In our first installment of [Lifestyle Display] covering LG Display’s diverse solutions for gaming, professional work, and everything in between, we discussed the company’s latest 31.5-inch gaming OLED panels with the world’s first switchable refresh rate and resolution feature with Ryu Gyeol, member of the Large Display Product Planning Team and Son Yong-seok, member of the Large Display Circuit Design Team.
LG Display, the company that brought Bendable OLED technology to the mass market to provide gamers the flexibility to choose between a curved and a flat monitor depending on the gaming genre, has developed yet another variable technology that provides customizable options for gamers.
With mass production underway starting this month, LG Display’s 31.5-inch gaming OLED panel is the world’s first monitor panel with a switchable refresh rate and resolution between a high refresh rate (480Hz in FHD) and a high-resolution mode (240Hz in UHD) depending on the user’s needs, whether it be for fast-paced action games that require split-second decisions, high graphic quality RPGs, or even for watching movies in 4K.
Giving users the freedom to create their own gaming space
There are various indicators for the performance of a gaming monitor, with refresh rate and resolution being the main factors that significantly impact the overall gaming experience. Refresh rate refers to the number of images displayed on a monitor per second, meaning that higher refresh rates result in smoother and more responsive images even during fast screen transitions. On the other hand, resolution represents the number of pixels that a screen can show, resulting in precise and sharp images in high resolution.
While it is theoretically possible to achieve both high refresh rate and resolution at the same time, the amount of processing power required to maintain a high resolution ultimately affects the monitor’s ability to achieve higher refresh rates. This is why even though some conventional panels offer variable refresh rates, the panel struggles to optimize for various game genres and applications due to its fixed resolution.
This is what led us to develop the world’s first ‘Dynamic Frequency & Resolution (DFR)’ technology, which adjusts the image processing speed to allow users to prioritize between refresh rate and resolution depending on the content.
The peak of OLED ensured by META Technology 2.0
The flexibility to offer 4K UHD resolution and unprecedented refresh rates of up to 480Hz stems from OLED’s self-emissive properties that enable each pixel to produce perfect black and lifelike image quality, along with having the fastest response time (0.03ms) of any panel on the market. On top of this, the new 31.5-inch gaming OLED panel will also be equipped with LG Display’s proprietary META Technology 2.0 based on the company’s Micro Lens Array (MLA) innovation, which maximizes the emission of light from organic materials to elevate image quality.
To provide immersive gaming experiences, not only do LG Display’s gaming OLEDs feature special polarized panels that minimize screen glare, but they also emit half the amount of blue light compared to LCD screens with no headache-associated flicker.
Speakers are now optional, thanks to the built-in Thin Actuator Sound
Another cool feature that enhances the immersive experience of the 31.5-inch gaming OLED pertains to a tiny, film-like speaker. The Thin Actuator Sound technology, which utilizes thin film components to vibrate the panel to produce sound, is seamlessly integrated into the OLED panel to deliver vivid sound directly towards the user.
This method of ‘front-firing’ is particularly important, as matching (or localizing) the viewing distance with the sound distance allows for even more immersive experiences. With this feature, users can enjoy the same quality of sound from any distance, a luxury that traditional gaming monitors cannot provide as their speakers are usually mounted on the back of the panel, causing sound to reflect before reaching our ears.
The launch of our new 31.5-inch gaming OLED panel marks only the beginning of LG Display’s expansion into the high-end gaming display market. For those that prefer a larger, smaller, or an ultrawide display can find what they need from the company’s full lineup spanning from 27, 31.5, 34, 39, and 45 inches. Regardless of game genre or content, we are confident that you will find the perfect peripheral soulmate from our state-of-the-art gaming OLEDs.
