Audio Video News

Remember when OLED technology was the future of HDTVs? That future is looking a bit hazy now. According to Engadget HD, Sony has decided to discontinue its XEL-1 OLED screen in Japan, citing low demand for the 11-inch, $2,000 HDTV.

It's not just that the XEL-1 is being phased out in Japan, but that the XEL-1 was still the XEL-1. The screen came out in 2007, and is still basically a very expensive 11-inch display. For all the promise OLED has shown, it hasn't seen any real development on the home theater front. It's still an expensive novelty with small screens and big price tags.

The XEL-1 will still be sold in the United States and other markets outside of Japan, and the US is even getting another smell OLED HDTV later this year in the form of LG's 15-inch EL9500. Still, it hasn't seen much commercial development in making the screens appreciatively bigger, or the products more affordable.

— Will Greenwald