LG demonstrates prototype 31-inch 3D OLED TV at IFA 2010

Since CES 2010 in January, we’ve known that 3D can be beautifully presented on OLED TVs, but this year has thus far done nothing to persuade us that OLED is anywhere near ready for primetime. Indeed, some manufacturers seem to have given up on the technology for the time being. However at Berlin’s IFA electronics trade show, LG is demonstrating a 31-inch OLED TV that is 3D ready and wafer thin, at just 2.9mm.

Although there’s not even a hint of pricing yet, it’s reasonable to assume that this TV will be wallet-bustingly expensive. Scheduled to arrive in 2011, the OLED TV boasts brilliant colour, exceptionally deep black levels, 600hz picture processing and, surprisingly, a full HD, 1080p resolution.

What makes 3D so glorious on OLED TVs is that they have none of the crosstalk problems found on LCD models. Because, like plasma TVs, and CRTs before them, OLED is a fluorescing technology -- it needs no backlight, unlike LCDs -- and that gives a much cleaner transition between each frame. In 3D, that’s important because crosstalk means you’ll get ghosting on some parts of the image, which is very undesirable. OLED also beats plasma in terms of brightness and colour, something else that is crucial in 3D.

You might not care much for 3D, but OLED is still an exciting technology for TVs, and we can’t wait to see decent size screens appear at affordable prices.