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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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