Sony's OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV, the XEL-1, is truly the next big thing in television technology. It boasts a 3 millimeter thin panel and offers unparalleled picture quality with amazing contrast, outstanding brightness, exceptional colour reproduction, and a rapid response time. It delivers astounding performance in all the key picture quality categories. OLED technology can completely turn off pixels when reproducing black, resulting in more outstanding dark scene detail and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. OLED also creates unmatched colour expression and detail and enables rapid response times for smooth and natural reproduction of fast moving images like those found in sports and action movies. The XEL-1 features the latest connectivity options including two HDMI™ inputs, a digital tuner, and a Memory Stick® media slot for viewing high-resolution photos.

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. The "organic" in OLED refers to organic material. Carbon is the basis of all organic matter. Examples of carbon-based substances include sugar, wood and the majority of plastics. The "LED" stands for "Light Emitting Diode" and describes the process of converting electric energy into light. There are two types of OLED ? small molecule OLED and polymer OLED. Sony uses the small molecule type because it has a longer lifespan.

A layer of organic material is sandwiched between two conductors (an anode and a cathode), which in turn are sandwiched between a glass top plate (seal) and a glass bottom plate (substrate). When electric current is applied to the two conductors, a bright, electro-luminescent light is produced directly from the organic material.

OLED has more control over colour expression because it only expresses pure colours when an electric current stimulates the relevant pixels. The OLED primary colour matrix is arranged in red, green, and blue pixels, which are mounted directly to a printed circuit board. Each individual OLED element is housed in a special “micro-cavity” structure designed to greatly reduce ambient light interference that also works to improve overall colour contrast. The thickness of the organic layer is adjusted to produce the strongest light for each of the colours ? red, green and blue - used to render the colour picture. The three colours are further refined by a colour filter, which purifies each colour without the need for a polarizer, rendering outstanding colour purity.

OLED TV’s are incredibly slim because organic material directly emits light so OLED display panels do not require a thick backlight or complex construction like other flat panel technologies. The Sony® XEL-1 is an unbelievable 3mm thin (without its stand)!

OLED technology delivers a more efficient means of utilizing light, which is generated by the organic material itself instead of an always on backlight; also, when elements are in their “off” state, they consume no power whatsoever.

Sony’s unique “Super Top Emission” technology, which combined with a special mircro-cavity and colour filters, enhances colour purity, achieves extraordinary high colour contrast. In fact, 105% of the NTSC colour space can be achieved!

When an organic pixel is turned “off” the result is complete darkness. This results in deep blacks and an unheard of contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Yes, that’s a one million to one contrast ratio!

Because OLED elements individually emit light that are directly displayed on the screen, high brightness levels can be achieved.

OLED colours and contrast look amazing even at wide 178° viewing angles due to the direct view nature of the panel. Pixel colours look fantastic even at wide 178° viewing angles for an outstanding viewing experience.

When turned “on,” individual organic elements are stimulated directly by electric current, and therefore response time is incredibly fast.