Archive for the ‘Display Manufacturer’ Category
Pioneer and Matsushita Forge Alliance
On April 24, 2008, Pioneer and Matsushita announced a comprehensive business alliance on PDP technology development and panel production. Pioneer will share its proprietary PDP-related technologies (and that means its KURO PDP technology) and Matsushita will absorb Pioneer’s PDP R&D team. Matsushita will be responsible for volume production of PDPs for the Panasonic and Pioneer brands. Matsushita brings the economy of scale needed to compete against LCD TVs and Pioneer brings some very special PDP technology. Pioneer’s KURO-line of PDP TVs have been hailed as one of the best in the industry for deep blacks and overall excellent front screen performance.
Pioneer KURO Front Projectors and LCD TVs
Pioneer’s KURO plasma display panel (PDP) TVs have extreme performance and has set the standard for black levels. Pioneer has stated that it will introduce KURO front projectors and LCD TVs.
The second generation KURO PDP TVs feature a near absolute black by reducing the idle luminance. Compared to the 2007 KURO models, the second generation has black levels that are five times darker according to Pioneer. The second generation KURO PDP TVs are available in 50″ and 60″ sizes. The KURO PDP TVs are also very thin at just 9.4 cm or 3.7″.
- PDP-LX5090: 50″, 1920 x 1080, SD Terrestrial Digital Tuner, June 2008
- PDP-LX6090: 60″, 1920 x 1080, SD Terrestrial Digital Tuner, June 2008
- PDP-LX5090H: 50″, 1920 x 1080, SD/HD Terrestrial and Satellite Digital Tuner, Region Dependent
- PDP-LX6090H: 60″, 1920 x 1080, SD/HD Terrestrial and Satellite Digital Tuner, Region Dependent
The PDP-LX5090H and PDP-LX6090H models incorporate a digital terrestrial and satellite tuner that is compliant to the EICTA HDTV 1080p Minimum Requirement, in addition to being DLNA compliant.
Samsung to Continue Supplying LCD Modules to Sony
On April 16, 2008, Samsung clarified that it will continue supplying LCD TV modules to Sony. There were speculation that Sony had officially requested Samsung to supply LCD cells instead of modules. The modularization process is very labor intensive and many of the largest LCD manufacturers have set up module plants in China. The very first plants experienced extremely low yields as much debris entered into the plants. Anecdotal studies suggest the main cause of debris was due to dirty laborers. This situation has been corrected by building shower systems and establishing rules requiring a shower prior to entering the main facilities. Not only is the module process very labor intensive, it is very profitable. A LCD cell can be sold at only 40%-50% of the price of a module.
LG Display Reports Q1′08 Results
On April 10, 2008, LG Display (LPL) reported Q1′08 results, ending March 31, 2008, based on consolidated Korean GAAP accounting rules. The KRW to USD foreign exchange was set at KRW 998.60 per USD. Here are the highlights:
- Sales: Down 7% Q/Q and up 48% Y/Y to USD 2,753 million
- Sales Breakdown by Application: 44% LCD TV, 26% LCD monitor, 24% notebook PC, 6% Other
- Operating Profit: Up 1.4% Q/Q to USD 891 million
- EBITDA: Down 10% Q/Q and up 211% Y/Y to USD 1,618 million
- Net Income: Down 5.7% Q/Q to USD 725 million
Sharp AQUOS Vision
Sharp has a very well-made video about its AQUOS Vision. The latter parts are a bit too zen-like for me. One of the more impressive parts are right in the beginning.
