At CEDIA’s Future Home Experience (the newly rebranded CEDIA Expo) in Dallas, TX, LG is showing off its line of OLED TVs, supporting 4K and HDR streaming, at lower prices. Recognizing a demand for more traditional, flat TV form factors, LG has aligned its EF9500 (flat) and EG9600 (curved) OLED 4K displays with identical, reduced pricing, including a limited time $1000 instant rebate enticement.
The TVs have dropped in price from $6,999 for a 65 inch display to $4,999 and from $5,499 to $3,999 for the 55 inch versions. This represents a 30—45% price drop and includes the $1,000 instant rebate, which lasts through 2015.
LG’s OLED TVs have received some of the highest marks in competitive product reviews, with some sources indicating that the black levels were unmeasurable on their current rating scales. These TVs are perfectly suited for HDR. Amazon is currently the only source streaming HDR content, though we are likely to see more as HDR starts to gain consumer awareness.
Find out more about LG’s OLED lineup at LG.com.
OLED offers far lower energy consumption when compared to plasma. OLED also offers lower energy consumption when compared to fluorescent backlighting. OLED and plasma both provide far better color rendering than fluorescent-backlit LCD or LED-backlit LCD.
LCD is the slowest of the three display technologies… so motion blur is worst with LCD technology than the other two. Plasma is much faster than LCD… but some motion blur (and some 3D cross-talk) can be seen in very-fast-motion scenes (or, with 3D, scenes which include a lot of red). OLED is the fastest.
OLED is the ultimate solution. It offers super-fast on/off times (faster than both plasma and LCD). This reduces both “motion blur” and “3D crosstalk”. OLED can match, and even exceed the color rendering ability of plasma. And, if the display is well-designed, OLED can far-exceed the “contrast ratio” of plasma.
Obviously, the future is OLED. Compared to plasma, OLED is far superior in power usage, slightly better at color rendering, and much better at contrast ratio (aka “black level”)
But there are a couple of things which must be taken into account…
First, 4K is a marketing gimmick. The human eye has a limited resolution. At a distance of 7 feet from a 1080p TV that is 65″ diagonal, the human eye cannot see each pixel on the screen. If you upgrade that same 65″ TV to a “4K” TV – you would need to sit no more than 3 feet from the screen in order for your eyes to be able to be able to see every pixel on the screen!!!!
Second… if you own a high-end plasma TV today (as I do – mine is a Samsung PN64D8000, purchased in 2011), the ONLY reason to buy a new OLED TV is for the energy savings. You will see a slight improvement in color and contrast if you switch from a high-end plasma to a high-end OLED.
I paid $3000 for my TV in 2011. Even at the “new, lower price” of these OLED TV’s… it’s not worth switching!!! My 64″ plasma uses about 450 watts on average (ranging between 280-680 watts, depending on the average color being displayed at the moment). Based on 4 hours/day at $0.11/Kwh, that comes to $5.94/month.
Even if these new OLED TV’s from LG were priced at $2000 for a 65″ model, it would take more than 31 years to recoup the cost of the new TV (based on energy savings), and the improvement in the picture would be so minuscule that it would be difficult to tell the difference.
So… I would not replace my current plasma TV with one of these OLED TV’s until my current plasma TV dies.
If you own a low-to-mid-range TV, and you are looking to upgrade to a high-end model, the new OLED TV’s are your best option, because high-end plasma TV’s are no longer being produced, and OLED is superior to plasma.
However…
Don’t run out and buy one of those new “curved” displays. True video geeks who really care about video perfection DON’T WANT CURVED DISPLAYS!!! Curved displays are just another marketing gimmick. OLED technology can be built in just about any shape… so the manufacturers thought it would be “cool” to make curved displays. But, curved displays DISTORT the video content!!!
[…] 4K OLED TVs getting more affordable […]
[…] can rest assured that you will be able to watch all that glorious HDR content. Despite LG’s announcement at CEDIA of lower-priced OLED sets, today’s announcement didn’t include any mention of prices for this year’s […]