New to this - OLCD/FLCD confusion.

[groovemeister]

I'm a bit confused by this.

Am I right in saying that all LCDs on the market are one or the other of OLCD and FLCD?

Is either considered 'better' overall or is it more a case of 'needs'?

[cooleo]

I think you are way off there mate.

From my understanding LCD tv's are just that. OLED and FLCD are new tecnologies that are being developed but are not available to the consumer as of yet.

[SteveAWOL]

OLED technology is currently only really used commercially for small screens like those on mobile phones and cameras, have a look here:
Quick OLED Summary and Current and Future OLED Applications

Unless you find LCD TVs too bulky, I really wouldn't consider buying an OLED set for a couple of years yet. The only model on sale i know of is the Sony 11" which is about £1k and only on sale in Japan and USA for the time being.

[Stephen Neal]

The main source of confusion seems to be between OLED displays and LED-backlit LCD displays - which some people are shorthanding as LED panels.

OLED displays use coloured LED technology to create the images, LED-backlit LCD displays use LEDs to create a white (or successive Red Green and Blue?) light source, that is then modified by an LCD layer (just as with a cold fluorescent backlit display) to create the image.

The OLED display is an emissive technology (the image source actually emits light), the LED-backlit LCDs are using transmissive LCDs, whereby the imager modifies an existing light source, which whilst it can (in some implementations) be modulated, is permanently illuminated.

Apart from the 11" 960x540 (i.e. half horizontal, half vertical HD res) Sony panel, and the much smaller OLED displays on some mobile phones, there aren't any real consumer models yet. Sony have announced they are aiming for a 27" model which they've demoed a single version of recently.

ISTR that Sony are now also offering an 11" OLED viewfinder for their broadcast studio/OB HD cameras - presumably based on the same panel tech as their consumer OLED model? (Camera ops I know who have seen it don't like it that much as it is too large and restricts their ability to look "around" their viewfinder to see what is really going on - though all say it is better than the LCD models, though many still prefer B&W CRTs)