# LG Slashes OLED Prices



## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

It’s undeniable that a void in the television market was created when plasma technology was shown the door. This isn’t to say that LCD displays haven’t made appreciable advances in overall capability and picture quality, but they’re certainly no plasma. That, of course, leads us straight to the 500-pound gorilla hiding in the corner of the room: OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). It’s no secret that enthusiasts have been hoping and praying – fingers and toes crossed – that OLED would overcome pricing and manufacturing efficiency hiccups to become the next “it” display tech, and if this week’s news out of LG is any indication, OLED has ripped off the life support mask and is cruising the streets looking for a fight.










OLED is practically plasma 2.0, relying on self-illuminating pixels that are capable of beautifully saturated colors, insane levels of blacks, and nearly perfect screen uniformity. And unlike LCD televisions, it has viewing angle capabilities that are to die for. 

Now, it hasn’t been all rosy for OLED. It has proven very difficult to reliably produce on a large scale in television sizes, motion resolution could use some improvement, and one manufacturer (LG Electronics) has dealt with some dark image reproduction problems. There’s also that little issue of price, which has been a big stumbling block for just about all of us…until now. In a fittingly October-like move, LG is hacking its OLED pricing to pieces.

"OLED TV is not just a new TV -- it's an entirely new category of television that delivers what experts and consumers alike are hailing as the best picture ever, a clear indication that OLED is here to stay," said William Cho, President and CEO, LG Electronics USA. "LG is the first and only manufacturer to deliver OLED TV to U.S. consumers, and our vision is to make this revolutionary technology more attainable by more consumers at prices comparable to many LED TV models on the market."

LG is knocking 30- to 45-percent off its previous OLED prices, which is resulting in the industry’s first sub-$2,000 OLED televisions. That sub-$2K price point will apply to the company’s curved 1080p OLED set (55EG9100) and the late model 55EC9300 ($1799); if you’re looking to go 4K UHD, then your lowest buy-in price point is now $2,999 (flat 55-inch 55EF9500, curved 55-inch55EG9600). Those prices aren’t cheap, but consider this: two years ago LG’s first gen 55-inch OLED set hit the market with a $14,999 price tag.

For months, we've been touting the importance of high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut. HDR promises object brightness and enhanced shadow detail along with a more expansive range of darkness. LG says that its sub-$4K EF9500 will ship HDR capable (the EG9600 will ship HDR ready with a firmware upgrade). That's great news for folks looking at that price point.

LG’s OLED TV fleet features the webOS Smart TV platform that simplifies switching between broadcast TV, streaming services, and external devices. 2015 model televisions have an updated version of webOS that sports an enhanced interface, quicker boot times, and personalization features. 

_Image Credit: LG Electronics _


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

OLED has ripped off the life support mask and is cruising the streets looking for a fight.
That was great!

Very relieved to see prices coming down already. I'm sure my ol plasma has a bunch of life left but if it died tomorrow, I don't know what I'd do. OLED or death!!!! Oh wait....


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

willis7469 said:


> OLED has ripped off the life support mask and is cruising the streets looking for a fight.
> That was great!
> 
> Very relieved to see prices coming down already. I'm sure my ol plasma has a bunch of life left but if it died tomorrow, I don't know what I'd do. OLED or death!!!! Oh wait....


I am in the same boat, if my 60" plasma died tomorrow I think I could reluctantly replace it with a 55" 4K OLED for about $1,000 more than what I paid for the plasma and just move my couch a little closer to the TV 

Hopefully by the time it does die a 65" OLED would be around $1K and maybe with Panasonic getting into the OLED market that will happen even sooner.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I think we are a year or so away from some fantastic - competitively priced - OLED sets. Let's hope that Panasonic's OLED attempt fares better than their Flagship LCD 4K attempt...we definitely need at least two strong players in the market to empower consumers.


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## Robert Zohn (Aug 13, 2011)

typ44q said:


> I am in the same boat, if my 60" plasma died tomorrow I think I could reluctantly replace it with a 55" 4K OLED for about $1,000 more than what I paid for the plasma and just move my couch a little closer to the TV
> 
> Hopefully by the time it does die a 65" OLED would be around $1K and maybe with Panasonic getting into the OLED market that will happen even sooner.


@typ44q, take a look at LG's latest Full HD 1080p 55" OLED, the 55EG9100. Great product only topped by the even greater price of below $2k and the new reduced price of the 4K 55" OLED is sub $3k.

@Todd, thanks for another great article! Very nicely written and on target.

-Robert


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## mdanderson (Oct 3, 2009)

Will OLED have any image retention or burn-in problems like plasma has had?


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## Robert Zohn (Aug 13, 2011)

Yes, ^^ But with a proper break-in and watching mixed content I would not expect to see any burn-in. Emissive displays, like, plasma, CRT and OLED are subject to image retention.

BTW, you can burn a static image into a LCD TV, but it takes longer exposure of the static image to burn it into the panel.

-Robert


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## mdanderson (Oct 3, 2009)

Thanks for the info Robert. Have you had any OLED tvs in the hdtv shootout?


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## wes (Aug 19, 2009)

I am waiting for the 100" for less than $5,000


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## Robert Zohn (Aug 13, 2011)

mdanderson said:


> Thanks for the info Robert. Have you had any OLED tvs in the hdtv shootout?


Yes, in fact, LG won our 2015 TV Shootout evaluation event with the 65EG9600 4K OLED TV. The 65EG9600 came in first by the popular and professional participants who voted. At last month's CEDIA convention we presented LG's management with our "King of TV" trophy and they proudly displayed the trophy at their exhibit.

-Robert


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## Robert Zohn (Aug 13, 2011)

Starting tomorrow, Monday, November 9th, we're offering a buyer's choice on LG's Flat and Curved 65" and 55" OLED TVs;

With purchase of LG 65" Flat or Curved 4K OLED TV 65" you can choose between a 10% store credit, $500 or take a FREE 49UF6400. 

With purchase of LG 55" Flat or curved 4K OLED TV you can select a 10% store credit of $300 or take a FREE 42LF5600.

Offers end 11/21/15 and will not be back again.

-Robert


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