LG first to sell the first large-screen TV with OLED technology

The first big-screen TV using OLED technology for super-crisp images is finally hitting the market.

LG announced it will start taking orders for a 55-inch OLED HD TV on Thursday in South Korea, with the U.S. and other parts of the world to come later. The OLED TVs will begin shipping in February, the company said.

In South Korea the OLED set will cost 11 million won, or about $10,000, much more than the prices of LCD, plasma and LED-backlit sets of the same size.

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OLED, which stands for organic light-emitting diode, is considered by many as the next step in TV technology, providing not only vivid images, but also the ability to make very thin displays. The new LG TV, for example, is just 0.16 inches thin.

Sony pioneered consumer OLED TV in the U.S. in 2008 when it began selling its XEL-1 model. But it had only an 11-inch screen and the price was $2,500.

Since then, the technology has been used in mobile devices, such as smartphones.

Several other companies have said over the years that they are working on larger OLED TV sets and some have shown prototypes, but LG is ahead of the pack with its announcement of a commercial model.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to make this announcement at the start of the new year because we believe that OLED will usher in a whole new era of home entertainment,” Havis Kwon, president and CEO of LG’s Home Entertainment Co., said in a statement Wednesday.

The company said it will soon announce other markets where the OLED TV set will be sold.

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