The TV industry can be a turbulent place. TV technology comes and goes in a matter of years and while a few formats like LED-LCD has stuck around for awhile, they're always having to justify their existence.
The latest technology to challenge the dominance of traditional LCD sets is OLED – and by all metrics, it's finally poised to give it a run for its money.
Entry-level models like the LG B8 OLED are finally giving consumers a cheaper choice when it comes to OLED TVs, while more expensive models from Sony and Panasonic are eating at Samsung's bottom line one OLED panel at a time.
But are we ready for OLED to overtake LED-LCD screens as the new mainstream display technology? Are they here to stay or will demand burn out like it did for plasma? And which of these OLED TVs are worth their sticker price?
To answer these questions, we turned to some market experts.
TV sales were declining, but OLED is on the rise
It's been tough for TV makers in recent years, with a global decline in sales to cope with. However, a new report from Futuresource Consulting reveals that TV sales were up by 3% last year, and that value was up by 7%.
Sales were helped by things like last year's World Cup, but the rising value of TVs is because of increased sales of premium TVs such as OLED.
"OLED is beginning to make its presence felt and will power through the million European shipments mark in 2019," reads the report, which also states that "rising demand for OLED has helped keep the LG brand buoyant."
That's a key point: LG Displays makes all OLED panels in the world, which explains why LG pumps out more OLED TVs than any other. Despite that, the likes of Sony, Panasonic and Philips now seem completely devoted to OLED for their flagship premium TVs.
OLED has found a niche in the premium market, and here it's likely to stay. And while that might deflate your hopes of spending a few hundred bucks to get a killer OLED in 2019, it's not out of the question to buy a brand-new OLED for just as much as a mid-tier LED-LCD screen from Samsung.
Want to see all your OLED options? Here's what's coming from them in 2019.
- Still can't decide what to buy? Here's our round up of the best TVs in 2019
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