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Topic: Hardware

CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

Summary: Sony has given up on consumer OLED HDTV production, leaving it to the LGs and Samsungs of the world, but that doesn't mean it has lost sight of it as a potentially disruptive display technology. So in response, the electronics giant has unveiled at CES a competing concept that it's calling Crystal LED Display.

Sean Portnoy

By for Home Theater |

Sony has given up on consumer OLED HDTV production, leaving it to the LGs and Samsungs of the world, but that doesn't mean it has lost sight of it as a potentially disruptive display technology. So in response, the electronics giant has unveiled at CES a competing concept that it's calling Crystal LED Display.

Instead of using them as a backlighting source, Sony's new technology mounts red, green, and blue LEDs (6 million in all) on the front of the TV. Sony claims that the shift results in "strikingly higher contrast (in both light and dark environments), wider color gamut, superb video image response time, and wider viewing angles when compared to existing LCD and plasma displays, with low power consumption." That "superb" response time is reportedly 10 times faster than the rates for any other Sony TV.

Sony execs told the Wall Street Journal that the Crystal LED Display technology is more stable than OLED, so there should be fewer manufacturing errors, which presumably could lower the price for the sets. While there's no public timeline for when commercial sets using the new technology would be available, a Sony exec told the Journal that units will be available later this year.

Reports from the show floor came away impressed, if not awed. Engadget said the sample set on view failed to show off the speedy refresh rates, and our sister site CNET found that OLED TVs provided a bit more "wow." CNET also posted a short video examining Sony's Crystal LED Display in more detail that you can watch here.

More CES 2012 coverage from CNET and ZDNet.

Topic: Hardware

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  • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

    No! Oled is better technology and the TVs are more sexy! LGs Oled looked amazing and the viewing angle, black levels, color are all better than LCD.
    DaveHBoston
    Reply 1 Vote

    • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

      @DaveHBoston

      Before you comment, you should read the article. It is NOT a LCD set with LEDs for illumination, it is a pure LED set so your comments are meaningless. LED's turn off instantly so it is impossible for an OLED set to have a blacker black than this Sony. OLED might be better but certainly not for any of the reasons you gave.
      BillFerreira
      Reply Vote

      • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

        @BillFerreira

        I miss typed LCD instead of LED. Also Oled and LED have the same black rate (or turn off speed as you bluntly put it). Organic LEDs have often provide better color and off axis viewing as well as the possibility for different sub pixel agragments like wrgb(LG) or rgby(Sharp) rgb(Samsung) while stacking LEDs only allows for rgb in a specific layout. Also blue pollution becomes in issue though Oled has a blue burn out issue again addressed at 50k hours. LEDs also consume much more power then Oleds . The argument on longevity 50,000 Oled hours vs 75,000 Led hours want to watch your TV 8 hours a day for 17 years or 25 years either way your going to upgrade. Not to mention full led array color problems. My reason for calling the TV sexy is the 1mm bezel, which means I can fit a 55" TV in a 55" space it also helps for immersion and aesthetics are part of technology the look of the product is part of its appeal (you don't buy a v12 and mash it into a Saturn). Using extra produced frames to simulate 100hz or 240hz or past does not matter when your in coming signal is likely 24fps or 60hz. I'm talking about only TV here.
        Not to mention repair, brightness(to color saturation level),weight, possibility to be mounted, style.

        Also this tech is more expensive to make requires so much more work to scale due to not being printable.
        DaveHBoston
        Reply Vote

    • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

      @DaveHBoston
      You lack pretty basic knowledge on OLED and how the LED tvs on current market work, and also the definition of C-LED. The first statement on your comment is making you look pretty dumb.. You should've just said the TVs are more sexy, if you really don't know the technology...
      zd3012
      Reply Vote

  • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

    The last paragraph of this article makes absolutely no sense. "Reports from the show floor came away impressed, if not awed." and then the next 2 examples completely negate that point. What point are you trying to make Sean? Just reporting about the announcement it would seem but who came away "awed" after seeing Sony's demo model?
    jeremyoakey
    Reply Vote

    • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

      @joakey@... I thought the same exact thing. Funny thing is, the same kind of errors (sentence construction that makes no sense) are present in a recent Zack Whittaker article on SOPA. This is happening surprisingly often as of late. What's going on, ZDNet?
      Ndiaz.fuentes
      Reply Vote

  • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

    What Sony displayed at CES revealed nothing more than bright colors and deep blacks. Nothing looks natural on these or any of the OLED sets at CES. The WOW factor has nothing to do with a display looking natural which should be the goal. Perhaps these sets are there but the companies selected material that catches the attention of animals passing by. This easily impresses the press and the unsophisticated.
    Bilguana
    Reply Vote

  • RE: CES 2012: Can Sony Crystal LED Display HDTVs beat OLED sets?

    It???s really a sad story to hear that Sony of all people has given up OLED HDTV production to LG Electronics and Sammy. With these two OLED TV giants I think it is difficult to tell who will be the OLED TV hero of the year. But from what I have gathered from cnet and other reliable sources, LG Electronics has made it clear that they will begin supplies of their OLED TV by early July 2012, whereas, Sammy was not really certain about the date but quoted 2012 as well. Judging from this these two, one can easily tell that LG Electronics is going to be the OLED TV hero of the year since they already have fix plans and the fact that LG OLED TV got the best award from CES 2012 at cnet, is another clear evidence.
    kellywilliams044
    Reply Vote

  • Crystal LED

    The Sony HD CRT from 2001 ( KD-34XBR-2 ) was a great piece of technology but since then I have been disappointed with ALL LCD's, LED's. Whatever happened to picture quality as the one and only priority? Thinnest TV, 3D, biggest screen size, fancy gimmick screen organic technology were poor choices for priorities. OLED is still a disappointment because of its degradation over time, cmon, organic? Didnt degradation raise a red flag? Crystal LED's seems to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel. I'm just afraid the deep blacks will still eliminate details that are there but cant be seen. A Sony fair price for the Crystal LED to compete with OLED sets will make the difference. OLED is a gimmick that wont last. Sony should concentrate on Crystal LED production and distribution before its too late to take the market. July 2013 would be a great date to shoot for. I am waiting.
    cpotato2
    Reply Vote

    • re: Crystal LED

      Sony has been falling behind their top competitors Samsung, LG, & Panasonic (even Sharp with their Elite brand) when it comes to innovation. They have been like this for a while playing the waiting game and by the time they come out with something better, most people already bought the other brands. I was disappointed when they stopped making plasmas but excited that they will be coming out with the much anticipated SED/FED TV instead. As the Canon/Toshiba SED TV fizzled due to lawsuits, Sony's FED technology was abandoned before they can even launch it. Then they introduced the 11" OLED TV. I thought there is hope for Sony but that project was shelved too in place of the C-LED TV. Ok, the main reason is that Sony thought OLED is too expensive to make and has a short lifespan. So they decided to make something which they think is better and cheaper to make. We'll see if this will pay off. Will it go the way of the SED/FED TV? I hope not as I want to see competing technologies go at it.
      inmypjs69
      Reply 1 Vote
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