The announcement, if true, would signal the launch of Sony's 2nd generation OLED TVs. The first gen, as you'll remember, were showcased as tiny XEL-1 prototypes and consumer models throughout 2008 (notably at CES 2008, later as a swank kitchen knife set).

Hopefully, the second coming means an end to the OLED no-show we experienced late last year/this year, which manufacturers (rightly or wrongly) blamed on this crappy economy of ours.

Interesting coincidence: It was nearly one year ago that Sony said it would invest about $210 million into larger OLED TV development. Way to take your sweet time, fellas! [Korea Times via OLED-Info - Thanks, Ron]

Okay, I guess that's really just another way of showing people how rich you are. But look at how smoothly it slices through that cucumber! I think smell an Iron Chef guest spot, maybe on an episode with white truffles and gadgets as the secret ingredient. [Gear TV/ComON - Thanks Niels!]

Brightness is the major issue here (though green is more saturated than the HDTV standard, if you care). If you move off-axis by 45 degrees horizontally (think viewing angle) then the image brightness drops by a third. And even if you actually calibrate the settings to "produce an optimum image," even on-axis, the best plasmas and LCDs are two-three times brighter (30-40 footlamberts vs. the XEL-1's 16.4 ft footlamberts).

Making the problem worse, one of the set's features is an auto-dimming circuit that slowly ratchets down the brightness (and contrast) within a minute of turning the set on (to around 7.8 footlamberts, way darker than "any calibrated plasma or LCD HDTV"). Sony says that it's to reduce the chance of burn-in, but it's more likely to help extend the set's life, which was discovered recently to only be half as long as it's rated for.

All that said, the picture quality remains "more breathtaking than its price," but you might wanna keep it in a dark room. [HD Guru]

I single out LCD because the folks taking the lead on OLED are Sony, Samsung and others firmly entrenched in the LCD business, and because LCD still suffers from image demons that plasma overcomes more easily, and OLED smashes with a hammer, even at infancy.

Also, although everyone is demoing thinner and thinner sets in both LCD and plasma, most of the weight loss is currently on the plasma side. LCD seems to have hit some firm threshhold that, again, OLED and even plasma seem able to conquer. But at 11 inches, Sony's first production OLED is laughably small. What the hell, Sony? Way to taunt a guy. Seriously, there are major amounts of taunting happening here:When you put an LCD next to a plasma, you almost always notice the contrast issues. Fiddle with the settings all you want, and you generally still can't make the blacks black enough on that LCD. When I first set up the OLED next to this Panasonic, a 50" 1080p 50PZ700U, I thought for a moment that maybe OLEDs had a contrast problem, too. But then I realized that whoever had the thing before me had been jerking the controls around too much. I reverted the picture settings to "standard" and suddenly the contrast was deeper than the plasma, with brighter highlights. OLEDs are self illuminating, so the very same thing that makes them super thin also gives them awesome contrast.
Obviously another big challenge for LCDs is the motion blur problem, which is mostly solved in higher-end LCDs using 120Hz systems and other similar techniques, but leaves cheaper sets hanging. It's most noticeable when you put an LCD side-by-side with a plasma showing the same movie. Fortunately, here again, the OLED did as well or better than the plasma at motion in the side-by-side test. In the end, you're essentially staring into what could very well be the perfect TV. Only you're not a hobbit, and this isn't Bag End.So why the dinkiness? OLED production is tricky, as you might recall from
this video of Benny the Intern and me at an OLED factory. Methods are best suited for small sheets of "substrate," not big screens of the stuff. Sony couldn't produce anything bigger now and still guarantee this kind of quality.

OLED makers also have to deal with panel half-life issues similar to those that used to afflict plasma in the days of yore. The XEL-1 is rated for 30,000 hours, or roughly 10 years of use; today's plasmas, including the above Panasonic, get something around 60,000 hours. In other words, long enough.

In the end, it's not a thing you go out and buy. It's a message in a slender frame. Sony never had massive R&D investment in LCD like Sharp or in plasma like Panasonic, and it's clear that this is Sony's way of saying, "Screw all of those, cuz OLED is what will matter, and oh yeah, Sony will drive OLED." Am I putting too many words in your mouth, Sony? I hope not, because this time next year, I'd like to be staring at a 50-inch version of this junior wonder. OK, 32 inches will be fine. 25 inches? 20????? [Sony XEL-1]

• The TV has two HDMI ports
• It's not quite HD, with a res of half of 1080p (960x540, although it will of course accept HD resolutions, and that is enough for an 11-incher.)
• 3mm thick on the main screen unit, about the same as three credit cards!
• The base unit contains the ports and upward firing speakers aiming through an aluminum grill.
• There is a USB port for media modules; right now there is a web content streamer, but DVD and wireless HDMI modules are coming.
• The remote is slim and controls a cross media bar interface like that on the PS3.
• The set is terrible in direct lighting because of a highly reflective screen.
• Visual quality was on par with the best plasmas and LCDs, and surpassed many sets in contrast and shadow detail.

[Sound and Vision]

XEL-1 Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Television
Available in January for about $2,500
• North America's first Organic LED television
• 11-inch screen is ultra slim with a depth of only 3 millimeters
• Light emitting structure delivers 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, very deep blacks and unmatched color expression and picture detail
• Extremely bright picture with low power consumption
• Rapid panel response time for a clear, blur-free picture
• Exceptionally wide viewing angles unmatched by other TV devices
• Remarkably wide color range surpassing other displays

It has been an OLED fantastic week here at Gizmodo, and this just polishes off all the dinky display shenanigans. The 1000000:1 contrast ratio has us all dizzy with excitement, but we cannot but help notice that hefty base. We did not make much of it the first time we heard word of the XEL-1, but it seems as though Sony are trying to push a pseudo-skinny on us. We shall excuse them, as we just can't get over that ridiculous contrast ratio. Did we mention it? 1000000:1! That's just crazy talk. If it wasn't Sony, we'd say it's black magic at work. We wait for our own XEL-1 to arrive...oh, it's a long dark wait, with a comparatively pathetic contrast ratio to boot. [TV Snob]