Panasonic’s latest TV turns transparent when switched off

The screen is actually a thin mesh

Logos of Panasonic Corp are pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan (REUTERS/Toru Hanai)

As if 4K TVs, curved screens and HDR weren’t impressive – and expensive – enough, Panasonic’s unveiled a new type of super-advanced telly that’s almost completely invisible.

The company’s showing it off at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies trade show in Tokyo, and it looks like a mind-bendingly impressive bit of tech.

As you can see from the clip below, the TV looks like little more than a pane of colourless glass when it’s switched off, initially appearing to be an ordinary sliding door.

In Panasonic’s demo setting, you can look right through the TV when it's switched off, and see the ornaments positioned on the shelf behind. We imagine the effect could be slightly less attractive in a regular living room where tangles of wire lurk around every corner.

However, the set’s display quickly bursts into life, transforming the transparent panel into what appears to be a regular TV. Though we can’t draw any sweeping conclusions from a few seconds of YouTube footage, brightness and image quality look pretty impressive.

How does it work? The TV’s OLED screen is made from an incredibly fine mesh embedded in the glass. It works best in a dim environment, with picture quality suffering in brighter environments, according to Engadget.

Unfortunately, even if you’ve got your hands on a particularly juicy bonus this month, we wouldn’t get too excited about it just yet. It’s only a prototype model, and will likely stay in development for a further three years.