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By David Katzmaier, CNET.com
Feb 27, 2008

One of the most common questions we get as CNET HDTV reviewers, after the overwhelming favorite "What HDTV should I buy?," is "What's the next big thing in HDTV?" Granted, we don't hear that question as often as we used to, perhaps because LCD and plasma sets have become more commonplace--but we still hear it. A couple years back it seemed the next big HDTV thing might be SED, a flat-panel technology backed by Toshiba and Canon that promised to surpass the picture quality of current panels, with better blacks, faster response times and punchier colors. SED is basically D.E.A.D., but those same promises are now being made by OLED.

Sony's XEL-1 represents the first widely available OLED-based TV. OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode, and its benefits, according to the company, include improved contrast ratio, wider viewing angles, and better color reproduction. According to our tests on the Sony XEL-1, most of those claims have merit. Of course, this is an 11-inch TV for US$2,500, and its 960 x 540 native resolution doesn't even qualify it as an HDTV, so its appeal as a buyable product is limited to only the most profligate wastrels. Sony hasn't announced any plans to produce larger sizes in 2008, and we expect that bigger OLED sets, whether from Sony or another manufacturer--Panasonic, Hitachi, Samsung, at least, have made large investments in OLED--will cost a mint, thanks to manufacturing difficulties and the usual high price of early-generation technology. Nevertheless, if the XEL-1 is any indication, OLED looks like the real (next big) thing.

Editors' note:

This review is based on evaluations conducted by our sister site. Review ratings on similar products may differ due to differences in regional market trends and competing product lineups.

Design

The first thing most people notice when they see the minuscule XEL-1 is the outsized base, and the second is the sliver-thin panel itself. These two design characteristics go hand-in-hand. OLED allows the XEL-1's panel to measure a vanishing 3mm deep, and thinner OLED prototypes have been demonstrated--even ones that can be rolled up like a parchment scroll. We don't see much utility right now for a thinner thin-screen TV--what, is 100mm too thick?--and the panel's lack of depth poses a significant design problem: Where do you plug everything in? The width of an HDMI port, for example, is about 6mm without including the housing required to secure it, and other, older port types are larger.

The hinged screen can be angled back and slightly forward, but does not swivel.

Faced with the need to actually plug things into the XEL-1, Sony slapped it atop a base that looks vaguely like a portable DVD player in its own right. It doesn't spin discs, but the base does include a string of inputs on the back panel, a row of buttons on the top front, and a single silver arm on the right side that supports the screen on a tilting hinge. Chrome along the back of the base and the backside of the panel match the arm, for an overall look that's as sleek and modern as any TV we've seen. The screen itself is coated with a mildly reflective surface that nonetheless collects less light than the glossy frame around the screen.

All told, the XEL-1 measures about 241 x 130mm at the base and stands 248mm tall when the screen is perpendicular to the table. And no, the panel is not detachable.

Sony used its cross-media bar system for the XEL-1's menus, and we still don't like it.

Firing up the Sony XEL-1 we noticed the same kind of XMB (Cross Media Bar) menus found on Sony's other products, and while they work fine for the PS3, they're as awkward as ever on a TV, where too many vertical selections are available that take too long to access (there's even a "Waiting" notification that appears for a couple seconds when you try to enter the picture menu). The menus are pretty-looking, however, as is the remote, but we found its identically sized keys a hassle to use in real life.

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