New OLED TVs with significantly brighter output are on the way, thanks to a breakthrough in panel manufacturing.
As reported by FlatpanelsHD (opens in a new tab), Universal Display (UDC, one of the largest manufacturers of OLED materials), says it is on track to ship glow-in-the-dark blue emitters by the end of 2024 that could appear on the best 4K TVs or super detailed monitors.
To clarify exactly what this means, red, green, and blue emitters are among the key components of OLED displays, with two types currently used by panel manufacturers: fluorescence and phosphorescence.
Phosphorescent (PHOLED) emitters have up to 100% internal luminous efficiency, while their much less bright fluorescent equivalents only have 25% internal efficiency.
Red and green phosphor emitters have been used in OLED panels for quite some time, but manufacturers have so far been unable to create stable blue PHOLED emitters.
As a supplier to BOE, LG Display and Samsung Display, UDC has been working on the switch to blue PHOLED for several years and finally appears to be nearing the manufacturing stage of this highly anticipated component.
According to Korean newspaper ETNews (opens in a new tab), the development was confirmed at the Material Parts Equipment Global Tech Fair earlier this week by UDC Vice President of Universal Display Mike Hack.
Despite the announcement, there should be a long wait before consumers see brighter panels using the technology, with no confirmation at this stage as to whether blue PHOLED will be available in time for OLED TV manufacturing in 2024.
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News of UDC's impending switch to PHOLED blue should ensure we'll see OLED TVs with even more HDR pop for years to come.
The development follows LG Display's recent announcement that it will start using microlens technology to increase the brightness of its TVs by 20 percent to around 1200 nits.
While questions remain about the longevity of OLED TVs over time, due to screen burn-in issues, these two new manufacturing developments should ensure that OLED TVs remain the display type of choice for videophiles.
If you're not quite ready to wait for those ultra-bright OLEDs to hit the market and want to buy a new TV before the holiday season proper, check out our list of the best 4K TV deals currently live, wherever that may be.