The idea of a see-through television may seem like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s not. The last decade saw several sci-fi-esque technologies been brought to reality. And transparent TVs are one of them.
Although transparent TVs have been in the making for a while now, it wasn’t until 2020 that the first mass-produced transparent TV was released.
What Is a Transparent TV?
A transparent TV is a television that you can see through. This may sound like something from science fiction, but they’re real and are becoming more common.
Xiaomi released the world’s first mass-produced transparent TV in August 2020, and they’re the coolest thing we’ve seen in TV manufacturing since the invention of plasma TVs.
Samsung and LG had earlier teased prototypes of their own versions of transparent TVs, but they’re still yet to officially release any.
Let’s now take a look at the science behind these impressive displays.
How Does a Transparent TV Work?
Transparent TVs are made possible by two major see-through display technologies: LCD and OLED. We’ll talk about how these two technologies make transparent TVs possible separately.
How Do Transparent LCD Screens Work?
All LCDs are transparent by default. That is, if you took apart an LCD, removed the backlight, and powered the display, you'd be able to see through it while it was working.
LCD screens aren’t left transparent because they don’t produce their own light, and as a result, need an external backlight to work well. Most backlight used to power LCD screens usually has a background. This background is what makes LCD screens obscure.
But with improvements in technology, LCD screen manufacturers have now found ways to create hybrid display systems. That is, using transparent LEDs to power LCD screens. This fusion of transparent OLED backlights into LCD screens eliminates the need for other light sources, potentially needing a background.
The use of transparent LED backlights instead of the traditional backlighting systems, which come with a background, is how transparent LCD TVs are made possible.
How Do Transparent OLED Screens Work?
OLED displays are made of a couple of layers of transparent plastic sandwiched between two layers of glass, consisting of emissive and conductible layers. Electrical impulses travel through the conductive layer and produce light at the emissive layer.
OLED screens aren’t naturally transparent, as is the case with LCD screens but TV manufacturers favor OLEDs over LCDs because they don’t require additional lighting. OLEDs produce their own light, which allows the screens to be much thinner.
The narrow gap between the pixels of the screen and the clear cathodes within is what makes transparency achievable in OLED screens.
But it definitely takes more than just see-through displays to make transparent TVs. Xiaomi, in making its transparent TV, fits everything that normally goes behind the screen into its base. All non-transparent components used in making the TVs, like wires, chips, and panels, are fitted in its base, which no one really expects to be transparent.
Can You Buy a Transparent TV Now?
Xiaomi transparent TVs were released in China in August 2020 and have been available for purchase since then. But here’s the catch, they’re expensive. Xiaomi’s Transparent TVs cost about $7,200 a pop. The retail price on AliExpress is even higher—the cheapest was around $10,000. So yeah, that’s what it costs to live in the future.
Are Transparent TVs Any Good?
Transparent TVs are, no doubt, the latest and greatest thing in TV technology. They deliver a higher quality viewing experience with their transparent screens that have no glare or reflections. But the big question is, do you really need one of these in your home?
Well, that’s left for you to decide. However, if you want our opinion, we recommended holding out a little bit to allow the technology to mature and allow other TV manufacturers to release their versions.
This would help in at least two ways. One, competition will bring the prices down, and two, you’ll also get to compare the various offerings to find which one best suits your needs.
This shouldn’t stop you from getting one now, though, if you’re a tech buff or an early adopter who can afford to pay that much.