LG 55EM9800

LG 55EM9800

The 55EM9800 OLED HDTV is basically the 2013 equivalent to LG's 55EM9700 we have seen during CES2012, but with a slightly curved screen. Apart from being the most expensive, it is also the thinnest TV presently available; at just 4.5mm thick at the panel thinnest point, it is significantly thinner than the Samsung OLED TV proposal.

This ultra slim panel design has been made possible thanks to the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics into the rear of the television, thus providing the necessary support while keeping weight down to just 38 pounds, that is half the weight a typical 55-inch LED TV. Complimenting the slim design is an equally incredible 1mm-thick bezel.

The slim design calls for the use of an external media hub - same as Samsung breakout box concept that connects to the TV panel via a single cable to provide both AV connectivity to the outside world and power; this is necessary to house all relevant electronics and AV connections.

Yet there is more than just a most appealing and incredibly slim design. This OLED TV comes with what the industry is calling 'infinite' contrast ratio, one that is more than 100,000,000:1; so no more mega ratings as we were used to with LED TVs, instead, the terminology has now shifted to infinite contrast!

Picture Courtesy: LG

LG is making use of a new pixel architecture called W-OLED, or White-OLED that generates white light only for each sub-pixel element; colored filters are then used to generate the color information.

Instead, 'direct-patterned' RGB OLED uses the conventional red, green, and blue sub-pixel structure where each OLED sub-pixel emits its own colored light; this is very much the same in concept as the pixel structure in a plasma display.

Both the White-OLED and RGB OLED have their pros and cons as we will further explain in this article. Direct-patterned RGB OLED is what Samsung is using on its OLED TVs.

The main advantage of RGB OLED is that no color filters are used since each sub-pixel generates its own colored light. We do not have any information on how much light is blocked by the color filters used in W-OLED pixel, but in LCD displays, the use of color filters can block as much as 70% of the light from the backlight source. Hence, removing the color filters as in the case of RGB OLED, should yield a more efficient TV display.

The main problem with this conventional direct-patterned RGB OLED emitter approach is that the different organic materials for the red, green, and blue sub-pixels age at different rates over time. This differential aging with time leads to color shifts as one sub-pixel color within the RGB OLED fads more quickly than the others.

LG adopted a smart twist to the conventional RGB OLED pixel structure by sandwiching the red, green, and blue organic materials, effectively stacking the blue, green, and red OLED film deposits on top of each other for each sub-pixel element.

The resultant organic sandwich produces white light instead of colored light once activated, hence the name While OLED, or W-OLED.

This means that each sub-pixel in a W-OLED display produces only white light. Color is added by adding red, green, and blue color filters on top of the white light emitting sub-pixel organic sandwich. LG uses the term 'Color Refiner' instead of color filters, but these are in effect red, green, and blue color filters placed on top of the white-light emitting sub-pixels.

Unlike the differential aging of the direct-patterned red, green, and blue sub-pixel structure in an RGB OLED, the resultant white light OLED formulation exhibits a more stable performance with no color shifts over an expected lifetime in excess of 100,000hrs! This means that unlike RGB OLED, with W-OLED there is a complete elimination of color shift since each sub-pixel ages at exactly the same rate as the rest of the sub-pixels within the pixel structure.

LG did not stop there however; there is also a fourth sub-pixel element in LG's White OLED pixel structure, a white sub-pixel. This fourth sub-element within the pixel structure does not include any color filters on top. The diagram here by LG depicts the RGBW sub-pixel structure as used by LG in its White OLED display technology. This extra white sub-pixel is said to help produce a brighter image while allowing for a wider color gamut and more accurate colors.

Compared to conventional direct patterned individual RGB sub-pixel emitters, White OLED pixel architecture offers additional advantages apart from the improved long-term color stability referred to above. In particular, White-OLED technology is easier to produce, highly scalable over large substrates, requires lower manufacturing times, and has a high production yield. This means that LG's White OLED display technology should be less expensive to produce. LG 55EM9800

The 55EM9800 OLED HDTV is basically the 2013 equivalent to LG's 55EM9700 we have seen during CES2012, but with a slightly curved screen. Apart from being the most expensive, it is also the thinnest TV presently available; at just 4.5mm thick at the panel thinnest point, it is significantly thinner than the Samsung OLED TV proposal.

This ultra slim panel design has been made possible thanks to the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics into the rear of the television, thus providing the necessary support while keeping weight down to just 38 pounds, that is half the weight a typical 55-inch LED TV. Complimenting the slim design is an equally incredible 1mm-thick bezel.

The slim design calls for the use of an external media hub - same as Samsung breakout box concept that connects to the TV panel via a single cable to provide both AV connectivity to the outside world and power; this is necessary to house all relevant electronics and AV connections.

Yet there is more than just a most appealing and incredibly slim design. This OLED TV comes with what the industry is calling 'infinite' contrast ratio, one that is more than 100,000,000:1; so no more mega ratings as we were used to with LED TVs, instead, the terminology has now shifted to infinite contrast!

Instead, 'direct-patterned' RGB OLED uses the conventional red, green, and blue sub-pixel structure where each OLED sub-pixel emits its own colored light; this is very much the same in concept as the pixel structure in a plasma display.LG is making use of a new pixel architecture called W-OLED, or White-OLED that generates white light only for each sub-pixel element; colored filters are then used to generate the color information.

Both the White-OLED and RGB OLED have their pros and cons as we will further explain in this article. Direct-patterned RGB OLED is what Samsung is using on its OLED TVs.

The main advantage of RGB OLED is that no color filters are used since each sub-pixel generates its own colored light. We do not have any information on how much light is blocked by the color filters used in W-OLED pixel, but in LCD displays, the use of color filters can block as much as 70% of the light from the backlight source. Hence, removing the color filters as in the case of RGB OLED, should yield a more efficient TV display.

The main problem with this conventional direct-patterned RGB OLED emitter approach is that the different organic materials for the red, green, and blue sub-pixels age at different rates over time. This differential aging with time leads to color shifts as one sub-pixel color within the RGB OLED fads more quickly than the others.

LG adopted a smart twist to the conventional RGB OLED pixel structure by sandwiching the red, green, and blue organic materials, effectively stacking the blue, green, and red OLED film deposits on top of each other for each sub-pixel element.

The resultant organic sandwich produces white light instead of colored light once activated, hence the name While OLED, or W-OLED.

This means that each sub-pixel in a W-OLED display produces only white light. Color is added by adding red, green, and blue color filters on top of the white light emitting sub-pixel organic sandwich. LG uses the term 'Color Refiner' instead of color filters, but these are in effect red, green, and blue color filters placed on top of the white-light emitting sub-pixels.

Unlike the differential aging of the direct-patterned red, green, and blue sub-pixel structure in an RGB OLED, the resultant white light OLED formulation exhibits a more stable performance with no color shifts over an expected lifetime in excess of 100,000hrs! This means that unlike RGB OLED, with W-OLED there is a complete elimination of color shift since each sub-pixel ages at exactly the same rate as the rest of the sub-pixels within the pixel structure.

LG did not stop there however; there is also a fourth sub-pixel element in LG's White OLED pixel structure, a white sub-pixel. This fourth sub-element within the pixel structure does not include any color filters on top. The diagram here by LG depicts the RGBW sub-pixel structure as used by LG in its White OLED display technology. This extra white sub-pixel is said to help produce a brighter image while allowing for a wider color gamut and more accurate colors.

Compared to conventional direct patterned individual RGB sub-pixel emitters, White OLED pixel architecture offers additional advantages apart from the improved long-term color stability referred to above. In particular, White-OLED technology is easier to produce, highly scalable over large substrates, requires lower manufacturing times, and has a high production yield. This means that LG's White OLED display technology should be less expensive to produce.