Do We Need This?
While transparent displays are understandable in a retail environment, LG Display (LPL) has been working toward establishing itself as the pre-eminent supplier of transparent OLED displays and has been trying to convince parent LG Electronics (066570.KS) that this is a viable CE product for consumers. Meetings between the display producer and parent earlier this year gave some indication that LGE was considering the idea for the 2023 TV set year but recent comments out of South Korea have indicated that no progress has been made on the idea, at least for the 2023 year, leaving it open for 2024.
Given the weakness in the CE space and the TV market overall, the idea of a new TV modality, and the costs associated with development, production, and advertising seem a bit off center, but we still have trouble with the concept itself. Understandably, many would like not to have a massive black screen situated in a well-decorated room, and we agree, however a transparent TV, one that would look like a glass sheet, does not come without drawbacks. In a normal OLED display, the display stack has a reflective metal cathode, so as light is generated by the emitting materials, it is reflected back and exits the display. In transparent OLED displays, the cathode is made of a transparent material, allowing light to pass through the OLED display. That said, each pixel in an OLED display has a driver circuit, which takes up a portion of each pixel, and while that circuitry is invisible in a transparent OLED display, it reduces the amount of light that can pass through the display. This makes transparent OLED displays, when off, between 70% and 85% transparent relative to clear glass. When in operation, while the display is roughly as bright as a regular OLED TV, ~38% of the image is what is behind the display, reducing the clarity of the picture.
As a display in a retail environment, such as a store window, this is not n issue as the concept is usually to add to what the viewer sees through the window, perhaps overlaying text or changing images, but still allowing the in-store merchandise to be seen. In a residential environment, the viewer is usually interested in the best possible image, and making the above compromises for transparency reduces the quality of those images. Chinese CE company Xiaomi (1810.HK) offered a 55” transparent TV in August 2020 based on an LG Display OLED screen for $7,200, but from what we can derive, sold very few sets and no longer offers the set on its website.
As transparent displays improve, we expect there will be more adoption in the commercial space, but we still find it unusual that LGE would consider such a product given the cost and trade-offs that consumers would have to experience. LGD does have some slick videos about potential transparent OLED display applications, but they all fall under the commercial (signage) product line, which, in our view, is where they belong. While we certainly commend LGD for looking to expand its transparent OLED display base, it seems a technology looking for an application in the consumer space.
Given the weakness in the CE space and the TV market overall, the idea of a new TV modality, and the costs associated with development, production, and advertising seem a bit off center, but we still have trouble with the concept itself. Understandably, many would like not to have a massive black screen situated in a well-decorated room, and we agree, however a transparent TV, one that would look like a glass sheet, does not come without drawbacks. In a normal OLED display, the display stack has a reflective metal cathode, so as light is generated by the emitting materials, it is reflected back and exits the display. In transparent OLED displays, the cathode is made of a transparent material, allowing light to pass through the OLED display. That said, each pixel in an OLED display has a driver circuit, which takes up a portion of each pixel, and while that circuitry is invisible in a transparent OLED display, it reduces the amount of light that can pass through the display. This makes transparent OLED displays, when off, between 70% and 85% transparent relative to clear glass. When in operation, while the display is roughly as bright as a regular OLED TV, ~38% of the image is what is behind the display, reducing the clarity of the picture.
As a display in a retail environment, such as a store window, this is not n issue as the concept is usually to add to what the viewer sees through the window, perhaps overlaying text or changing images, but still allowing the in-store merchandise to be seen. In a residential environment, the viewer is usually interested in the best possible image, and making the above compromises for transparency reduces the quality of those images. Chinese CE company Xiaomi (1810.HK) offered a 55” transparent TV in August 2020 based on an LG Display OLED screen for $7,200, but from what we can derive, sold very few sets and no longer offers the set on its website.
As transparent displays improve, we expect there will be more adoption in the commercial space, but we still find it unusual that LGE would consider such a product given the cost and trade-offs that consumers would have to experience. LGD does have some slick videos about potential transparent OLED display applications, but they all fall under the commercial (signage) product line, which, in our view, is where they belong. While we certainly commend LGD for looking to expand its transparent OLED display base, it seems a technology looking for an application in the consumer space.
Xiaomi Mi Lux Transparent TV - Source: Xiaomi
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