Before (left) and after: LG’s rollable OLED display descends into its base.
LG DisplayWhen you roll your future TV out of sight into a little box, thank LG Display.
The leader in big-screen OLED manufacturing, not satisfied to debut the first 88-inch 8K OLED TV, will show off another world’s first at CES: a 65-inch 4K OLED display that’s, get this, rollable.
Although some concept big-screen TVs shown at CES pasts have been bendy, this is the first one that’s flexible enough to spin up into tube form. LG’s images depict it descending into a little box the size of a soundbar, but the company also talks about making the display portable. The secret, as usual, is its paper-thin organic light emitting diode display.
Flat, stiff OLED TVs by LG and others currently deliver the best picture quality available and there’s no reason to think this concept, rollable display won’t match them. LGD — it’s technically a separate company from LG Electronics, or LGE — doesn’t yet mention prosaic details like when it will hit the market, how much it might cost or even how it manages to remain flat and watchable after being unrolled, but who cares? This is a friggin’ rollable TV, dude!
Even so, this ain’t LG Display’s first rollable TV rodeo. At CES 2016 I saw the same concept in an 18-inch size, and it was pretty cool then despite its puny resolution (810×1200, not even high-def) and size. Bigger is usually better when it comes to TVs, especially with the cinematic quality of OLED.
I haven’t seen the 65-incher yet but my hands-on time with its smaller brother (above), a mere 0.18mm thick, kinda blew my mind. At the time I said:
“The 18-inch OLED display was tightly rolled into a cone shape, supported by a black stand and wedged into a chunk of plastic like a pair of lips. On its surface, improbably, danced images of city skylines and other demo footage, rendered alien by the tight curvature. It was like nothing I’d seen before.”
I’ll be rolling in to LG Display’s booth to check out the 65-inch version in person soon. Stay tuned.
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CES 2018: Complete coverage from CNET
