Trawick, March 4 (Final Draft)

Final draft (unedited):

Major companies like LG, Samsung and Sony are changing the way consumers view television and cell phones with organic light-emitting diode technology.

How OLED differs from the standard LED, which is light-emitting diode, display or LCD, liquid-crystal display, is it doesn’t require a backlight. The light it emits passes through a number of filters and a color refiner to produce noteworthy high-definition images, according to LG’s website.

While a majority of TVs and cell phones still have the standard LED display, LG released a curved OLED 55-inch television last July and the LG G Flex curved OLED cell phone was released in early.

John Taylor, the vice president of LG, is involved in all aspects of the LG business, from cell phones to televisions to home appliances. Taylor said OLED is the next big thing when it comes to consumer electronics.

“That’s one of the new trends right now,” he said. “I just came from the Consumers Electronics show last month where flat screens are still dominant but the new trend is curved. It really gives you a much more cinematic viewing experience. It’s like the iMAX in your living room.”

Later this year, LG is releasing five new television models with the curved OLED display, including a 77-inch. He said consumers will also enjoy the thinness of their television set.

“If you put three credit cards together, that’s about the thickness of the 55-inch TV,” Taylor said. “But the real benefit (is) in terms of the picture quality. We do a lot of consumer research at LG and throughout the whole industry and picture quality is always the top consideration for anybody buying a new television set. With OLED, you get limitless contrast ratio. … It’s (a) much more pleasing and realistic viewing experience.”

OLED technology was first introduced in 2009 when the lighting company Philips introduced the Lumiblade. The Lumiblade, according to their website, is a large-area diffuse light source. Fred Butler, the business development manager for Philips, said the company is only using OLED with light, not with their consumer electronics.

The director of Industry Analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association, Stephen Koenig, said the benefits of OLED is its energy efficient, bright and the color is exceptional. He said at first, OLED was being implemented into smaller displays such as smartphones and smart watches. In recent years, manufacturers like LG, Samsung and others have been trying to develop larger screens with OLED display but it’s been quite a challenge.

“It has to do with the manufacturing process and getting the sub straight that is luminescent to get that consistence,” Koenig said. “It’s been a suitable technology for mass production for small screens but the challenge in recent years  have been being able to find a cost-efficient way to produce large screens.”

Taylor said OLED is the probably the biggest change consumers have seen since the emergence of flat screens and the trend is only going to grow bigger and better.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes from picture tubes to flat screens and then the flat screens started with plasma and LED,” Taylor said. “(OLED is) a whole new technology that is going to revolutionize the way we watch TV.”