LG has been making a lot of announcements lately. Not too long ago, it announced that its 3D HDTVs would be available in May and now it has announced that its first OLED HDTV will be out in the UK market later this month.
The LG 15EL9500 measures only 15 inches – small compared to the 40 and 50-inch screens dominating the market – but is still the largest OLED TV available. It offers only 720p resolution instead of 1080p. However, it makes up for this with a built-in Freeview tuner, an ultra-slim profile measuring just 3.2mm and an amazing contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1 which guarantees deep black levels that LG claims can be observed from any angle.
It also uses TruMotion 100Hz technology and is even water-resistant – making it good for the bathroom, perhaps? – while only consuming 40 watts of power. A USB port is provided for connectivity.
The LG 15EL9500 offers serious competition for Sony’s own 11-inch OLED TV, the XEL-1, which also has a 3mm panel, a high contrast ratio and excellent connectivity – two HDMI inputs and a MemoryStick slot. It is also cheaper, costing between 1500 and 2000 pounds whereas the XEL-1 costs around 3000.
OLED is short for Organic Light Emitting Diode, a film of organic compounds which allow an HDTV to create brilliant pictures without a backlight.
