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Sony gambles on OLED

by Scott Bicheno on 19 February 2008, 10:01

Tags: Sony (NYSE:SNE)

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Sony has announced that it intends to invest approximately 22 billion yen (~$200 million/£100 million) in OLED technology in the fiscal year starting 1st April 2008.

It also announced that it plans to gear some of its production technologies towards producing middle and large sized OLED panels, with the implementation of this change occurring in the 2009/10 fiscal year.

Sony appears to be betting that OLED will become a major display technology. In its press release it says it is “positioning the OLED panel as a new device capable of expanding the future potential of televisions and other AV products.”

Official press release: Sony to Invest Approximately 22 billion Yen to Strengthen Middle and Large Size OLED Panel Production Technology



HEXUS Forums :: 9 Comments

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Is it really that much of a “gamble”? From what I've seen and read of the technology, OLED looks like it's a sure-fire winner. :)
stroberaver
Is it really that much of a “gamble”? From what I've seen and read of the technology, OLED looks like it's a sure-fire winner. :)
Only if it works, is cheap enough, and there aren't better competitors.

The Sony XEL-1 OLED TV, that they demoed last year cost £1000 for a tiny 11“ screen. Scaling up, a 36” TV (The minimum size most people would consider for a new living room TV) would cost around £10K. Only the richest and most committed early adopters will pay those sorts of prices.

Secondly the OLEDs themselves only have a limited life, especially blue ones. If you leave an OLED TV or any other type of display on 24x7 (Not that unlikely in some homes and especially in shop displays) it will last less than a year before the blues go completely, and it will show significant colour casts before that. When you consider that the average consumer keeps a TV for 8 years before replacing it, and a significant number keep them for 20, Sony will have to find a fix before they can become a mass market product.

Thirdly OLED will only succeed if there are not better or cheaper technologies. There are big investments in LCD and plasma production, and prices are falling all the time. In a few years time the costs will have dropped even further and the quality improved. Also, perhaps new technologies will come along or existing ones greatly improved such as cheap bright projectors that would take up much less living room space than an equivalently sized big screen TV.
Toshiba and Panasonic double OLED lifespan – exceeds LCDs - Engadget

Also, hence why they're investing money into the tech, they want it to replace LCD further down the line :)

Modest sized plasma screens used to cost £15k+ not all that long ago, and Pioneer's first retail model retailed at over £20k..
well tbh.. £104m to a company like Sony isn't that much when they have the ability to maybe produce better, cheaper, and bigger TV screens..
does anyone know how good an OLED screen can reproduce colours and what sort of reaction times they have atm..

the first LCD was £7141 and was 14.1" and boasted 256 colours :P

and now look where LCD is..

could be well worth it for Sony in the near future if they can develop and refine the idea behind OLED TVs.
Forget OLED… IMO its all about projectors in the future :p