Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV limited to 2000 units

At this point, it's not clear if the interest around Sony's ultra-thin, XEL-1 OLED TV is plain ol' first-gen technology, gawker enthusiasm or valid consumer interest. As such, it's hard to say whether an initial production run of just 2,000 units spread across 700 stores in Japan is going to be a problem or not. However, if you're lucky enough to stumble across this storefront display you'd best not dawdle and dig deep for that ¥200,000 (about $1700 US) MSRP right then and there. As for the rest of us, the chances of that 1,000,000:1 contrast coming to the North America or Europe any time soon is just that, a million to one.

[Sir.Byrd @ Nov 21st 2007 2:26AM]

What is the application for this? The screen is too small for everything, TV, as a computer monitor.

[Jeremy K. @ Nov 21st 2007 2:41AM]

It's not about an application, it's that it's the first mass produced OLED TV.

But, for practical uses, it is lame. 960 x 540 resolution in 11 inches isn't bad, but it's 11 inches. Who's going to buy it? Not me! 2,000 units is plenty!

[poulan @ Nov 21st 2007 8:44AM]

Why are you so miserable?

[Podaman @ Nov 21st 2007 2:31AM]

good god this mac vs pc ad is out of control.

it randomly starts playing and looping the audio about 20 different time-shifted threads at once...

anyone else getting that?

sorry for unrelated post... express your displeasure with Low Ranks

[David @ Nov 21st 2007 2:57AM]

what you talkin' 'bout, Willis?

[404error @ Nov 21st 2007 3:09AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/20/the-elephant-sized-ad-in-the-room/

Thanks for the off-topic comment when that article is only six articles down from this one.

[Podaman @ Nov 21st 2007 4:05AM]

Thanks 404error, awesome.

And sarcasm is like a second language to me, so I'm right there with you.

IE7Pro is pretty slick.

[GregA @ Nov 21st 2007 10:10AM]

Hey at least we have absolute confirmation that Engadget is not going to give unbiased reviews and has been on Apple payola all along.

[leland @ Nov 21st 2007 2:35AM]

The "one million to one" contrast ratio is all marketing, since OLED's produce actual blacks it like putting 1/0 - its not a real number. so they said 'a million' because it sounds good, but it's really 'infinity:1'

[Jesse S @ Nov 21st 2007 3:03AM]

OSHI-

[lapa @ Nov 22nd 2007 6:23AM]

now, OLED can produce ABSOLUTE black?! orly?

[Ryan Trevisol @ Nov 21st 2007 6:42AM]

Good to see they're being responsible in only separating 2,000 fools from their money.

[Willen @ Nov 21st 2007 7:39AM]

It's pretty obvious that this is a status symbol object for the wealthy. 11 inch screen size and it's form factor make it only useful for watching TV on a desk or table from a few feet away. You might see one on a TV show or movie soon, I'll bet.

That being said, after seeing the prototype in person I was impressed. Not because of the thin-ness, but the contrast was amazing and the color reproduction was stunning. At this size, SD resolutions are more than enough to give you a smooth, realistic picture. Just like having 8 megapixels is a colossal waste of resolution for a 4" x 6" print, having 1920 x 1080p for a 11" screen is just being ostentatious.

[jj @ Nov 21st 2007 8:00AM]

Does anyone really care about this? Yes I'm here dying for an ultra thin monitor that costs 10x as much as my current one because I just can't stand mine at 2 inches thick, please. Sony, can you concentrate on other things like bringing the cost of Blu-Ray down so you can compete with HD-DVD? I really wanna go for Blu-Ray but you're making it hard on everybody by pissing your resources away on stupid things like this. And how the heck did you lose Warner Bros, damn, they're the best one too.

[TrentD @ Nov 21st 2007 8:44AM]

I'm an HD DVD fan...but I didn't hear about Warner going HD exclusive. I don't think that's correct - they're still dual format.

[Geir E @ Nov 21st 2007 8:47AM]

As much as i like Blu-Ray to be the winning format, the fact that their core business is just as much TVs as it is blu-ray and other formats. So that they showcase that they are capeable of creating oled tvs (although limited in size and expensive) is a part of keeping up the reputation of beeing cutting edge.

And Sony is big enough both to handle blu-ray and tvs. But I hope as well that they can put out players in a price that sells more blu-ray units.

[nathan.wong @ Nov 21st 2007 10:42AM]

This technology isn't about an 11" screen. It's about the beginning of a new technology. Apparently you can make the screen any size imaginable, from cellphone size to building size (think Blade Runner). Can you imagine seeing a moving picture billboard (or the porn that will be displayed when someone hacks into it) on the side of the road or freeway? The technology is such that it uses little power, is ultra bright, has great colors, and can be made in any size. The only drawback is that they need to figure out a way to make it viewable in bright daylight. I think this is pretty exciting since it's the future of televisions.

[Jon|Red @ Nov 21st 2007 10:39PM]

Can anyone tell me what happened to the previous Sony OLED TV design: http://www.hdoled.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/sony_oled_tv_1.jpg

I think it looks much nicer than the one on this page.

[OLED TV Fan @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:34AM]

I agree that it's definitely for early adopters only. Also, I'm sure a few will make it from Japan to the US before the end of the year.

http://oledtvreviews.wordpress.com