They say nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. We can add to that list: TV prices will continue to fall even as the technology and picture quality continue to advance. Case in point: LG's advanced OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TVs, which sold for well over $5,000 just a couple of years ago can now be had for under $1,800.
With OLED manufacturing efficiencies improving, LG is slashing prices on their entire line of OLED HDTVs and UHD TVs, in both curved and flat models. Prices are being lowered from 30% to 45% cross the board. Here are the details on a per-model basis:
EF9500 Series: Flat OLED 4K Ultra HD TVs:
EG9600: Art Slim Curved OLED 4K Ultra HD TVs
55EG9100: Full HD Curved OLED TV
55EC9300: Full HD Curved OLED TV
OLED technology is similar in many respects to plasma TV in that it uses self-illuminating (self-emissive) pixels to create a bright and colorful image. Unlike LED/LCD TVs, no backlight is required. This allows OLED sets to create deep rich blacks as well as richly saturated colors. Also, unlike LED/LCD TVs, OLED TVs can be viewed off axis (from an angle) without significant loss of picture quality or color fading. One of OLED TV's few drawbacks today is in motion resolution and blur, though this has been improving on recent models.
LG says that the EF9500 UHD TVs will include support for HDR (High Dynamic Range) out of the box while HDR capabilities will be added to the EG9600 models via a future firmware update. HDR is a new enhancement to content mastering and TV technology to allow for greater range between the light and dark parts of the image, leading to a more dynamic and realistic looking picture.
"OLED TV is not just a new TV - it's an entirely new category of television that delivers what experts and consumers alike are hailing as the best picture ever, a clear indication that OLED is here to stay," said William Cho, President and CEO, LG Electronics USA. "LG is the first and only manufacturer to deliver OLED TV to U.S. consumers, and our vision is to make this revolutionary technology more attainable by more consumers at prices comparable to many LED TV models on the market."
LG's Korean rival Samsung Electronics uses OLED technology extensively in the smaller screens of its mobile devices, however they only dabbled in large screen OLED with a single curved model for sale in limited quantities, back in 2013/2014. Recently at IFA in Berlin, Japanese TV maker Panasonic showed off a new OLED UHD TV for the European and Asian markets. We're expecting to hear more about Panasonic's plans for OLED for the US market at the CES in January (if not before). But it's looking like LG will have some competition in the OLED TV space in 2016 and beyond.
LG's OLED TVs feature the webOS Smart TV platform, which was designed to make finding and switching between broadcast TV, streaming services and external devices simple and intutive. LG's updated webOS platform for 2015 features enhancements to the user interface, faster boot time and personalized menus. 4K streaming content is currently available from streaming and broadcast partners including Amazon Video, Netflix, DIRECTV and YouTube.
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