Update: According to a UK magazine, Sony denies pulling out of the OLED TV market
In December 2013 Sony and Panasonic announced that they canceled their OLED TV joint-development effort. The two Japanese companies said they will continue to develop OLED technologies independently. Now the Japanese Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sony decided to halt their OLED TV development to focus on UHD LCDs.
Sony 56-inch OLED TV Prototype
According to the report, Sony does not see any real demand for OLED TVs any time soon. While they may be right in the very near term (1-2 years), this is a very risky decision because if OLED TVs do take off in 2015 or so as Sony will again be too late to the new TV technology (the same mistake they did with LCDs).According to some reports, Sony aims to enter the OLED TV market using LGD panels, a strategy that didn't quite work out for Sony with LCD panels a few years ago.
This is the second time that Sony quits the OLED TV market, by the way. Sony was the first company to release an OLED TV back in 2007 (with the 11" XEL-1, which wasn't really a TV and wasn't really a commercial product). In January 2012 Sony reportedly decided to abandon the OLED TV market. But only one month later, following management changes, the company decided to return to the OLED TV market. Sony later announced the collaboration with Panasonic (and with Taiwan's AU Optronics as well).
Sony XEL-1
Panasonic's OLED TV plans aren't clear either. The company did show new curved OLED TV prototypes earlier in 2014, and back then some company officials claimed the company will release OLED TVs in 2014 for consumers. This is quite unlikely though. Panasonic did withdraw from the OLED lighting business in March 2014 and it wouldn't surprise me to see them back off from OLED TV development soon. Similarly to Sony, Panasonic is also reportedly in talks with LGD for OLED TV panels.
Comments
CLED is way cheaper to manufacture compared to oled.
And MUCH more reliable.
CLED was never commercialized, so we do not know anything regarding its reliability and price. It is highly likely that Sony abandoned this technology a couple of years ago.
IMHO, Sony used to be innovative, and this is why they led the world with their advances in technology. Now, with a more western style of management, they are chasing the montly bottom line. They are aware of new technology, but in pursuit of the monthly bottom line, they have abandoned any real innovation, and come out, once in a rare while, with bleeding edge products that are too costly and curiosities rather than marketable products. It's too bad, IMHO, because Sony once led the world in TV technology. At best, it seems like they have degraded to being followers rather than leaders.
Blu Ray is on a downslope, now OLED.
Money talks louder than quality.
Maybe its because the avarage consumer does not care that much about PQ?
Maybe its because the current technology is good enough (and cheap) to fully enjoy a movie without selling a kidney?
well well well, seems someone just got a punch on his face
Its historical fact that LCD and Plasma entered at prices comparable to the price at market introduction of large OLED. Tech will continue to advance no matter what it is. It will continue to come to market at high prices, and it will drop thereafter. LG's 55" curved OLED TV has dropped to about 1/3 its market introduction price and it has been less than a year - this is far, far lest time than it took for large LCD and Plasma to drop to similar levels. If that rate of price drop continues, it will be the end of the year or so before LG's 55" curved OLED 1080p set is available for $1,300 US. Give it another year, and I am also willing to bet that such sets will be available for less than $1,000 US.
OLED is a simpler technology than LCD or Plasma, and it is my bet that because it is simpler, once the manufacturers have production obstacles resolved, the price will continue to drop far faster than LCD or Plasma did after they were first introduced.
Not to forget, Sony's CLED (Crystal LED; actual tiny LED pixels) proposal, at 2012 CES.
They should try to revive that idea instead of going backwards to LCD.