An Update on the OLED Market

[HenryTo]

This technology is set to replace both LCD and Plasma technology. We will keep tabs on this trend on our discussion forum going forward.

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199902133

[HenryTo]

Sony to possibly tie up with Panasonic on making OLED TVs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-15/sony-panasonic-discussing-oled-tv-tie-up-official-says.html

[rffrydr]

That one could be applied to heading "Japan" for this move cuts to heart of what post-war japan is and stands for (take away the cars and cameras).

How does an investment regime become a ball and chain?
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!

[HenryTo]

Samsung and LG on track to launch OLED TV offerings this year, ahead of their Japanese rivals.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/samsung-lg-tvs-thinner-than-ipad-undermine-sony-panasonic-tech.html

[HenryTo]

Finally, OLED TVs are here--at least sometime in 2012. Japanese out of the picture at this point, however.
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LG to sell 55-inch TV using new ultra-thin screen technology

NEW YORK (AP) -- For flat-panel TVs, the choice for years has been between plasma and LCD. In the coming year, there'll be another choice, at least for those prepared to spend big.

LG Electronics Inc. says it's planning to sell a 55-inch set based on organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. The Korean company is set to show it off at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which starts Jan. 10.

Samsung Electronics Co., LG's Korean rival, will also reveal a nearly market-ready OLED TV at the show, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Samsung has yet to make an announcement. Its website says CES announcements will come Jan. 9.

Tim Alessi, director of home electronics development at LG's USA arm, said its set will likely go on sale in the fourth quarter. The company isn't revealing the price.

Paul Gagnon, an analyst at DisplaySearch, estimates that OLED sets will start out above $5,000.

The screen technology is in use in high-end smartphones and provides deeply saturated colors and high contrast. However, it's been very difficult to make larger screens with consistent results. In late 2007, Sony Corp. started selling an 11-inch OLED TV for about $2,500, but it never followed it up with a bigger model.

Since then, LG and Samsung have shown prototype OLED TVs at the annual CES show, but haven't revealed any marketing plans.

Apart from providing improved picture quality, OLED TVs can be very thin. LG's set will be 4 millimeters thick (3/16ths of an inch) and weight 16.5 pounds.

[HenryTo]

Speculation that large-size OLED TVs would be produced in three years - much earlier than before.
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M'xxx to produce 37-inch OLED TVs in 3 yrs-media

Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:56pm EDT

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Japan's xxx Electric Industrial Co (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is finalising plans to mass-produce 37-inch organic light-emitting diode TVs in three years, aiming to overtake rivals in the next-generation flat-TV race, the Sankei Shimbun daily reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper said that xxx would be the first to mass-produce OLED TVs of over 30 inches, and that the company aimed to challenge Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for the top share in the global flat-TV market.

The paper also said xxx would likely start selling the OLED TVs for around 150,000 yen ($1,390).

xxx spokesman Akira Kadota said the company was considering the commercialisation of OLED TVs in the future, but it had not decided on any details including the launch timing or size.

Unlike LCDs, OLED panels do not need backlighting, making them slimmer and more energy efficient. But makers need to clear hurdles such as cutting production costs and maximising screen size in order to begin mass-producing OLEDs.

Sony last November started selling the world's first OLED TVs with an 11-inch screen.

xxx President Fumio Ohtsubo said in January it would be a while before xxx could launch OLED TVs. Although xxx was planning to launch large-sized OLED TVs, demand for that type of OLED TV would probably not take off until around 2015, he said.

The Sankei report said xxx would start a production line exclusively for OLEDs at its new LCD panel factory that is being built in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, in western Japan.

xxx, the world's No. 1 plasma TV maker, will also set up an OLED production line at the IPS Alpha Technology factory in Chiba Prefecture, the paper said. xxx owns a 30 percent stake in IPS Alpha, which makes large LCD panels.

Shares of xxx, which will change its name to Panasonic Corp on Oct. 1, shed 0.8 percent to 2,370 yen as of 0027 GMT, while the broader Nikkei 225 index .N225 declined 0.3 percent.

[texfly101]

What I have been told by my suppliers in the industry is that this is a great product but that it will take a bit of time to get the manufacturing process up and running. They have solved the problem of organic burnout and have increased the lifetime of the film. But since it takes a transistor for each and every pixel, it basically is a big integrated circuit chip. It has to be manufactured using ULSI techniques which are very expensive and time consuming to develop considering the QA needs and pass/fail rates. It does have the advantage of being able to utilize printing techinques like ink jet techniques but there needs to be developed a large scale manufacturing facility that will require extensive time and money. Small scale facilities are there but no large manufacturer has put a line in place yet. Currently with the major screen manufacturers having invested in LCD's and other types, there is not a lot of room to put new investment into a new technology without a true demand and business case. Sony has a vested interest and its technique is a hybrid of sorts, not really suitable for the numbers that the TV game demands. If you think about it, since the screen has millions of pixels, each having to be controlled by a transistor, you can't have any bad connections anywhere as it would leave a black spot on the screen. Very tough QA standards to say the least. But if they can get a market developed and then get a manufacturing technique that is capable of the pass/fail QA standards, then this could happen. I have seen a screen (small one) and it is gorgeous. And this is where we will first see them, i.e. cell phones, portable TV's, control displays, etc, it will obey Moore's Law for sure. The market just isn't there yet as both the screen manufacturers and the TV manufacturers will have to convert over and right now, they are focused on LCD's. I would bet on the Chinese maybe running with this as they have the potential investment capability without the conversion problems that Sony and others have with a very mature technology that is still reaping profits. Leaving money on the table is hard for anyone if they don't have to, it will take consumer demand to bring it to market as mainstream products, hence the 2000 units in Japan. But they are testing the waters and more importantly, learning how to do it large scale. I keep hearing 2012 as a year to look for them in the mainstream. It looks a lot like GM & Toyota introducing the electric/hybrid cars years back. China's problem always has been QA but this just might be in their future. If they strike a licensing agreement for this, it could be 8 track time all over again.
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dj

[HenryTo]

Sony brings the OLED TV to market - but only 2,000 is available:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9741

[HenryTo]

First OLED TV commercially released by Sony in Japan:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9108

[HenryTo]

Larger displays for the mainstream TV market is forecast to start happening in 2012, although many obstacles still remain:

http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=15836