Sony introduces Crystal LED technology

Sony introduces Crystal LED technology
The new Crystal LED technology - lots of tiny lights

Sony has announced a new prototype display technology called Crystal LED that it hopes will prove to be the next step in image quality for consumers.

Taking on the likes of Samsung and LG, both of which have unveiled 55-inch OELD TVs at CES, Sony's 55-inch prototype uses millions of tiny LEDs to act as pixels and offers a Full HD self emitting display.

The light source is mounted directly onto the front of the television in a red-green-blue formation. This method apparently 'dramatically improves the light use efficiency and offers higher contrast ratios, wider colour gamut and high refresh rates and response time when compared with current LCD and plasma displays.

Bright as a button

The full HD screen uses over six million LEDs, packed into a tightly designed space, and can produce 400 nits of brightness, which is comparable with OLED displays of the moment.

Intriguingly, Sony added this new technology was "parallel to its continued development and commercialization of OLED displays, and Sony will work conscientiously to bring the "Crystal LED Display" to market."

We've yet to find out the juicy information such as when we'll see the technology in use or whether it will cost the earth, but Sony better get a wriggle on before Samsung and LG's OLED TVs start to gain traction in the market.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.