Now LG, don’t go disappointing me…

LG is so confident in its claim to the “world’s biggest” OLED TV (technically true for now, until it’s upstaged) that it’s giving the world a peek just ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show next month.

The svelte, 55-inch beauty is just shy of 0.2-inches thick (5mm) and boasts a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. No word on resolution, but HDTV is a given.

Also, exact power consumption details are a mystery. But the company’s press release summarizes the energy-saving attributes of the technology:

The environmentally conscious will also appreciate LG Display’s 55″ OLED TV panel. While light sources in backlight units, like LCD panels, must always be kept on, the OLED panel allows diodes to be turned on or off which enables lower power consumption than conventional LCD panels.

Impressive stuff indeed, but when can we get one?

As you know, OLED’s journey to the home theater has been a tortured one. The energy-saving display tech is viable enough to produce in small screen sizes — that’s why smartphone makers are all over it. But apart from unimpressive prototypes and innovations that hint at more efficient mass production of OLEDs, bigger, cheaper screens have eluded the industry.

However, it looks like electronics makers are finally turning the corner (fingers crossed), according to remarks from Sang Beom Han, CEO of LG Display.

“Although OLED technology is seen as the future of TV display, the technology has been limited to smaller display sizes and by high costs, until now (emphasis mine). LG Display’s 55-inch OLED TV panel has overcome these barriers,” he says. It’s a statement he undoubtedly feels confident in making thanks to a cheaper Oxide TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) production process versus the Low Temperature Poly Silicon (LTPS) process used to date on smaller screens.

We’ll see if LG lives up to the sub-headline on its press release: “55” Panel to Advance Popularization of OLED TV Market.” A bold prediction that I and a lot of other couch jockeys are holding you to.

Images Courtesy of LG