It’s not yet lights-out for LCD and plasma, but OLED displays are finally ready to begin pushing those technologies out of the limelight.

Organic light-emitting diode screens and televisions have been perpetually around the corner for years now, and Sony’s introduction last year of an 11-inch OLED television for $2,500 seemed more like a bad joke than a real product.

But OLED – with its larger color range, ability to show true black and high refresh rate compared with LCD; and low power consumption and physical thinness compared with plasma – is finally ready to go mainstream.

Janice Mahon, vice president of technology commercialization at New Jersey-based Universal Display Corp., which specializes in researching OLED technology, said affordable OLED displays are almost here.

Indeed, OLED televisions probably would be trickling out onto Best Buy and Wal-Mart shelves already if the recession hadn’t discouraged so many electronics companies from ramping up their planned investments in OLED manufacturing, Mahon said.

“Sony, Samsung and LG all have efforts in this area,” she said. “I would think that within the next year or two, the next technical hurdles that need to be addressed will be addressed.”

Samsung has already said that its 14.1-inch and 31-inch OLED sets are “production ready.”

On a smaller scale, Microsoft Corp.’s new Zune HD portable media player will ship this fall with a 3.3-inch OLED touch screen.

While Apple Inc. opted to use traditional LCD screens on its new iPhone 3G S, it’s possible that OLED could appear in the company’s iPod Touch.