It’s been a long time coming, but OLED panels are now starting to roll out in the latest gaming monitors. If you didn’t know, LG is the manufacturer of pretty much every OLED panel out there these days, from the Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ (opens in new tab) to the Corsair Xeneon Flex (opens in new tab). And LG has big plans for the next generation: a new technology that will make OLED gaming monitors better and brighter.
This is according to a report by Korea IT News (opens in new tab) (via Computerbase (opens in new tab)), LG plans to introduce its LG META technology into gaming monitors likely later this year.
META Technology, not to be confused with the company behind Facebook, is a combination of a new Micro Lens Array (MLA) and META Booster algorithm. According to LG, the result is an OLED screen that can deliver a brightness of 2,100 nits, which is pretty high. As this is an OLED panel and not a traditional panel, that’s not a whole panel that will blow your eyes to shreds at 2100 nits, just 3% of it. Yet it is extraordinarily clear.
The array of tiny microlenses essentially amplify the light emission from the self-emissive panel for a brighter overall image. LG puts a lot on every 3rd gen OLED panel – a 77-inch 4K TV would have 5,117 lenses per pixel. Nevertheless, these are not expected to create strange visual artifacts. The other advantage of these microlenses is that they offer a wider viewing angle than anything on the market: 160°.
LG OLED-powered gaming panels could use a little zhuzh. Using trimmed TV panels looks luscious, but they run the risk of getting too hot and struggling with burn-in when used on a desktop, meaning they’re not often as bright as we’d like. The colors, the contrast, they’re all great on an OLED, but excelling in brightness would make these panels true all-rounders. Microlenses can be a great way to do that, as they allow an OLED panel to run at a lower power, but still maintain a high peak brightness. It would be great if this meant there wasn’t such a need for chunky heat sinks too, like the ones we’ve seen on the Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ.
Most of the messages around LG’s META technology are about the next generation of OLED TVs. That’s what brings in the big bucks and where OLED technology has more of a foothold in the market. Still, LG lists a 45-inch ultrawide (3,440 x 1,440) and a 27-inch (2,560 x 1,440) gaming monitor on its META Technology website (opens in new tab) as planned to arrive with the technology sometime in the future. Both 240Hz monitors, the site said.
I hope these arrive this side of the summer. Even the viewing angles LG boasts have to be seen to be believed.