OLED televisions are considered any type of TV that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display a picture. These electroluminescent film is comprised of organic material that allows a polymer substance to deposit itself per pixel. Rows, columns and a carrier are used in the process of filtering light and different colors are formed because of it. Computer displays, TVs and portable screens use this type of technology to display pictures. They generally emit less light per pixel than their television counterparts.

The small OLED technology was created by the Kodak Company. They produced small displays requiring vacuums which make the production process costly. The displays created are not flexible, they're created on glass-like plates and use organo-metallics and dendrimers. Recent technology has used non-conductive polymers with light-emitting molecules to create the same effects when used to display color and light.

PLEDs, or polymer light-emitting diodes, are a sub-division of OLED technology. They use electroluminescent conductive polymers to emit light when a current runs through its display. Thin films or color displays only need a small amount of power for light to show. Since no vacuum is required, production of such a display is relatively cheap. TOLED, or transparent organize light-emitting device, is another such type of display. They use top emitting or bottom emitting transparencies to improve contrast so that pictures can be displayed in extreme brightness. SOLED displays, or stacked OLED displays, stack the different colors of pixels on top of one another to display resolution, color quality and image sharpness.

OLED televisions are made of a single emissive layer, a conductive layer, a substrate layer and equal anode and cathode rays. These layers are fused together with an organic polymer so that they conduct electricity fluidly. When the current flows from cathode to anode, the emissive layer releases the electrons from the conductive layer and allows for a visible region to be displayed. Different metals, such as aluminum, have been used in the cathode to help facilitate better distribution of electrodes when they interact with anthodes.

There are many different types of advantages for using an OLED television. Since flat panels and LCDs are some of the most popular on the market, the cost to produce an OLED-based TV is relatively cheap and practical which in turns make them cheaper to purchase at a retail store. OLEDs are used with printers, too, and they lend that technology to photo printers, scanners and other types of printing devices. Projectors and other types of mass displays also benefit from this type of technology.

OLEDs allow for more color, brightness and contrast as well as viewing angles for the home viewer. Since pixels emit light themselves, OLED pixels are correctly colored and lined up instead of being shifted as other technologies tend to do with their coloring schemes. Even changing viewing angles gives you a greater ability to see a crisp picture whether you are right in front of the display or move around the room. When turned off, an OLED TV uses no electricity like an LCD, since the latter relies on a back light to display a picture. OLEDs have a quicker respond time as well in comparison to their LCD counterparts.

OLED televisions can be extremely thin. So thin, eventually you could roll your TV up when you were down watching it. This is generally called a flexible OLED within the industry and may very well be the future of television as well as revolutionize how big a TV can be. Imagine a TV the size of your bedroom wall or even converting several walls in your basement into the ultimate home theater experience. The possibilities are endless with a flexible OLED technology.

One of the biggest disadvantages of an OLED TV is it's shelf-life. Since it relies on organic materials, eventually, they were run out and picture quality will slowly degrade like a plasma TV. The color blue has been noted to be the biggest problem, as it degrades at a quicker pace than its red and yellow counterparts. Over time, the other colors may still have vibrancy but you will notice the blue degrading long before the overall television pictures begins to fade. Developments have been made recently that suggest it is possible to swap out dead organic components to increase the overall lifetime of an OLED TV, but this technology is years from going commercial and cannot be duplicated in plasma televisions.

As recently as 2007's Commercial Electronic Show, Sony demonstrated full HD resolution displays up to 27 inches in width. Sony claims a 1920 x 1080 model will display up to a million to one contrast ratio. Sony plans to release these TVs later this fiscal year in a limited quantity to boost demand. Other companies are sure to follow their lead.

Kodak, Dupont and other companies are also developing OLED technology to pave the way for it to become the dominant type of flat panel display in the news few years. Currently, MP3 players, cell phones and other small devices are using OLED technology to produce their displays.