OLEDs vs. LCDs

This match up is an even more lopsided battle than the one against CRTs. As we all know, LCD technology has progressed quite a bit in recent years. However, it still hasn’t reached the quality of an old fashioned CRT display, and, due to technology limitations, it never will. LCD images are very, VERY dull, and require a powerful light behind the screen (called a backlight) to make the images vibrant in any way. This backlight is a large power hog, though obviously not to the extent of a CRT. Also, due to the technology used on LCDs, it takes several milliseconds for a pixel to switch colors or to turn on at all; which is a million times slower than CRTs or OLEDs. OLEDs can generate colors naturally, without a backlight, that are as bright as a CRT. Since there’s no backlight, power use is dramatically cut, resulting in longer lasting laptops with CRT quality displays. It simply isn’t even a competition. OLEDs do everything LCDs do better.

Costs

Of course you’re thinking, yeah, I can get a plasma screen too, but those are ridiculously expensive. Well, this isn’t an issue with OLEDs. Using current manufacturing methods, OLED displays will cost the same as a comparatively sized LCD panel. However, by the time OLEDs will be available for purchase on newegg, there will be a new manufacturing process that will make them one of the least expensive display methods available. Basically, this process involves literally printing a screen of OLEDs with a high resolution, specialized inkjet printer. It is as simple as that. You print off the screen, mount it on its electronic base, add a protective cover, and sell it. Costs for displays made using this method promise to be on par, if not less than, current CRT prices.

Final Words

OLED screens are actually already being made, but only on a small scale. They’re popular among PDAs and MP3 players due to the fact that they use much less power than a typical LCD screen. As far as when you’ll be browsing Newegg.com’s latest OLED display menu, it will probably be a year or so, and about a year after that before prices drop to where they ought to be, once manufacturers have covered their development costs. But it is worth the wait, and you won’t be disappointed when you get yours.