Just in time for the Super Bowl, Samsung is selling a 110-inch television with four times the resolution as standard high definition devices. Unfortunately for the average football fan, the TV is only currently available in South Korea and sells for $150,000, USA Today reported.
Most telling about the mega-TV, which debuted on Monday, was its mega-HD screen instead of an OLED, or the screen material of the future according to Samsung's pronouncement last year.
Though OLED, or Organic Light Emitting Diode, and more recently, flexibly OLED, is now used in most cell phones and tablets, its conversion to television screens has proven too costly and unreliable, according to USA Today. OLED TV's are on the market, but they haven't proven affordable. At $150,000, the ultra-HD version (also called U-HD or 4k for its four-fold increase in pixels) might appear to be heading down the same path, but its price is expected to drop below OLED in time. As a result, sales are expected to increase from 1.3 million sets this year to 23 million in 2017, the research group NPD reported.
Most Chinese television makers have already reduced the price of U-HD televisions, but Samsung, perhaps hoping to capitalize on its relative novelty, has only increased the price as it's increased the inches. Earlier in the year, it produced an 80 inch set with a price tag of $40,000, according to Business Insider.
So which is better? The OLED screen or the U-HD? According to LCD Television Guide, it's super close with a slight edge to OLED. In terms of performance, OLED rates higher in color rendition, black level/contrast, screen uniformity, side angle viewing quality, and value/overall performance. U-HD wins in resolution, sharpness/image quality, brightness/peak white, and longevity.
