LG Display successfully teamed up with the South Korean television network MBC to help broadcast that nation’s general election vote count on its prototype transparent OLED displays.  

The event marked the first time LG Display has shown off its transparent OLED displays to ordinary viewers, it said. Transparent OLED is a unique display technology that allows viewers to see things behind the panel, even while content is being shown on screen. LG Display says the technology has several possible applications, including being used to display content in stores and shop windows, aeroplanes, cars, offices and other commercial spaces. 

For the election coverage, LG Display installed six transparent OLED displays in the cast seats in MBC’s main studio, displaying information such as the current status of the votes, as well as “science fiction-like images” that provided viewers with “fresh and differentiated attractions”. 

The company also installed a transparent OLED sign in a separate outdoor studio that provided more ballot count information that was updated in real-time. 

LG Display’s transparent OLED panels measure 55-inches, can support full HD resolution and feature a transmission rate of 40%. That’s superior than existing transparent LCD panels we’ve seen in the past, which typically have a transmission rate of just 10%. 

The company says OLED is the ideal technology for transparent displays because it’s able to emit its own light without the need for a backlight.   

LG Display isn’t the only TV brand that’s trying to commercialise transparent OLED. Last year at the Salone del Mobile design conference in Milan, Japanese brand Panasonic showed off its own transparent OLED display, a prototype consumer model encased in a wooden frame that appears to be holding nothing more than a piece of glass at first glance.