OLED TV: Introduction and Industry News - Page 47

LG Display announced that it has developed a 77" flexible and transparent OLED display. The display features a resolution of 4K/UHD (3840 x 2160), a 80 mm radius of curvature and 40% transparency.

LG Display demonstrated two possible applications for this display - above you can see the "smart desk" demonstration, and below you can see a commercial retail demonstration. It is not clear from the press release, but it seems that LGD plans to commercialize such a display in the future.

Towards the end of 2015 LG Display announced that it plans to build a new OLED fab (P10) in Paju in a $8.7 billion investment to produce both mid-sized flexible OLED and large-sized OLED TV panels. In May 2017 it was reported that LG decided to produce LCD panels rather than OLED panels in its upcoming fab.

According to Business Korea, LGD has confirmed that the P10 plant will indeed be used to produce only OLED displays - and will vote on this decision next week. The P10 fab will be used to make OLED TV panels in addition to small and medium sized flexible OLEDs. LGD has yet to decide exactly how to split the production capacity between large-area and small-area displays.

In February 2017 BOE Display announced that will establish a new R&D OLED TV production line in Hefei. According to Digitimes, BOE Display is intending to use an inkjet printing process in this line, and the company already placed an order for an inkjet deposition system from Kateeva last month. BOE will use the systems to produce 55" OLED TVs.

In February BOE announced that the new line will cost 1 billion CNY (around $145 million USD). BOE will invest 80% of the funds, with the rest provided by the Hefei government. Digitimes now states that the new line will only cost 600 million CNY - so it may be that the inkjet printing line is an addition to the 1 billion CNY line (which in that case, will probably be based on an evaporation process).

LG Electronics just lowered the price of most of its newest OLED TVs. The price of its signature OLEDG7 TVs was slashed by $1,000 - so the price for the 65" model now costs $5,999. The price of LG's high-end OLEDE7 TVs were also reduced by $1,000 - the current prices are $3,999 for the 55" model and $4,999 for the 65" model.

The prices of LG's entry-level OLEDC7 TV were also reduced. The 55" model now costs $2,799 (down from $2,999) while the 65" one costs $3,997 (down from $4,499). It seems that the prices of LG's other OLED TVs did not change.

UBI Research says that AMOLED revenues reached $4.31 billion in Q1 2017, up 15% from Q1 2016. In terms of units sold, UBI says that 99.1 million AMOLED panels were shipped - up 9% from Q1 2016. Obviously this means that average price per panel is up - probably because most of the growth came from higher-end flexible AMOLED displays and larger OLED TV panels.

Looking forward, UBI says that in the next quarters over 100 million AMOLED panels will ship - and over 300,000 OLED TV panels. The total AMOLED maket will grow at a CAGR of 33% - and reach $59.3 billion in 2020.

Loewe started shipping the 77" model of its first OLED series, the Bild 7. The price of this large OLED TV is €15,000 (or about $16,700). The 55" model costs €4,990 while the 65" model is available for €6,990.

The Bild 7 use flat-panel 4K OLED panels (produced by LG Display) and feature Loewe's own image processing software (VantaVision) and a slim and powerful soundbar (that is revealed only when the TV is on, as the panel automatically slides upwards when activated). The Bild 7 is 7 mm thick and was designed to look good even from behind (with fabric concealing the connector and cables) so to enable all installation options. The TV is delivered with a wall bracket and Loewe also offers a range of specially-designed stands.

IHS says that OLED TV shipments will reach 10 million units in 2023, up from about 1.5 million in 2017. The OLED TV market will grow at a CAGR of 42% from 2017, but the growth will decelerate as can be seen in the chart below.

The high costs of producing OLED TV panels will remain a challenge and will be the main reason why production of OLED TV panels won't accelerate in the near future. Producers are looking into ink-jet printing as a way to lower production costs but the soluble emitting materials are still under performing and also the production yields are still low. IHS says that OLED makers are aiming to start mass printing OLED TV panels by 2019.

LG Electronics launched its 77" Signature OLEDW7 Wallpaper TV in Korea, with a price tag of 33 million Won (almost $30,000, although there's a 4 million Won discount if you order before the end of June). LG aims to gradually release its flagship TV globally in the coming months.

LG's OLED W7 is the company's top-of-the-line OLED TV for 2017. The TV is extremely thin (2.57 mm all the way) and attaches to the wall using magnets. A thin cable on the bottom connects to the sound bar. Other features include a 4K resolution, HDR support (to four different standards), WebOS 3.5 and Dolby Atmos sound. The 65" model is now shipping for around $8,000.

Sony recently started shipping its first OLED TV, the XBR-A1E, and the company now launched a new ad campaign, with the title "Experience a whole new world". In the description of the video you can see below (update: Sony removed the video and it is no longer available), Sony says that OLEDs are the future of TV, with extraordinary contrast, deep blacks and life-like color - coupled with a cutting-edge product design".

I'm not sure if an OLED really replaces the experience of seeing the earth from the moon, but there you have it. Sony's XGR-A1E costs the $3,999 for the 55" model and $5,499 for the 65" one.

According to an industry insider in Taiwan, Samsung is set to acquire Taiwan's PlayNitride for the company's micro-LED technology for around $150 million. Our inside says that Samsung aims to develop micro-LED based displays for VR applications, but may also look into micro-LED based TVs using PlayNitride's technology.

Micro-LED is a promising display technology as it has the potential to enable brighter and more efficient displays compared to OLEDs. It also may be cheaper, but there are still technical challenges to overcome and analysts estimate that micro-LEDs will not be commercialized before 2020.