Today saw the IFA press conferences from Samsung and LGE. It was with hope of some real news on OLED TV. Sadly we were disappointed: both LGE and Samsung showed some nice OLED TV products (LGE allowed the press onto their booth, for Samsung we have to wait to tomorrow to see things up close). However neither committed a price or delivery date for Europe.
Samsung’s OLED TV presentation
As of today we have no commitments for delivery in Europe or North America. I suspect that means some flagship launches in Korea only this year. In fact, Samsung appeared to be messaging to the Korean press above all, as they admitted them early and only let the rest in after they were seated.
LGE’s OLED TV demonstration at their IFA booth
Amongst other press conferences, my colleague Paul Gagnon visited Toshiba and reported a compelling demonstration of 4k2k gaming; if a pixel war breaks out in the PC industry or 4k2k becomes part of the next gaming platform then this could start to provide some real content to bring value.
An interesting discussion started amongst the DisplaySearch analyst team here – which would you buy, 1080p OLED or 4k2k LCD if both were 55” and the same price?
- The OLED camp argues that nothing beats the jaw-dropping contrast and above all sharp motion performance of OLED, and that’s worth paying for. We live in a 1080 world and there will be no true 4k2k entertainment for a long while. Learn from 3D’s problems, content is vital.
- The argument for 4K is that the trend towards higher pixel density in mobile devices, including PCs, means that content will be coming, even if it is not from broadcast, cable, or Blu Ray. Consumers value that higher resolution more than they do a thinner form factor or more saturated color, especially if OLED technology is not proven to be durable and long lasting.
Could there be a re-match of the iPhone vs. Galaxy smartphone display war on the TV?
Finally, it was a blast of fresh air to hear a TV setmaker sounding aggressive! See the photo for a clear statement from TP Vision:
