks great and is a good alternative.
Philips Ambilight TV
More @ IkeaHacker via LifeHacker
Dell’s super sexy 22” Crystal monitor half price
Posted Monday, August 24, 2009 at 5:05 pm by Jason Cartwright
Taking a browse around Dell’s website I noticed they’ve got a massive discount on their super sexy 22” display. When they first arrived I was always impressed with such a unique display design, but the price was the just to steep.
If you’ve always wanted one but didn’t want to stretch to that crazy high $1000 price, then now might be the time to pull the trigger. Until this Thursday (27th August 2009), you can get one for $499.
Whilst that is still a lot for a 22” monitor, this is really designed for people who prioritise design over the value and are happy to pay a premium. If that doesn’t sound like you, maybe you’d be better to invest in a larger monitor for the same price.
More @ Dell
Pioneer kills Plasma, No more Kuro. Proof Plasma is dead !
Posted Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 1:05 pm by Jason Cartwright
Widely regarded as making the best model of Plasma TV on the market, Pioneer have pulled the plug on manufacturing Plasma TVs. This of course includes the industry-leading Pioneer Kuro range, offering superior black levels. This announcement comes despite announcing a bunch of new plasma sets at this years CES only last month.
This continues a growing trend of TV manufacturers moving away from Plasma display technology in favor of LCD. Even though a number of manufacturers still have Plasma displays for sale, these are more commonly made from someone else and simply rebranded.
In the early days of large screen TVs LCD’s of large sizes were prohibitively expensive to manufacture. As the technology has evolved and volumes have increased this cost has dropped – dramatically. LCD’s even at large sizes are now down to an affordable level and with the current economic conditions, they’re set to drop even further.
Earlier this year I picked up a 52” Sony Bravia Full HD LCD for A$2,999. 2-3 years ago this set would have easily cost $6-7k.
Look for plasma TVs to die very quickly over the next 2 years.
Review: Dell 27” Monitor – 2709W
Posted Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 5:07 pm by Jason Cartwright
The video review is coming soon, until then.. here’s the text version.
Overview
The new 27” monitor from Dell holds the model number – 2709W. Not only does the new model come with many improvements, but a price drop as well.
The Good
Size – The massive 27 inches allows you to clearly see the display at a distance, which leaves you with plenty of available desk space.
Dual stack – I’ve experienced a number of multi-monitor setups, one of my biggest annoyances with the screens is they never sit next to each other well. Almost always creating a large gap between them.
Display – Bright, vibrant colours, no problems or glitches when gaming on them.
Inputs – This screen offers an wide range of inputs, allowing for connectivity to almost any device. HDMI, DVI x2, VGA, Component, and the new Display Port. Whilst Display Port is still very new in the PC industry, in fact you could probably count the number of graphics cards that support display port on one hand. Monitors last for many years, and within 3-5 years I’m sure Display Port will be common place.
A nice touch is the Preset Mode (Brightness / Contrast), is input dependant. This means if your running you PC through say DVI, you’d probably have it set to ‘Multimedia mode’, if you switch to a console on HDMI or component, and you have it set to ‘Game’, the screen switches automatically to the Preset Mode selected for that input.
The Bad
Touch sensitive buttons – while they look slick, they lack the responsiveness of standard buttons. This makes navigating the OSD a clumsy experience.
Changing inputs – It takes too many steps to switch inputs. While the menu allows you to customise the ‘shortcuts’, these should be available with one touch, similar to that of the input selectors found on the 24” model.
Price – unfortunately the best price point for monitors right now is still that 22-24” range. This will no doubt change in the future, we’ve already see a move in the right direction with a price drop (A $1199), in this model compared to it’s predecessor (A $1699)
The Breakdown
Overall if your in the market for a large monitor, you can’t go wrong with the Dell 2709W. It offers great value for money. I would have liked to see it share the higher resolution available in the 30” model.
Dell does include a number of cables with the display – USB, DVI to HDMI and Display Port.
If your someone who works across multiple applications and your budget can stretch, I highly recommend a setup that includes 2 x 2709W monitors, just make sure you have a desk big enough.
More @ Dell.
