$655 Million Investment From LG Display For OLED Expansion Ready For Mass Production in 2014

Sure, LG's current 55-inch OLED HDTV is pretty pricey with a US MSRP of $12K, but that may start to change next year when panel supplier LG Display kicks its new 8G production line into full gear. LG Electronics holds a 38 percent stake in the company and although it supplies screens to many others as well, the next generation of 55EM9700s will likely be a large segment of the displays produced. Although LCD manufacturers ramped up 8G facilities capable of producing six 55-inch displays from one piece of glass in the late 2000s, oversupply caused prices to drop and manufacturing to slow down, including at LG Display.

Now, new display technology is ramping up investment again, which will see this new line installed at its P9 plant in Paju, South Korea at a cost of 706 billion won ($655 million). Based on LG's WRGB OLED evaporation process, it should be capable of working with as many as 26,000 input sheets per month once it's up to full speed in the first half of 2014. Chief competitor Samsung showed off "production" OLED HDTVs last year and plenty of demo units at CES with a mid-year release planned, we'll see if it manages to keep up before / if the tech goes mainstream. [Engadget]

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Quantum Physics Are Powering The New 4K Sony TV

While Sony might currently be spoken about in TV circles for its blazing 4K sets, the future could hold something quite different. In fact, Sony's Next Big Thing—Triluminous displays—will be powered by quantum physics.

The new range of TVs will be the first consumer devices to make use of quantum dots: a previously lab-based semiconductor technology, which uses "tuned" nanocrystals so small—around 10 nano­metres in diameter— that they exhibit quantum properties. As a result, they emit light at highly specific and predetermined wavelengths, allowing them to offer a 50 percent increase in the range of colors that screens can produce.

It's that promise which has Sony excited over the technology. But what's different about the new sets, other than a bunch of tiny dots? Nature explains:

"The contrast with today's flat screens begins with the light source. Conventional LCDs use a high-intensity blue LED backlight whose glow is converted by a phosphor coating to create a broadband, white light used to make the moving TV images. The new Triluminos tele­visions instead pair an uncoated blue LED with a thin glass tube filled with quantum dots. Two kinds of quantum dots in the tube absorb some of the blue light from the backlight and re-emit it as pure red and green light. The resulting white light is more intense at the wavelengths of these three specific colours than the white light made by a phosphor-coated LED, so that more colour comes through in the images."

While pushing the bounds of technological capability with cutting edge science is something we heartily support, it remains to be seen how the use of quantum dots will directly benefit consumers. These TVs may offer up improvements that the everyday viewer doesn't really appreciate—but we'll have to wait and see how the sets perform in real life before we know what they can truly offer. Unsurprisingly, there's no timeline for the release of the Triluminous displays. [Engadget]

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Eutelsat Begins 4K Demo Channel Broadcast

                                  Eutelsat Begins 4K Demo Channel Broadcast

Satellite operator Eutelsat is launching a 4K TV demonstration channel.

Eutelsat will begin transmitting in 4K from today. According to the Paris-based operator, the channel is designed to benefit everyone in the broadcasting chain who wants to acquire expertise in 4K, including production companies, pay TV operators, rights owners and TV set manufacturers.

Eutelsat has teamed up with video compression provider Ateme to deliver the channel, which will be uplinked from its teleport in Rambouillet, Paris.

Eutelsat is launching the channel to coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where 4K or Ultra HD is expected to be a key highlight, with a number of new Ultra HD TV sets beingshowcased by consumer electronics manufacturers.

The channel will operate in progressive mode at 50 frames per second, transmitting in the MPEG-4 format at 40Mbps in four Quad HD (2160p) streams.

“This new step towards 4K continues Eutelsat’s longstanding commitment to achieving new broadcast milestones that over the last 20 years have included digital TV, HDTV and 3D,” said Jean-François Leprince-Ringuet, Eutelsat’s commercial director. “Early and close collaboration between all players in the broadcast chain will be a key success factor for this new revolution and so we are delighted to propose this first broadcast platform for Europe.”

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