LG Display's 55-inch 'wallpaper' OLED panel is impossibly thin at less than 1mm thick

[Shawn Knight]

LG’s display arm recently showcased a detachable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel that’s thin and light enough to stick to a wall using just a magnetic mat.

The impossibly thin panel measures just 0.97mm (0.038 inches) thin and weighs only 1.9kg (4.18 pounds) despite the fact that it measures 55-inches diagonally. LG’s existing OLED panels are “thick” by comparison at 4.3mm which is thinner than the Oppo R5, the world’s slimmest smartphone at 4.85mm.

The “wallpaper” panel was just one highlight from LG Display’s recent press event in South Korea.

OLED panels are largely expected to be the next big thing in display technology. Unlike liquid crystal displays (LCDs), OLED panels don’t use a backlight unit as the organic material they utilize emit their own light. This allows the panels to be incredibly thin and flexible as you’ve no doubt seen on select high-end television sets and even some smartphones.

OLED technology isn’t cheap, however, which is one of the reasons adoption has been slow thus far. As CNET notes, OLED panels have a historically low yield rate, meaning a large number of panels that roll off the assembly line don’t pass quality control standards. As production techniques improve, waste will be reduced and the cost of ownership will come down.

Right now, an LG 65-inch, 4K OLED set will set you back a whopping $9,000 while its LED counterpart can be had for less than $2,000.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/60729-lg-display-shows-off-press-wallpaper-tv-under.html

 

[Badvok]

I'll be avoiding OLED TVs, just like I avoid OLED smartphones, until they definitively fix the fade or as it is also known technologically built-in obsolescence. If I buy a TV I'll want it to last at least 5 years, preferably closer to 10.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

That is pretty sweet... I don't know enough about the tech but I would expect every light emitting technology to fade over time. Plasma TV's, CCFL backlit TV's, LED backlit TV's, it happens to all of them. I would assume the same of OLED

 

[wiyosaya]

Estimated lifetimes on these are at least 40,000 hours or about 4.5 years watching 24/7. One simply cannot get away from entropy, but that is a lot of viewing time.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Great. Now you can cart your TV to the the crapper with you and ignore all the Playboy's in the basket alongside, hopefully it fits behind the door otherwise buy a smaller model.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

How do you plug it in? It looks thinner than a cord?!

 

[Badvok]

Estimated lifetimes on these are at least 40,000 hours or about 4.5 years watching 24/7. One simply cannot get away from entropy, but that is a lot of viewing time.

Except that OLED fades with time and not just use, and that 'lifetime' generally means to half brightness so your TV will be struggling in a well lit room after 4.5 years elapsed.

 

[Badvok]

That is pretty sweet... I don't know enough about the tech but I would expect every light emitting technology to fade over time. Plasma TV's, CCFL backlit TV's, LED backlit TV's, it happens to all of them. I would assume the same of OLED

Nope, OLED fades a lot quicker than any other technology due to the 'O', the Organic nature of it.

 

[hrowder]

Still... if they get the pricing down to the point where you could tolerate the "expendable" nature of the OLED design and incorporate some kind of WiFi element so you wouldn't need cords and such, then this is a game changer as you could put these anywhere, even temporarily, and have whatever media source you find useful at your command.