Sony: 1,000,000:1 OLED TV on sale in 2007

Sony is once again showing off their beautiful OLED TVs we first peeped at CES. No surprise there, after all, we love to gawk at that incredible 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio just as often as possible. The real news is that Sony is finally ready to move an OLED TV into production. Sorry, not that bad-azz 27-inch model capable of Full HD 1080p. Nope, instead they'll be pushing out the 11-inch pup sometime "within 2007." We're talking 1024 x 600 pixels slathered across that wee 1M:1 contrast panel capable of 8-bit RGB color and covering more than 100% of the NTSC color gamut. Oh, and the display itself measures just 3-mm thick. Hot-freakin'-tastic. Unfortunately, it will likely suffer from a high price tag and short display life. Still, you'll be tempted, especially after seeing the set's razor-thin display in a profile shot after the break -- yeah, dramatic viewing angles too. Oh, Sony, why must you taunt us.

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Apr 12th 2007 3:28AM]

Oh my gosh......... i cant seem to close my mouth

[Justin @ Apr 12th 2007 3:30AM]

Wow... that's crazy.

The only thing that would bother me is that really really ugly looking stand.

[Naveed @ Apr 12th 2007 3:30AM]

the future

[Dave @ Apr 12th 2007 3:51AM]

Perfect.

[humpty @ Apr 12th 2007 4:04AM]

Shit.. Toshiba or Canon better get off their asses and get those SEDs into production... theyre blowing their lead time on oleds.

[Stephen Yuan @ Apr 12th 2007 4:04AM]

OLED's perfect inside cars

[Solomon @ Apr 13th 2007 6:19PM]

Stephen is right. It is not good enough for laptops (especially the resolution) or portables or television (except analog - that ntsc thing). Its perfect use is in minivans, especially with some anti-glare coating. And maybe those crazy fridge-televisions or under-counter things intended for the kitchen.

[Stephen Yuan @ Apr 14th 2007 6:53PM]

The biggest problem with watch anything inside the car is that the display u are using have to compete with the sun. That is simply a disaster on a sunny Californian afternoon.

[Revrant2394 @ Apr 12th 2007 4:06AM]

Mmm, Sexy, Sony doing something right, takes me back, I'm getting all nostalgic!

[jegHegy @ Apr 12th 2007 4:08AM]

That mention of "8bit RGB" might be a bit misleading...8 bits per channel I assume.

[hemmy @ Apr 12th 2007 4:15AM]

Yes, it's 8 bits per channel (R, G and B).

Given OLED tech, you'd think they would get at least 10 bits per channel. But it still sounds sweet. I'd love to get my mits on that 27 inch version.

[hackedbyjoe @ Apr 12th 2007 4:20AM]

Once again Sony has ruined a good idea with a bad design, e.g. Vaio VGN-UX50. MAKE IT SO IT CAN BE WALL MOUNTED, IDIOTS! Isn't the point of a paper-thin screen so that it takes up less space?

[bob the builder @ Apr 12th 2007 11:37AM]

jeez , give them a break .

[Lee @ Apr 12th 2007 4:45AM]

Its nice. And thin.

But where does 11" fit in the world of displays? Too large for ultra-portables, phones or palmtops, too small for laptops, and way too small for home viewing (ala normal TVs)...

It just puzzles me as to why they'd start off with an odd size...

[Kev50027 @ Apr 12th 2007 10:59AM]

You kidding? 11 inches is perfect for an ultraportable, perfect for a dorm room TV, perfect for a ultralight laptop, and absolutely ideal for a in car TV.

[jhonny @ Apr 19th 2007 1:36AM]

well this is only the first model what do you expect? but I think the kitchen would be a good place, you wouldnt waste counterspace and you could watch cooking shows in amazingly clarity. shit this is the future, holograms could succeed it but good thing I bought my plasma now, by the time this stuff is consumer accessible and affordable it will be time for a new tv.

[Castle @ Apr 12th 2007 4:52AM]

@hackedbyjoe

it's not wall mounted due to the fact they have all those electronics and power supply on the bottom has to be integrated, and they want to show off how thin the screen is without making it look bulky. The display is meant more as a demonstration rather then a high volume seller(its an 11-inch screen after all)

The screen at this point in probably better suited for a laptop, but whenever larger OLEDs becomes feasible I'm sure we'll have some amazing TV sets.

[anonymous @ Apr 12th 2007 9:31AM]

because its not meant for America. it's meant for those tiny apartments in Japan.

[humpty @ Apr 12th 2007 4:54AM]

Its a demo.. cant you tell that its meant to reassemble a folded piece of paper.... cause its paper thin.. get it?

[Crayola @ Apr 12th 2007 5:25AM]

Glad Sony is back with some benchmarking products! Samsung, LG Philips, Sharp sure did get pwnd this time.

[Taylor @ Apr 12th 2007 6:23AM]

+1 for sony!
(Making them now at around -99 in the not sucking department)
-Taylor

[miguel @ Apr 12th 2007 6:26AM]

And what about sound?? with 11" you won't connect it to your AV system and with 3-mm thick if it has speakers they will sound as a phone handset!

[Joe @ Apr 12th 2007 10:08PM]

Have you ever heard electrostatic speakers? They are phenomenal, and paper thin to match the unit design.

[AKBlade13 @ Apr 12th 2007 6:26AM]

Woah. I mean...holy crap! I never thought those TVs would even see daylight in '07.

Now Sony's actually bringing it this year?

*Insert Haleluja music with angels*

I can't believe it! Sony actually made a smart move! It's a miracle!

Well, Toshiba...and anyone else who's in the SED technology...you better start manufactuing like crazy and get those sets into the market before your compeititon comes.

AKBlade13

[Sinbios @ Apr 12th 2007 8:19AM]

The base does seem kinda silly considering it basically defeats the point of the razor-thin screen.

[Alex Padilla @ Apr 12th 2007 8:48AM]

Well, I see the point of the base. As was said in the previous comments, they want to show off the thickness (thinness?) of the screen to consumers and buffs and etc. If they had the thing wall-mounted, it would be just as thick as a lot of other TVs out there, or close to it. It's just first generation, give it time.

[Dave Parks @ Apr 12th 2007 9:07AM]

What a brilliant idea!
Lets take a product whose main selling point is it's thinness and stick it onto a base that's incredibly bulky and looks near impossible to keep clean.

[bob the builder @ Apr 12th 2007 1:07PM]

actually i think the main selling point is the 1000000:1 contrast ratio

[Z @ Apr 12th 2007 9:40AM]

That is freakishly thin. Razor thin is right. Amazing. Now THAT'S the Sony we all know and love.

OK Sony, now put one out with a 70" screen (imagine how that would look at 3mm) and give the OLED a solid lifespan, and we're good to go, 'cause we're not gonna be watching too much of anything on an 11" display.

[Jason @ Apr 12th 2007 9:42AM]

Hello everyone, I'm "doesn't understand first generation technology" guy!

That's screen's too small! It's too expensive! It doesn't look like the TV I currently own! Where are the common features I would like to have? This doesn't make sense!

[Z @ Apr 12th 2007 10:32AM]

I hope your response wasn't intended for me.

[Rick Lyon @ Apr 12th 2007 10:19AM]

It is a demo, but if the purpose of it was to make it appear to be a folded sheet of paper, they failed horribly. A paper folded 3 times in unequal sections? Hah. Then the folded 3 times unequally paper is sitting on a wedge base? HAH. Nice tech, idiotic design.

[Bryan Thornsberry @ Apr 12th 2007 10:58AM]

Uh... guys you might not have realized this and i didnt catch it myself at first. We're all saying how awesome and razor thin this TV is but thats not even the issue. ANY LCD can be made to appear that thin. lol. if your using a laptop, go ahead and give the display a hearty reach-around with your fingers. ehhhhh.... woah! its really thin huh!! lol, all it takes is a display small enough (ie 11 inches) and the "good stuff" offset the actual display. Manufacturers could and would make an LCD of whatever size ultra thin like your laptop with a seperate box that contains the electronics/tuner/power converter/etc, and one digital cable to deliver it all to the bottom of the display. (you could run it through your wall or whatever.)

The only problem is, price jumps would be considerable, and most consumers dont want to pay premium or mess with seperate components. They wanna get that big ol tv all set up nice and purdy, flip a switch, and have nascar going by 7 that night.

[Ben Hobbs @ Apr 12th 2007 11:18AM]

Is it a TV or a monitor?

I don't like the sound of OLED, aren't they only supposed to last 5,000 hours or something? sounds like a disposable Tv to me - besides, people don't need a TV any thinner, Most LCD's are like an inch thick, we want bigger screen sizes.

I thought Samsung already had a 40" OLED TV anyhow.

[JonesZ808 @ Apr 12th 2007 12:13PM]

Geez, I would think the main selling point is the 1m:1 contrast but I guess Im wrong. Thin is in.

[McHoffa @ Apr 12th 2007 1:11PM]

perfect for digital picture frames, in cars, kitchen, or especially outside... the contrast is stunning!

[waLLy @ Apr 12th 2007 1:25PM]

jimminy.... the power cord is thicker than the screen itself.

[Lee @ Apr 12th 2007 3:01PM]

the 1-million to 1 contrast ratio is sort of misleading...in reality, OLEDs have no backlight, so the equation is like 1/0, it doesn't exist. but that doesn't do much for advertising, and you cant really say infinity:1 contrast ratio.

[Brooky @ Apr 12th 2007 3:35PM]

It's picture doesn't look that good on my laptop, is it because my graphics card is upscaling the image to fill 15.4 inches..............................
lol

[Steve @ Apr 12th 2007 6:22PM]

Cool, but I'd prefer 16 million color 24bit RGB over 256 color 8bit RGB regardless of the contrast ratio and screen thickness.

[neggies @ Apr 12th 2007 8:32PM]

It's 8bit PER CHANNEL, so it IS 24bit - three channels (red green and blue) at 8 bits each = 24bit color, there is 256 levels of red, 256 levels of green, 256 levels of blue.

All in all 16 million combinations.

Twit.

--neg

[phantisy @ Apr 12th 2007 10:06PM]

This is nothing special. OLED screens have been used in cell phones and digital cameras for a long time. I will wait for FOLED's and TOLED's before I make a big deal out of something like this. The life of the blue OLED is in its infancy anyway. They dont last anywhere as long as yellow or red which have over 100k+ hours of life. Blue only has about 17k. Read up on this before you go buy some Sony POS over at http://www.universaldisplay.com/tech.htm.

[Mercury7 @ Apr 15th 2007 9:15AM]

I think that is suppose to be one of the benefits of oled, it is unaffected by exterior light sources so it can be viewed in full sunlight without degradation....I've just read that....never saw it in person.

as a side note, there is rumour of a new mini apple laptop in the works, apple aluded to a partnership with sony a couple of years ago that never materialized, it would be super cool if this were to be the screen for it....assuming they have solved the longetivity issues.

[Stephen Yuan @ Apr 15th 2007 10:18PM]

Good to hear that, mate~! I can see myself in the future watching movies in the car on a sunny day without having a jacket covering me and the laptop to reduce light~! Nice!!

[eddy_88_nite @ Apr 16th 2007 5:58PM]

The only place i could see this tv is in a small apartment but when you can afford that thing who needs an apartment. But then again maybe you'd rather live crappy and watch an awesome TV.

[jlau_hn @ Apr 17th 2007 5:21PM]

it would be so expensive....why noy buy a huge TV!

[Christian @ Apr 17th 2007 8:34PM]

Yeah, even that little 11" model will cost well out of the common users price range. That, combined with the short 4-5 year life of OLED's makes for just another Sony failure. They need to wait till this technology is viable instead of rushing it to market to try to wow stupid consumers. Stupid Consumers = people who are eagerly awaiting playing thier PS3 on a 27" OLED screen.

[randy @ Apr 19th 2007 1:45AM]

looks like something in star wars with the white and the wacky really small displays

[Nirmal @ Apr 19th 2007 2:04PM]

amazing

[_V3ndetta_ @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:11PM]

Okay, the base isn't exactly BEAUTIFUL, but... Last time I checked, we bought HDTVs because the screen was good, not because of the base. If you guys are turned off solely because of the base, that's laaaame.