OLED TV's manufacturing cost and retail price will decide whether it can rise to popularity among consumers, according to players in Taiwan's LCD panel industry.
LG Display (LGD) is said to be starting volume production of OLED TV panels in second-half 2012, with a monthly output of 30,000 units. LGD reportedly plans to introduce 55-inch OLED TV panels in 2012.
OLED's applications in large-area displays have been talk of the industry for several years, said sources from backlight unit (BLU) maker Coretronic. But the manufacturing cost of OLED TVs will be difficult to cut down if large-size OLED panels fail to overcome hurdles in manufacturing capacity and in technology, the sources said.
Lextar Electronics chairman David Su said the rise of OLED TVs will not pose an overnight threat to the existing LCD TVs because it will take time for OLED TVs to reduce market prices. Lextar said panel makers would need to change their manufacturing processes for OLED applications, and OLED production would be slow to yield return on investment. So OLED TVs are expected to be sold with hefty prices, said Su.
AU Optronics (AUO) vice president Paul Peng said that large-area OLED panels still face difficulties in mass production, adding that the yield rate is low and manufacturing processes are yet to be standardized. He noted that large-area OLED panels will not be able to rival LCD ones before 2014 because of cost issues, and he also has doubts about large-area OLED panels entering mass production prior to 2014.
Article translated by Joy Wan
