What They Say
Panasonic put out a press releases that said that it has developed a 55″ transparent OLED for commercial purposes. Unlike previous transparent OLEDs, the problem of a lack of blacks is fixed by including a black layer. A version without the black layer is also available. The display is optically-bonded to eliminate optical issues from air gaps.
What We Think
Panasonic has been showing this kind of concept for several years and got a lot of attention at CES and IFA with prototype TVs. Samsung did a good job in promoting the idea of transparent displays, but got out of the market after seeding it. The lack of black was always a problem in an emissive display (but not in a transparent transmissive LCD). As with the firm’s TV prototypes, the black layer seems to be controllable in level, but on a whole screen only basis, without addressable areas, as far as we can see.
I remain sceptical about OLEDs in commercial applications, but if they are treated purely as video displays, they can have applications. Either way, this is likely to be a prestige item for locations that are less sensitive to high prices. (BR)
