Sony opts for Organic LED over Crystal LED technology

While you may think of the LED market as containing one main display technology, there are actually a number of emerging avenues which could lead to new dominant hardware in the future.

Back at CES 2012, Sony was boldly arguing that Crystal LED (CLED), was the next big thing, going above and beyond the capabilities of the better known wunderkind of this industry, Organic LED displays (OLED).

Sony claimed that CLED displays would offer the same visual advantages as OLED alternatives, while improving display longevity, due to the use of synthetic materials that will not suffer from issues of decay over time.

Jump forwards to CES 2013 and TechRadar points out the CLED displays are nowhere to be seen on Sony’s conference line up, suggesting that something has gone awry.

A spokesperson for Sony explained that the problem with CLED technology is that it only really makes sense to produce very large scale displays using it, which means that it is not necessarily viable as a consumer product.

The same cannot be said for OLED displays, which is why Sony has been talking up its first 4K HD screen using an Organic LED panel during CES 2013, while CLED has been put on the back burner.

The spokesperson said that CLED is still being developed within Sony, although it seems likely that it will only end up as a technology for commercial LED displays, rather than those that will end up in living rooms across the world.

While CLED has not been cancelled, it seems that Sony had to make a choice between pushing forwards with it or giving OLED all of its attention. Like the battle between Betamax and VHS, or Blu-Ray and HD DVD, there can only be one winner.