Posts Tagged ‘Display Manufacturer’
S-LCD 8-2
Samsung and Sony announced on April 25, 2008 that they will establish a second G8 TFT LCD manufacturing line, 8-2, for its S-LCD joint venture.
- Startup Date, Glass Input Capacity, Motherglass Dimension
- G7 Line: April 2005, 100K/mo, 1870 x 2200mm
- 8-1: August 2007, 50K/mo, 2200 x 2500mm
- 8-2: Q2′09, 60K/mo, 2200 x 2500mm
Total investment for 8-2 will be around KRW1.8 trillion (about US$1.9 billion) and will be located in the Tangjeong Complex. Initial glass substrate input capacity will be at 60K/mo. Both G8 fabs will most likely increase to 90K/mo or more in the future to meet growing demand for large LCD TVs.
Samsung LN32A540: 32″ Full HD LCD TV
Samsung LN32A540
Size: 32″
Pixel Format: 1920 x 1080
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Contrast Ratio: 35,000:1 (dynamic)
Viewing Angle: 178/178
Response Time: 6ms
Input: HDMI (3), Composite (2), VGA, S-Video, Component (Y/Pb/Pr, 2)
Tuner: ATSC
Sharp was the first to introduce a Full HD 32″ LCD TV with a pixel format of 1920 x 1080. Almost everyone in the display community thought that was overkill. I wonder why. Well, the reasoning was that our visual system couldn’t distinguish the increased resolution at the distances that we would be watching a 32″ LCD TV. That’s probably true. But, there are a lot of folks out there that play Xbox 360, PS3 and PC games on their 1080p-capable LCD TVs. And when they do that, my guess is that they play a bit closer to the box than if they were simply watching video. I think 32″ LCD TVs with a 1920 x 1080 pixel format will be quite popular.
LG Display to Produce 16:9 LCDs for Notebook PCs
Size: 8.9″
Pixel Format: 1024 x 600
Availability: August 2008
Size: 9.4″
Availability: April 2009
Size: 10.1″
Pixel Format: 1024 x 576
Availability: October 2008
These LCD panels are rumored to be integrated into ultra-portable low-cost notebook PC units by Acer, Asus and HP. I’m glad the width of these LCDs are at least 1024. Browsing the Internet and anything less than 1024 pixels is not very pleasant. Other sources point to the possibility that these LCDs will sport LED backlights. This makes and doesn’t make sense.
Samsung LCD Shipments Up 54% Y/Y in Q1′08
Samsung has five main divisions: semiconductor, LCD, telecom, digital media, and appliances. In Q1′08, sales from its LCD division comprised 25%, unchanged from Q4′07. LCD sales were down 3% Q/Q but up 53% Y/Y to KRW4.34 trillion (US$4.32 billion). Operating profits were up 10% Q/Q and 1,278% Y/Y to KRW1.01 trillion with a healthy 23% profit margin, the highest among all of its divisions.
Samsung’s LCD division shipped 22.8 million large-size LCD panels in Q1′08, virtually unchanged Q/Q from 22.9 million in Q4′07, but up a substantial 54% Y/Y from Q1′07, when it shipped just 14.8 million. Samsung indicated steady shipments of notebook PC and LCD TV panels. LCD monitor panel shipments on the other hand were weak due to seasonality. In Q2′08, Samsung expects large-size LCD panel shipments to increase 8-10% with 40″ and larger sizes to account for 60% of LCD TV panel shipments.
Samsung did caution that LCD TV set inventory sell-through must be monitored.
Sharp Profit to Rise 3% in FY2008
Sharp is forecasting that its profits will increase 3% Y/Y to JPY100 billion to JPY101.9 billion in FY2008 that just ended on March 31, 2008. The company stated that increased sales of cheaper LCD TVs were part of the reason for the increase. In a previous blog post, I referred to a report by Pacific Media Associates that showed a trend toward smaller and more affordable LCD TVs, namely 32″. This trend will most likely continue as folks in the US are cash-strapped and it seems a recession is in full swing.
