LG's OLED tech awarded at expo
A model takes a look at LG Electronics’ organic light emitting diode (OLED) television. / Courtesy of LG Display
By Kim Yoo-chul
LG Display’s in-house organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology “received the gold prize in the category of technology innovation at CITE 2016,” Hyun Dong-hoon, a spokesman at LG Display, said.
Hyun said the company’s larger OLED displays made for TVs were credited by referees for their use of high-dynamic-range (HDR) tech that significantly improves the viewing quality of premium TV sets.
“Because OLED displays don’t require bulky backlighting, the panels are ideally positioned to display the color black as the perfect black, enabling viewers to enjoy more vivid and clearer images on the screen. This is why OLEDs are the best fit with HDR technology,” according to the spokesman.
CITE is Asia’s most influential information and electronics fair. This year, more than 1,600 companies were at the event, drawing more than 120,000 visitors, according to LG.
LG Display anticipates its investment in OLED will garner lucrative returns and significantly help it beat its major Chinese competitors in the display market as conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) panels are rapidly being commoditized due to their massive output by Chinese companies.
LG’s “OLED first” move, however, received mixed responses mostly because of its limited marketing budget to promote premium consumer products using the technology amid weak demand and growing market uncertainty, though the market itself looks promising.
LG Display has continued investing in OLED focusing on large-sized screens, while its domestic rival Samsung Display has so far been consistent in spending more for smaller OLEDs for use in handsets as Samsung feels the OLED TV market still has technological barriers such as costs and production yields.
But Samsung is on track to find measures to cut costs in large-sized OLEDs so it can enter the growing market. The company recently invested “millions of dollars” in Japan’s Curox in March this year to sharpen the so-called TADF technology, a move aimed at improving the productivity of larger OLED panels.
“The TADF technology is expected to address key issues such as burn-in and costs for further OLED expansion,” said an official.