Ultra-thin TVs are trending. They talk about them, they want to buy them, and they represent the peak of technology. History has many examples when eminent and not very brands presented their thinnest televisions to the public. Someone was cunning, translating this concept only on the screen, and some conscientiously tried to “put on a diet” both the body and the panel itself.
Let's try to figure out how this happened and how things are today, identifying along the way the best models of past years and choosing the thinnest TV in the world.
Many manufacturers of this kind of technology focused on picture quality and increasing resolution. Someone perfected the functionality of the models, adding some new options and original “chips”. Well, someone came up with the idea to reduce the thickness of the TV, and here it did not fail. This decision was a breath of fresh air for the consumer: he saw a miracle and wanted to buy it, which, of course, was in the hands of the development company. The methods were different, but the result exceeded all expectations. So, let's get started ...
2007 year
The device of that time did not differ in minimalism and small dimensions, in particular. The thinnest 32-inch TV was a kind of carcass 10 and more centimeters thick with massive frames around the screen.
Toshiba brand engineers were the first to challenge the device profile by designing a model that was very attractive at that time. The thinnest 32-inch TV was the XF550, where the frame thickness was only 2 cm, which was a real breakthrough.
For other manufacturers, this value began with at least 5 cm. And this despite the fact that Toshiba used the usual and very bulky CCFL backlight on fluorescent lamps. This model has become a pioneer in its field, followed by the familiar LCD and LED solutions.
2008 year
A further initiative was taken by the Japanese designers of Sony. They figured and realized that to make the thinnest TV with CCFL-backlight will not work. Therefore, the entire fluorescent block was replaced with a more attractive solution in the face of LEDs, which were placed on the sides of the device, and in the back there was a special light guide plate.
By and large, this option has become the prototype of modern LED LCD. In 2008, Sony introduced its thinnest wall-mounted TV on the market - the Sony ZX1. The thickness of the panel was only 9.9 mm, which simply impressed with its impossibility. The model became widely in demand, but lost its fuse when numerous competitors flooded the market with similar solutions.
year 2009
Ironically, the thinnest TV from Sony has not been remembered and just sunk into oblivion. And in 2009, Samsung engineers adopted this idea and, as it should be further developed, released the B series (6000, 7000, 8000) with a similar side illumination.
The devices became noticeably thinner, and the case thickness did not exceed 3 cm. So they really stunned the technology market: each company strives to implement ultrathin Edge LED developments, which Samsung patented.
The secret to the success of the brand’s models also lies in the fact that they made such a loud, and somewhere even aggressive advertising, that only blind and deaf did not know about this innovation. Samsung with its thinnest TVs has introduced the concept of LED TV. Since that time, this completely mistaken phrase has firmly settled not only in the minds of users, but also sellers of equipment.
In fact, the term LED TV can and should denote LED devices like giants from the company "LED", and TVs with LCD equipment and LED backlighting do not fall into this topic at all. And many consumers believe that LED TV is a modern type of device close to the OLED class, which is basically wrong. This magical combination helped give the old LCD models a new wrapper, as well as increase their sales - a very good advertising move for Samsung.
2010 year
Next, the relay was intercepted by Panasonic engineers. In 2010, they presented at the exhibition the thinnest plasma device as a prototype with a thickness of only 8.8 mm. In second place with a small margin with its TV (one millimeter thinner) "Pioneer".
But by the will of fate, the prototypes remained so, and the plasma models of the Z1 series turned out to be on the conveyor, and the thickness of the devices was already 24.7 mm, which is slightly thinner than the same devices from Samsung. Panasonic’s plasma televisions suffered the same sad story that had happened to Sony devices. They were simply forgotten in the light of Samsung’s aggressive advertising with its LED TV.
2013 to the present
At the international exhibition CES 2013, the LG brand introduced its new 55-inch prototype with OLED technology with a thickness of only 4 mm. And although the thinnest LG TV made a lot of hype in the press, the model got to the conveyor only a year later. But at the same time, it retained one of its critical characteristics - an ultra-thin panel.
The factory version of the series - the model LG 55EA980V, received an exceptionally thin panel of 4.3 mm, which is an absolute record not only for its segment, but also for other technologies. The ultra-thin form became possible precisely thanks to the OLED subsystem. Such panels, built on the synergy of LEDs and organics, do not need any kind of third-party illumination at all: each individual pixel is its own light source.
The best of the best
Thus, devices from LG, built on OLED technology, hold the bar of leadership as the thinnest TVs to date. This is if we take into account the model of mass production, and not some millimeter prototypes.
Behind them are LCD devices from Sony with its also sensational X90C series. The latter were presented at CES in 2016, have an ultra-high resolution screen and a thickness of 4.9 mm. It was very difficult for the brand to achieve such an indicator on LCD panels, but the engineers did their best, and the models found their consumer, and numerous.
Summarizing
In general, the concept of “thickness” for a TV sounds somehow twofold. Is it really so important if, for example, its indicator does not exceed the mark of five millimeters? Such a parameter is unlikely to seriously affect the operational characteristics of the devices. Moreover, most ultrathin models have a fly in the ointment in the face of uneven illumination. Here, by and large, there is a race between brands for high-profile headlines that would attract a buyer.
Judging by user reviews, the average owner of such a “miracle” simply does not feel the practicality and the difference between the same 5 and 50 mm, because a table stand or a commutation bracket will be added to any profile, and all this thickness becomes simply flush.
Here, an aesthetic role plays rather, where new technologies like a magnet attract the eyes of potential buyers, which, in turn, is at hand for the manufacturers of these devices, as well as for enrichment devices on different “chips” know-how.