
* Screen image is sim ulated.
Any television  
can change channels. 
This one completely  
changes television.
A Guide to the revolutionary Sony® XEL-1  
Organic LED TV.
TV tomorrow. Sony today.
The first solid-state TV. The first vertically flat Trinitron® pi ctu re t ube.  
An d no w, th e wo rld’s fi rst Org ani c LE D te lev isio n: Sony XEL-1. It ’s 
our latest revolutionary advance in the art and science of visual 
entertainment – a sleek OLED panel as thin as 3 credit cards, with 
incredible contrast ratio greater than 1 million to 1, outstanding 
brilliance, and exceptional color. Pixel for pixel, it might be the 
be st T V pic ture on t he p lan et. Anx iou s to see wha t th e fu tur e wi ll 
lo ok l ike? View it toda y – o n So ny’s Org anic LED TV.
What’s next for Sony OLED?
It beg ins w ith XEL -1: th e ind ust ry ’s fir st Or gani c Li ght Emi tt ing Dio de ( OLE D) 
television. And the possibilities of this revolutionary new technology will 
have the whole world watching.
Desktop Monitors, Medical Imagers, Heads-up Displays and larger screen 
sizes are all under development. Thinner substrates, which make possible 
even thinner screens – so thin, they can be flexible.
We’re working on a new OLED application called Organic Thin Film Transfer 
(
OTFT). Sprayed on a flexible plastic sheet, the OTFT layer can display a 
high-quality color image even when the sheet is bent – so a television 
pi ctur e ca n be dis play ed o n a c urv ed s ur fac e.
Th ere’s mor e, o f co urs e – s o to le arn m ore abo ut S ony ’s ex plor atio n of thi s 
exciting TV technology, please visit us at: sony.com/OLED
1 HDMI cab le (sold separately). 
2  BRAVIA Lin k modul es sold separate ly. Intern et access requ ires BRAVIA Inte rnet Video Link mo dule and broad-
band inte rnet connec tion with a con nection spee d of at least 2.5 Mbps . Video qualit y and picture siz e varies 
and is dependent on broadband speed and delivery by content provider. Content subject to change. 
3 Memor y Stick sold separately. 
4  Under normal viewing conditions, the Sony XEL-1 reduces power consumption up to 40% per panel square 
inch compared to c onventional 20 -inch LCD panel s. No backlight is required w ith the organic materials.
©200 8 Sony Elec tronic s Inc. All ri ghts rese rved. Re product ion in whol e or in par t without written p ermissi on is 
prohibited. Sony, HDNA, BRAVIA, DMex, Super Top Emission, Trinitron, Memory Stick, and their respective logos 
are trademarks of Sony. XMB and xross media bar are trademarks of Sony and Sony Computer Entertainment 
Inc. HDMI and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing 
LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Features and specifications are subject 
to change without notice. Non-metric weights and measures are approximate. Screen images simulated. The 
paper is FSC cer tified from sustainably managed for ests, contai ns 10% recycle d content, an d was manufa ctured using 100% Green-e certified renewable energy. The use of the Green-e logo pertains to the paper and 
printin g of this brochure o nly.  CA5766
* Screen image is sim ulated.* Screen image is sim ulated. * Screen image is sim ulated.
Picture:  
like nothing you’ve ever seen. 
Incredibly tight pixel density produces 
extremely high resolution – and Sony’s 
patented Super Top Emission™ technology 
intensifies brightness and widens color 
gamut for better color purity.
Design:  
nobody does it better. 
The XEL-1 just looks like a Sony – which 
means a graceful flexible shape,  
ultra-thin frame styling and XMB™ (Xross 
Media Bar 
and user settings simple and intuitive. 
™
)
 control that makes menus 
Connections:  
bring all your content. 
The XEL-1 incorporates a simple  
one-cable 1080p HDMI™1 connector 
plus powerful DMex™ hookup – so you 
can expand your horizons with optional 
BRAVIA® Link modules for Internet video 
access and more.

Technology in a new dimension.
Th e XE L-1 i s th e world ’s firs t 3m m-thi n TV, but i t pa cks an ext rao rdi nary 
array of new Sony technologies to enhance, improve, even revolutionize 
the visual images you can experience. Sure, a lot of this sounds 
technical – but for movies, sports, broadcast TV and any content you 
input via HDMI™1, D Mex™, or optional Memory Stick®3 me dia, t he r esu lts  
of our all -o ut O LED ef for t ma ke a bi g di ffer enc e in pic tur e qu ali ty. 
How does OLED work?
OLED stands for “Organic Light Emitting Diode” – a revolutionary 
advance above conventional LCD screens used in home TVs 
and laptop computers. Organic LED screens convert electrical 
energy into light with greater speed, intensity and energyefficiency. In an OLED screen, a layer of organic material is 
sandwiched between two conductive surfaces (an anode 
and a cathode), then sealed between glass plates at top and 
bottom. When electric current is applied to the conductors,  
the organic material produces a bright electro-luminescent 
gl ow. T he O LED mat rix is a rra nge d in red , green and blu e pi xel s 
– t he c omp onen ts t hat mak e up a c olo r TV p ict ure. A s pi xel s  
are stimulated, the picture is created.
What’s the Sony OLED Advantage?
Sony has its own unique approach to OLED design. We 
concentrate first on superior picture quality – the most important 
aspect of every Sony TV system. Each individual OLED element 
is housed in a special microcavity that reduces ambient light 
interference to produce higher brightness and greater color 
purity. The thickness of the organic layer is adjusted to produce 
the strongest light for individual red, green and blue wavelengths.  
Color filters refine and purify each color. And Sony OLED screens 
don’t require a backlight panel to add extra brilliance to the 
image – the organic material does it all.
A rainbow of 
vivid colors.
Our patented  
Super Top Emission™ 
technology activates 
the Organic material 
to produce light.  
Microcavity design 
intensifies the light at 
specific frequencies. 
Color filters refine 
color by further 
reducing the effect 
of stray light. Result: 
pure, vivid colors 
and hues that look 
startlingly realistic.  
Contrast ratio:
1,000,000:1.
OLED pixels 
produce light only 
when stimulated.  
When the pixel 
is “off,” it goes 
completely dark – 
producing deep, 
rich blacks that 
contrast with bright 
highlights, even in 
th e sa me i mag e.  
This astonishing 
contrast ratio 
remains apparent 
when you view from 
an angle.  
Superiority you 
ca n s ee in ac t i o n .
When electric current 
stimulates organic 
ma ter ial a t ea ch p ixe l, 
response is incredibly 
fa st, wit h no afte rgl ow  
ef fect – to re pro duce  
action far more 
smoothly than 
conventional LCDs 
can achieve. For 
sports and action 
movies, that ’s a  
big plus.
Bright makes 
beautiful.
The light emitted 
by each OLED 
element passes 
through the Super 
Top Emission layer 
and color filters 
and is displayed 
on the screen with 
uncompromising 
brightness – so 
there’s no need for 
an added backlight 
panel to bring you a 
brilliant color image.
Our best color 
may be green.
Compared to other 
TV systems, Sony’s 
OLED technology 
can save significant 
energy4 – because 
no backlighting 
is required and 
picture elements 
consume no 
power in their “off” 
state. The XEL-1 is 
remarkably energyefficient when 
compared with 
other TVs.
4
New light on the 
environment.
Unlike conventional 
LED screens, 
Sony’s OLED 
technology requires 
no backlight – 
eliminating the 
energy loss in the 
backlight and 
allowing the TV to 
be merc ur y f ree . 
Any way you look 
at it, OLED is a real 
advantage.