Sony to Launch Ultra-Thin TV

[Poke]

Sony to Launch Ultra-Thin TV

The set will be less than one thin thick.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (October 1, 2007) -- Sony will introduce a new ultra-thin TV on December 1 in Japan.

That's according to an article by Reuters.

The set, which will be the first based on the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, will be just one-eight of an inch thick, compared to today's flat-screen sets which measure up to four inches thick.

While the set will only feature an 11-inch screen, Sony believes that OLED HDTVs could eventually compete with LCD and Plasma in the big-screen category.



The new Sony OLED TV.

However, because of the set's ultra-thin panel, it's not feasible to make larger-screen versions at this time.

"I don't think OLED TVs will replace LCD TVs overnight. But I do believe this is a type of technology with very high potential, something that will come after LCD TVs," said Sony Executive Deputy President Katsumi Ihara, according to Reuters.

Sony said it would likely sell the 11-inch OLED TV for about $1,740 in Japan. It's unclear when the set will be available in the United States.

In addition to the thin panel, the OLED set promises to be more energy efficient and offer better pictures of fast-moving images, Reuters reports.

 

[Smith P.]

Oh, the price is good too - $1,740 !

 

[mike123abc]

have to start somewhere... Plasmas were 100k... Will wait for the 60" 1k model...

 

[Sean Mota]

11 inches... ouch... they can have it for themselves...

 

[mike123abc]

11 inches... ouch... they can have it for themselves...

The 11 inches is not too spectacular, but the 3 mm or 1/8" is a nice thickness!

 

[beast37799]

wall paper tv

 

[joedekock]

Its a nice thin Television screen... but the base is huge! Give me a break.

 

[tawhite]

That's what I was thinking, that freakin' base is huge! How big will the base for a 60" be, the size of your couch?

 

[Foxbat]

The 11 inches is not too spectacular, but the 3 mm or 1/8" is a nice thickness!

I got some SPAM in my Junk filter that promises to take care of that "little" thickness problem...

That's a horrible problem, isn't it? TV's too thin to host the connectors you need ("F" for RF, HDMI for HD, SCART or RCAs for SD video, etc., plus Power) so there needs to be this brick of a base to host these and the set's electronics. I'm sure a larger screen size would not need a scaled-up base, other than stability.

Over at Engadget, they're talking about a Hitachi 32" LCD set that's less than an inch thick (Hitachi shows off its 0.74-inch thick LCD HDTV in person - Engadget) if you want a more "conventional" TV and not take the hit on "bleeding-edge" new technology.

 

[mike123abc]

I suspect in the future OLED will be marketed as 2 boxes. 1 ultra thin TV and some I/O box you put somewhere else with all the connectors. Some of the early LCDs from Sharp had this feature.

 

[Stargazer]

Can't wait for the larger televisions to come out. OLED's should be the best and cheapest television technology so far from what I have read and has the potential to be quite a bit cheaper. Even if they didn't last as long (in which I read they have improved that quite a bit) if they are very cheap then they could be throwaways.

 

[Bogy]

From other reports I have read I think some of you are missing the intended initial use of these screens. You are immediately jumping to 60" screens, and complaining about the base. But much more likely is increasing the size of the screen just slightly from this 11" example. Think laptop. The connections, power supply, etc. will be in the laptop base. The OLED screen will make a thinner laptop possible, with a screen that is less likely to break. With decreased power consumption, and giving off less heat. As production ramps up the price will come down. Later will come the screen that takes up the entire wall for $100.

 

[Geoffrey]

I wonder if that ultra thin television, that was created by Sony will still be capable of getting burned out if over use