Display Week is upon us this year in Boston, MA, sponsored by SID, Society for Information Display, that marks the 50th year the group will showcase next generation display modules. The show arguably stands at the forefront of future device innovation, and Flexible / Curved displays including a new "flexible shape" AMOLED TVs that could be on the short-term horizon. For example, LG Displays sent us a heads up, highlighting the design quality benefits of AMOLED over LCD that will be discussed at the show this week, including "Feather Thin with Flexible Shapes" design that enables a curved TV screen. The company claims its OLED display achieves a depth and weight reduction of greater than 80% over LCD TVs that come from its new Oxide-TFT base panel and WOLED design.

LG said there are also picture quality benefits of AMOLED over LCD that will be discussed at the show, including:

• • Pure blacks, 0.001 nit (OLED) vs. 0.1 to 0.3 nit (LCD)
• • Superior Color Gradation in Dark areas - 98% color reproduction at 10% gray signal (OLED) vs. <50% (LCD)
• • 10 Bit color display with 120% color gamut and <0.02 accuracy (OLEDS) vs. 100% gamut and 0.01 accuracy (LCD)
• • 10-bit, 1024 gray scale vs. 8-bit 256 gray scale

Both Samsung and LG will show off their new 55-inch OLED TVs to ship later this Fall. Samsung will focus on a direct color OLED approach, while LG is planning to use white OLEDs and a color filter with more of the juicy details to come with the delivery of the razor-thin next generation TVs.

Other signs that the long illusive promise of flexible displays products are coming closer include a Flexible Electronics and printed display focus symposium track (14.1), with a paper on a Sony 13.3-inch 200 dpi flexible electrophoretic display using OTFT manufacturing using high-resolution offset printing. And (session 7.3) Ultra-thin Shadow Mask PDP made from Vacuum In-line Sealing technology that includes ultra thin (70-micrometer) glass with flex properties.

On the LCD front, perhaps the most significant flex display innovation comes from Dow Corning with its first public showing of a breakthrough FLEx Illuminated Optical film technology that adds flexible lighting solutions to a myriad of applications in display and beyond that can help bring LCD technology into the flexible space.

Finally, SID’s new Innovation Zone, created by visionaries on the SID board with the generous sponsorship from E-Ink Holdings, is providing free exhibition space for small companies, labs, etc. and will feature a prototype LED/Optic Flexible Alphanumeric Digital Display that’s a must see at the show. We will be bringing a full report on this and the rest of the newest in displays in the upcoming issue MDR and LDR. - Steve Sechrist