This time last year Sony was bragging about their OLED TV technology, however it is Samsung and LG who have made all the running with both Korean Companies set to launch new wafer thin models at the 2010 CES Show in Las Vegas.
Samsung is set to announce a new plant in China that will build 5th-generation OLED TVs 30″ inches and over the Company has said.
A big problem for Sony in developing OLED TV technology was profitability, with the Company still bleeding losses from their Bravia LCD TV operations the Japanese Company decided to put on hold plans, for a 27″ model that was due this year.
Samsung Mobile Display is already producing 20,000 OLED panels a month for mobile phones with this set to be significantly expanded in 2010 said a Company spokesperson.
Samsung, which has been reaping the benefits of its investment in LCD TVs with light emitting-diode (LED) backlighting, is forecasting a mass market for OLED TV’s sometime in 2012.
Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) displays, which use self-glowing materials, have better picture quality, consume less power and are thinner than widely used liquid crystal displays (LCD) that need backlight units. As a result several Companies including Panasonic and LG are now ramping up OLED production.
A key factor in Sony putting the technology on hold was the high cost of production of OLED TV’s and the probability of a high failure rate with early production a Company spokesman said last month.
Samsung Electronics are tipping that OLED TV’s which deliver better picture quality than current LED, or LCD will be up to 20% more expensive than current TV’s.
LG Electronics will this week launch a 15-inch OLED TV in Korea and the USA and Australia in the New Year. This is the largest commercial model so far. LG Display who are currently working on the development of OLED display technology for Apple are looking at producing 40,000 30″ OLED TV’s a month by 2012.
The new OLED TV’s will be extremely slim say officials from both Samsung and LG. They will consume much less power than current model LCDs, making them attractive to environmentally conscious consumers.
Global revenue from shipments of OLED panels for use in televisions will surge to $1.8 billion in 2015, up from $10 million in 2009 say DisplaySearch.
