LG’s Third-Gen OLED Displays Get Big Brightness Boost, Better Viewing Angles: CES

January 9, 2023 by Dave Haynes

CES has been on in Las Vegas for the last few days, and while it remains mainly a showcase for consumer products and gadgets, there are some announcements that come up that are relevant to the commercial display community – like LG continuing to evolve its OLED displays.

The Korean electronics giant is showcasing what it calls the third generation of OLED panels, which are much brighter but at the same time more power-efficient. They also have 30% better viewing angles than older generations.

The brightness thing is big, as that was a knock against OLEDs – with display nerds saying OLEDs did not have the brightness levels needed to deliver the wide colors of bright scenes delivered by HDR technology.

These OLED panels, says LG in PR, have a maximum luminance, or brightness, of 2,100 nits, which is 60% higher than its previous premium OLED panels, the South Korean display panel maker said. The viewing angle was improved by 30% for up to 160 degrees, and power efficiency by 22%.

LG Display says it developed micro lens arrays and software to get more of the light produces by the organic LEDs out of the display – light that was previously trapped inside. The OLED material is deposit on top of these lenses, boosting brightness.

These are not lenses you could see without a microscope. For example, LG Display says its 77-inch panel uses 42.4 billion micro lenses. The brightness enhancing tech will be used on 4K 55, 65, and 77-inch panels, as well as 8K 77s and 88s. Eventually, it will be standard on OLED panels.

These are, of course, TVs and not commercial panels. But as we have seen through the years, what gets developed for the mass market tends to find its way into professional applications. Arguably, the brightness bump is a bigger deal on the pro side, where ambient lighting tends to be brighter than in homes in which lighting can happily be dimmed or switched off.

LG has for several years had a giant showpiece OLED display wall at CES, and that has continued in 2023. The manufacturer has a 20 foot tall by 82 feet wide wavy display at the gateway to its stand that uses 260 flexible and open-frame 55-inch displays.