ces 2016 Archives

プレミアムTV市場でカーブドTVは消えるだろうか。

2017年 2月 3日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: フォーカス・オン, 展示, 技術 /作成者: OLEDNET

2013年に初めて登場したカーブドTV（curved TV）は、しばらくの間、未来型TVとして注目され、CES2016では、サムスン電子と中国のHisense、Haier、TCLなど多数の企業がカーブドTVを展示した。また、XiaomiとLeTVなど、後発メーカーたちもカーブドTV（curved TV）を発売したし、サムスン電子は、2016年8月にHisenseとTCLなど中国TVメーカーたちと「カーブド連盟」を結成し、カーブド市場の拡大のために相互に協力することにするなど、カーブドTV市場の評価は、だいたい友好的であった。

<CES2016と2017、サムスン電子（左）とLG電子（右）のブース写真。2016年には、多数のカーブドTVが展示されたが、2017年にはフラットTVを中心に展示された。>

しかし、CES2017では韓国と中国など一部のメーカーのみがカーブドTV（curved TV）を披露したし、ヨーロッパとアメリカなど、他の家電メーカーたちは、フラットテレビ（flat TV）のみの展示をした。また、サムスン電子は、2017年フラッグシップ・TVモデルであるQ9をフラットテレビのみで発売して、より低廉な価格のモデルであるQ7とQ8モデルのみでカーブドTV導入を決定した。LG電子の関係者は、カーブドTV市場の下向気味について言いながら、今後、フラットOLED TVに集中する計画を言及するなど、主要セットメーカーたちのカーブドTVに対する認識に変化が起き始めた。それだけではなく、ヨーロッパの家電メーカーであるVestelの関係者は、視野角に対して非常に敏感なカーブドTVの欠点を述べたし、TV評価媒体であるReviewed.comと他の評価会社でもカーブドTVについて、否定的な意見を出すなど、プレミアムTV市場でカーブドTVの重要度が徐々に低下するだろうと予想される。

これによって、プレミアムTV市場は、フラットタイプを基にして、画質競争が大部分を占めるとみられすし、カーブドTV（curved TV）は、プレミアム級から１段階低いTV市場で中国企業との競争が予想される。多数の中国TVメーカーたちのカーブドTV発売によって、これ以上、プレミアムTV市場でカーブドTVは、差別化ポイントにならないため、セットメーカーたちは、消費者の目を捕らえるための新しい転換点が必要となるものとみられる。

Blossoming April… Hurt by LCD, Heal with OLED

2016年 3月 30日/0 コメント/カテゴリ: ディスプレイ, 市場 /作成者: OLEDNET

Hyunjoo Kang / Reporter / jjoo@olednet.com

Flexible OLED from LGD(CES 2016)

From April, the display industry is estimated to start mending the damage carried out by LCD with OLED.

In Q1 2016, Korean display industry suffered due to oversupply of Chinese LCD panels. Market experts believe that Samsung Display and LG Display will announce large Q1 deficit in April due to LCD.

However, the display market is expected to actively improve its performance from April.

Dong-won Kim, analyst with Hyundai Securities, estimated that great increase in profit is expected from Q2 2016 due to the increase in OLED operation rate and yield improvement. Also because of profitability improvement effect following LCD panel’s price rebound, the deficit will decrease.

LG Display’s performance in OLED sector is expected to noticeably improve. Over 90% of LG Display’s total mass production line is LCD at present. Hence, the fall of LCD price in Q1 is expected to have hit hard and OLED business is also showing deficit.

OLED TV from LG(CES 2016)

◆ After Harsh Q1, Warm Breeze of OLED… Spring for Equipment Industry Too

However, this will change from Q2. Analyst Hyeoncheol So of Shinhan Investment forecast that LG Display’s OLED TV sales volume and revenue in Q2 2016 will increase by 144% and 106% respectively. He added that the business deficit of OLED TV sector will greatly decrease.

LG Display is anticipating that the deficit will turn to profit in H2 2017, with the business profit of up to 1 trillion KRW in 2017, an increase of 115%.

Samsung Display, whose LCD and OLED ratio is 50:50, is expected to show 900,000 million KRW in deficit in LCD sector this first quarter. However, this is estimated to be compensated to some degree by the profit in OLED.

Samsung Display and LG Display are actively carrying out investment in OLED panel mass production line in Q1. As well as the investment in turning the existing LCD line to OLED, investment in new OLED line establishment is actively being carried out.

As such, with the optimistic outlook on OLED within the display market, flexible OLED manufacturing equipment companies such as Tera Semicon, Viatron Technologies, and Dong A Eltek had been discussed as the favorites of securities companies. In fact, Samsung Display’s flexible OLED manufacturing equipment related key collaborator AP Systems showed remarkable growth recording 12,100 million KRW in business profit last year.

UBI Research forecast that Korean companies will strengthen their dominance with their 2016 AMOLED shipment’s 95% occupancy of the global market. As OLED is becoming stronger in the TV, smartphone, and VR market, this will become a huge growth engine for global panel companies such as Samsung and LG.

Quantum Dot, Will it Rise to Become the Answer for Future Display Materials?

2016年 1月 21日/1 コメント/カテゴリ: ディスプレイ, 技術 /作成者: OLEDNET

The interest in quantum dot materials is increasing daily. In July 2015, Professor Changhee Lee of Seoul National University received Science Technology Person of the Month prize with technology that greatly improves QLED performance and lifetime. In CES 2016, with cadmium-less quantum dot applied SUHD TV, Samsung Electronics achieved UHD TV’s color standard BT.2020 and received much attention.

Regarding this interest, during the Pioneer Technology Seminar to Overcome Display Industry Crisis (January 14) held in South Korea, University of Seoul’s Professor Jeong Hoon Kwak reported that quantum dot technology is a material with plenty of potential from the long-term perspective.

Quantum dot materials can be used with blue LED to improve LCD color gamut. Two techniques are generally used; the edge type has quantum dot placed on the sides and for surface type the quantum dot film is attached in front of BLU. Most of TV makers, excluding Sony, are using surface type. Professor Kwak explained that quantum dot can achieve desired color by adjusting the size of the particles without changing the materials. Through this, he estimated that it could replace color filter.

As well as increasing the LCD color gamut, as quantum dot materials emit light when connected to electricity, much like organic light emitting materials, it is anticipated that they could be used to replace the emitting materials in OLED panel. Within the industry, this technology is called QLED or QD-LED (Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode) technology. Professor Kwak emphasized that QLED has better color gamut than OLED and has a merit of good actualization of deep blue. As QLED is basically formed through solution process, he added that solution process pixel patterning technology has to be development and device lifetime also has to increase.

Professor Kwak explained that as there are not many places mass producing QLED materials at present, the cost is high. However, he emphasized that because the quantum dot materials have an advantage of being easy to synthesize, from long term perspective, they can be used at lower price than OLED.