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In this file photo taken March 3, 2010, people look at wide screen televisions at a Costco store in Mountain View, Calif. If you"re in the market for a new flat-panel TV, it"s a good time to buy. TV prices usually drop from year to year, and the decline will be sharp this 2010 holiday season thanks to a supply glut. Consumers have been holding out all year for better deals, leaving lots of unsold televisions on the shelves. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
(AP) -- If you"re in the market for a new flat-panel TV, it"s a good time to buy. TV prices usually drop from year to year, and the decline will be sharp this season thanks to a supply glut. Consumers have been holding out all year for better deals, leaving lots of unsold televisions on the shelves. Prices for high-definition LCD TVs will fall more than twice as fast as they have so far this year as manufacturers and retailers clear out inventory, analysts predict.
- Makers of LCD panels invested profits from last year"s buying spree in more manufacturing capacity. Thinking 2010 would be as strong as 2009, they flooded the market. But the economy didn"t improve as expected.
- As a result, there"s an oversupply of panels, and prices started dropping over the summer. That means cheaper sets should be making their way to stores now.
Some of the best deals this season will be on 32-inch LCD TVs, the most popular size. They will sell for rock-bottom rates of $300 or less, compared with about $400 last year. That"s because manufacturers are selling raw panels of that size for only slightly more than the cost of making them - $160 to $170 each, far less than the $210 to $220 they fetched earlier this year.
Deep price cuts also are coming for higher-end models, including LCD TVs with LED backlights, which use less energy than regular sets and can be thinner or provide improved picture quality. Manufacturers have increased production capacity for parts specific to LED sets; that will drive down prices for components and, ultimately, the TVs themselves.
Overall, good deals will be 15 percent to 20 percent lower than holiday 2009 prices for regular LCD TVs. The price drop had been slimmer at 7 percent earlier this year, Gagnon says, and the decline should return to the single digits by spring.
The price of LCD display panels for TVs is still falling in November and is on the verge of falling back to the level at which it initially rose two years ago (in June 2020). Liu Yushi, a senior analyst at CINNO Research, told China State Grid reporters that the wave of “falling tide” may last until June this year. For related panel companies, after the performance surge in the past year, they will face pressure in 2022.
LCD display panel prices for TVs will remain at a high level throughout 2021 due to the high base of 13 consecutive months of increase, although the price of LCD display panels peaked in June last year and began to decline rapidly. Thanks to this, under the tight demand related to panel enterprises last year achieved substantial profit growth.
According to China State Grid, the annual revenue growth of major LCD display panel manufacturers in China (Shentianma A, TCL Technology, Peking Oriental A, Caihong Shares, Longteng Optoelectronics, AU, Inolux Optoelectronics, Hanyu Color Crystal) in 2021 is basically above double digits, and the net profit growth is also very obvious. Some small and medium-sized enterprises directly turn losses into profits. Leading enterprises such as BOE and TCL Technology more than doubled their net profit.
Take BOE as an example. According to the 2021 financial report released by BOE A, BOE achieved annual revenue of 219.31 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 61.79%; Net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies reached 25.831 billion yuan, up 412.96% year on year. “The growth is mainly due to the overall high economic performance of the panel industry throughout the year, and the acquisition of the CLP Panda Nanjing and Chengdu lines,” said Xu Tao, chief electronics analyst at Citic Securities.
In his opinion, as BOE dynamically optimizes its product structure, and its flexible OLED continues to enter the supply chain of major customers, BOE‘s market share as the panel leader is expected to increase further and extend to the Internet of Things, which is optimistic about the company’s development in the medium and long term.
“There are two main reasons for the ideal performance of domestic display panel enterprises.” A color TV industry analyst believes that, on the one hand, under the effect of the epidemic, the demand for color TV and other electronic products surges, and the upstream raw materials are in shortage, which leads to the short supply of the panel industry, the price rises, and the corporate profits increase accordingly. In addition, as Samsung and LG, the two-panel giants, gradually withdrew from the LCD panel field, they put most of their energy and funds into the OLED(organic light-emitting diode) display panel industry, resulting in a serious shortage of LCD display panels, which objectively benefited China’s local LCD display panel manufacturers such as BOE and TCL China Star Optoelectronics.
Liu Yushi analyzed to reporters that relevant TV panel enterprises made outstanding achievements in 2021, and panel price rise is a very important contributing factor. In addition, three enterprises, such as BOE(BOE), CSOT(TCL China Star Optoelectronics) and HKC(Huike), accounted for 55% of the total shipments of LCD TV panels in 2021. It will be further raised to 60% in the first quarter of 2022. In other words, “simultaneous release of production capacity, expand market share, rising volume and price” is also one of the main reasons for the growth of these enterprises. However, entering the low demand in 2022, LCD TV panel prices continue to fall, and there is some uncertainty about whether the relevant panel companies can continue to grow.
According to Media data, in February this year, the monthly revenue of global large LCD panels has been a double decline of 6.80% month-on-month and 6.18% year-on-year, reaching $6.089 billion. Among them, TCL China Star and AU large-size LCD panel revenue maintained year-on-year growth, while BOE, Innolux, and LG large-size LCD panel monthly revenue decreased by 16.83%, 14.10%, and 5.51% respectively.
Throughout Q1, according to WitsView data, the average LCD TV panel price has been close to or below the average cost, and cash cost level, among which 32-inch LCD TV panel prices are 4.03% and 5.06% below cash cost, respectively; The prices of 43 and 65 inch LCD TV panels are only 0.46% and 3.42% higher than the cash cost, respectively.
The market decline trend is continuing, the reporter queried Omdia, WitsView, Sigmaintel(group intelligence consulting), Oviriwo, CINNO Research, and other institutions regarding the latest forecast data, the analysis results show that the price of the TV LCD panels is expected to continue to decline in April. According to CINNO Research, for example, prices for 32 -, 43 – and 55-inch LCD TV panels in April are expected to fall $1- $3 per screen from March to $37, $65, and $100, respectively. Prices of 65 – and 75-inch LCD TV panels will drop by $8 per screen to $152 and $242, respectively.
“In the face of weak overall demand, major end brands requested panel factories to reduce purchase volumes in March due to high inventory pressure, which led to the continued decline in panel prices in April.” Beijing Di Xian Information Consulting Co., LTD. Vice general manager Yi Xianjing so analysis said.
“Since 2021, international logistics capacity continues to be tight, international customers have a long delivery cycle, some orders in the second half of the year were transferred to the first half of the year, pushing up the panel price in the first half of the year but also overdraft the demand in the second half of the year, resulting in the panel price began to decline from June last year,” Liu Yush told reporters, and the situation between Russia and Ukraine has suddenly escalated this year. It also further affected the recovery of demand in Europe, thus prolonging the downward trend in prices. Based on the current situation, Liu predicted that the bottom of TV panel prices will come in June 2022, but the inflection point will be delayed if further factors affect global demand and lead to additional cuts by brands.
With the price of TV panels falling to the cash cost line, in Liu’s opinion, some overseas production capacity with old equipment and poor profitability will gradually cut production. The corresponding profits of mainland panel manufacturers will inevitably be affected. However, due to the advantages in scale and cost, there is no urgent need for mainland panel manufacturers to reduce the dynamic rate. It is estimated that Q2’s dynamic level is only 3%-4% lower than Q1’s. “We don’t have much room to switch production because the prices of IT panels are dropping rapidly.”
Ovirivo analysts also pointed out that the current TV panel factory shipment pressure and inventory pressure may increase. “In the first quarter, the production line activity rate is at a high level, and the panel factory has entered the stage of loss. If the capacity is not adjusted, the panel factory will face the pressure of further decline in panel prices and increased losses.”
In the first quarter of this year, the retail volume of China’s color TV market was 9.03 million units, down 8.8% year on year. Retail sales totaled 28 billion yuan, down 10.1 percent year on year. Under the situation of volume drop, the industry expects this year color TV manufacturers will also set off a new round of LCD display panel prices war.
(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co, Sharp Corp and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to pay more than $553 million to settle consumer and state regulatory claims that they conspired to fix prices for LCD panels in televisions, notebook computers and monitors.A worker prepares a display of Sharp flat panel televisions for the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7, 2009. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
The settlement is the latest arising from lawsuits alleging the creation of an international cartel designed to illegally inflate prices and stifle competition in LCD panels between 1999 and 2006, affecting billions of dollars of U.S. commerce.
In December 2006, authorities in Japan, Korea, the European Union and the United States revealed a probe into alleged anti-competitive activity among LCD panel manufacturers. Many companies and executives have since pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust violations and paid more than $890 million in fines.
The latest payout includes $538.6 million to resolve claims by “indirect” purchasers that bought televisions and computers with thin film transistor LCDs, as well as claims by eight states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The accord calls for Samsung to pay $240 million, Sharp $115.5 million and Taiwan-based Chimei Innolux Corp $110.3 million, settlement papers filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco show.
The state penalties include $6 million to be paid by Sharp, $5.7 million by Chimei, and smaller amounts by Epson, HannStar and Hitachi, a spokeswoman for Schneierman said.
Other defendants have yet to settle, including Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp, one of the largest LCD panel manufacturers; South Korea’s LG Display Co and Toshiba Corp.
The accord follows a settlement this month by eight companies, including Samsung and Sharp, to pay $388 million to settle litigation by direct purchasers of the LCD panels.
Sharp NEC Display Solutions incorporates both Sharp and NEC brands of display products. Including desktop, 4K and 8K UHD large format, video wall, dvLED, collaboration and interactive products, Sharp/NEC offers the widest portfolio of displays available. Understanding that every market and environment has unique requirements, Sharp/NEC prides itself on being your partner, delivering customized solutions to match your needs.
Flat-panel displays are thin panels of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying text, images, or video. Liquid crystal displays (LCD), OLED (organic light emitting diode) and microLED displays are not quite the same; since LCD uses a liquid crystal that reacts to an electric current blocking light or allowing it to pass through the panel, whereas OLED/microLED displays consist of electroluminescent organic/inorganic materials that generate light when a current is passed through the material. LCD, OLED and microLED displays are driven using LTPS, IGZO, LTPO, and A-Si TFT transistor technologies as their backplane using ITO to supply current to the transistors and in turn to the liquid crystal or electroluminescent material. Segment and passive OLED and LCD displays do not use a backplane but use indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive material, to pass current to the electroluminescent material or liquid crystal. In LCDs, there is an even layer of liquid crystal throughout the panel whereas an OLED display has the electroluminescent material only where it is meant to light up. OLEDs, LCDs and microLEDs can be made flexible and transparent, but LCDs require a backlight because they cannot emit light on their own like OLEDs and microLEDs.
Liquid-crystal display (or LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. They are usually made of glass but they can also be made out of plastic. Some manufacturers make transparent LCD panels and special sequential color segment LCDs that have higher than usual refresh rates and an RGB backlight. The backlight is synchronized with the display so that the colors will show up as needed. The list of LCD manufacturers:
Organic light emitting diode (or OLED displays) is a thin, flat panel made of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. OLED panels can also take the shape of a light panel, where red, green and blue light emitting materials are stacked to create a white light panel. OLED displays can also be made transparent and/or flexible and these transparent panels are available on the market and are widely used in smartphones with under-display optical fingerprint sensors. LCD and OLED displays are available in different shapes, the most prominent of which is a circular display, which is used in smartwatches. The list of OLED display manufacturers:
MicroLED displays is an emerging flat-panel display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. Like OLED, microLED offers infinite contrast ratio, but unlike OLED, microLED is immune to screen burn-in, and consumes less power while having higher light output, as it uses LEDs instead of organic electroluminescent materials, The list of MicroLED display manufacturers:
LCDs are made in a glass substrate. For OLED, the substrate can also be plastic. The size of the substrates are specified in generations, with each generation using a larger substrate. For example, a 4th generation substrate is larger in size than a 3rd generation substrate. A larger substrate allows for more panels to be cut from a single substrate, or for larger panels to be made, akin to increasing wafer sizes in the semiconductor industry.
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OSAKA -- Japanese electronics maker Sharp has been reaping big gains from its strengthened ties with U.S. tech giant Apple, the key client of its liquid-crystal display panels.
Sharp"s group net profit rose 290% to 53.2 billion yen ($487 million) in the 12 months to end-March, from a year ago. That growth is expected to continue, with the company forecasting a 43% expansion in net profit to 76 billion yen this fiscal year.
The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY is Panasonic"s sixth-generation professional plasma display unit. It replaces the 37PWD5UZ, and is, without question, Panasonic"s best 37-inch plasma monitor yet. Not only has Panasonic upped the stated contrast ratio on this unit to 4000:1, it has also doubled the TH-37PWD6UY"s gray scale from 1,024 (the industry standard) to 1,536. The TH-37PWD6UY plasma display also features a newly developed plasma panel structure, which utilizes wall-like ribs around each pixel element to boost total light emission.
The Sharp LC-37G4U 37-inch LCD TV is designed by Toshiyuki Kita, an internationally renowned product designer, and manufactured in Sharp"s brand-new, state-of-the-art LCD glass factory in Kameyama, Japan, which came online in January 2004. This LCD display features Sharp"s new Quick Shoot video circuit, which is said to achieve sub 16ms response times—among the fastest in the industry—and minimize motion lag in fast-moving scenes. The LC-37G4U also utilizes Sharp"s proprietary Advanced View/Black TFT Panel with anti-glare coating for increased brightness levels and viewing angles.
The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY is the professional version of the TH-37PD25UP consumer model plasma television. As such, the TH-37PWD6UY does not come with a tuner or built-in speakers. The TH-37PD25UP does. Aside from some basic aesthetic differences, though, these plasma TV models are identical: They both have 37-inch screens, 856 x 480 resolutions, and identical pictures. The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY (professional model) will be used in Picture evaluations. The TH-37PD25UP (consumer model) will be used for Other Considerations and Value judgments, as the Sharp LC-37G4U includes a tuner and speakers, too.
These televisions were tested right out of their boxes, at their respective factory settings. What one usually expects to see right out of the box is eye-popping, cartoon-ish coloration and an extravagantly bright picture. Not so with Panasonic"s 37" plasma display. Right out of the box, this Panasonic"s coloration was spot-on. Based on picture test material from Video Essentials, we found no reason to adjust the COLOR or TINT settings from the median factory presets (0 on a scale of -15 to 15 for both). And, since realism is the standard for high-end image reproduction, Panasonic"s plasma monitor scored very high marks in the picture department, as it produced some of the most realistic looking images we have seen coming from a fixed-pixel display, period.
The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma TV is an excellent example of plasma"s ability to replicate extremely black blacks. One only has to look at the intense blackness of the letterboxing on this Panasonic plasma screen to recognize that much. The black levels on this Panasonic plasma display are stellar, as is its dark material detailing. One of the keys with dark material detailing is achieving a truly variegated gray scale, one that allows for minute distinctions among shades of gray. This Panasonic plasma display achieves just the right mix of truly deep blacks and subtle gradations of black (which are technically gradations of gray, only they don"t look that way on the screen). The TH-37PWD6UY plasma monitor employs fully 1,536 levels of gray, and this translates into extra-sharp, extra-detailed shadow detail, which is especially noticeable in a darker film like Veronica Guerin, one of the films we screened for this review.
Head to head, the plasma display fared better in the viewing angle department than did LCD monitor. One can just about watch good plasma display units sideways! The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma screen TV had astoundingly obtuse viewing angles, which I would estimate at 170°, maybe more.
As for the coloration on the 37G4U LCD monitor, we were generally pleased with it, despite the fact that the display"s white balance leans toward pink, lending warmth to flesh tones. Such tendencies bother some people. Fortunately, this Sharp LCD TV"s TINT function can be adjusted. With the TINT bumped up to 4 (on a scale from -30 [red] to 30 [green]) and the COLOR set at -2, the Sharp 37G4U was very acceptable in color performance.
The black levels on Sharp"s 37G4U LCD TV were surprisingly good for an LCD display, particularly one of this size. At 37 inches, this Sharp LCD display is fairly sizeable, certainly large enough to be the principal display in a home theater environment. The problem is, the larger LCDs get, the lighter their overall brightness levels and contrast ratios get. And so it is with the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV: Its brightness levels simply could not match up to those of a well-made plasma unit, though, in general, the Sharp"s black levels were above-average for an LCD. In fact, one might not notice any particular deficiency in the blacks unless you were watching the very same material side-by-side on a plasma display (which we were).
Sharp does a couple smart things to enhance the black levels on its 37G4U display. First, they include a first-rate anti-glare/darkness-enhancing coating on the LCD screen to counter excessive light emissions, which tend to dull blacks on the screen. Second, Sharp enables the user to adjust the intensity of the backlight powering his or her unit. Since LCD technology operates by blocking, rather than reflecting or emitting, light, the ability to manipulate the amount of light that has to be blocked in order to generate deep, rich blacks greatly enhances the prospects of obtaining decent-if-not-good black levels from this unit. We found that backing off the BACKLIGHT setting on the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV helped it to generate deeper blacks.
The Sharp 37G4U LCD TV, on the other hand, dimmed considerably when you got about 60° or 65° off its central viewing axis. While it is possible to see the picture on Sharp"s LCD monitor from the side, we found that, realistically, the LCD screen had a viewing angle of around 125° to 130°.
Given the Panasonic plasma"s performance in the scaling/processing department, we had our concerns about the Sharp when it came to displaying a non-native resolution like 480p at its native resolution of 720p. But all these misgivings were allayed as soon as we popped Veronica Guerin in our Sony DVD player. The opening scene, where the camera floats over Dublin"s port as a shipment of heroin comes in from sea, literally shone with detailing. This was also evident in the characters" faces throughout the movie. This suggests that the Sharp 37G4U has excellent scaling technology, because its 720p signal looked as good as Panasonic"s 480p signal.
As with the Panasonic plasma display, the Sharp LCD display did not show much in the way of false contouring, pixelation, or ghosting. We were especially pleased with the Sharp LCD TV"s handling our Ultimate DVD test disc and its torturous Rodeo Clown sequence. Even with the unpredictable bucks and head thrusts of a raging bull, the Sharp kept its cool, depicting no ghosting or pixelation that we could detect.
The only thing we noticed with respect to the Sharp"s handling of action scenes was an ever-so-slight fuzziness that appeared as the scenes changed repeatedly. This will hardly be distracting to the average viewer, though real video sticklers will notice this—and probably complain about it.
We were pleased with the 37G4U"s handling of 720p HD signals, which it readily upconverted to its native resolution of 768p. HDTV signals on the Sharp LCD TV looked stunning, deep and full of detail!
Even with a 1080i video signal, which had to be de-interlaced and re-scaled, the Sharp did not miss a beat. Likewise with its handling of computer signals via its DVI-I input: The 37G4U displayed XGA (1024 x 768) data signals with extraordinary clarity and sharpness. Both graphics- and data-intensive applications looked good on the screen, though the Sharp LCD"s real strength is its ability to display letters and numbers with perfect geometry and precision for long periods of time with no burn-in.
Picture-wise, these are both good performers. The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma display edged out the Sharp LCD display in three of the four major categories-color fidelity, brightness, and viewing angles-though not by much. To our eyes, Sharp"s LCD TV tied Panasonic"s plasma TV in the signal processing/scaling department. The Sharp LCD monitor had the edge with data signals. LCD technology has clearly come a long way in a relatively short amount of time, all the way to becoming a genuine rival to plasma technology, at least in the under-40-inch category.
Both the Panasonic plasma TV and the Sharp LCD TV ran quietly—almost silently—throughout our tests. We were hard-pressed to hear it from even a foot away, let alone from the six to eight feet of viewing distance recommended for 37-inch displays like these. Even Sharp"s set-top box ran whisper-quiet.
As for the dimensional component of the Plasma vs. LCD showdown, we"ll have to call it a toss-up as well. Both the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma TV and the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV have depths of 3.9 inches with their speakers attached. Both had more than adequate audio systems of 16W and 20 W, respectively. Neither display is going to win any home-theater audio awards, but neither one is going to disappoint the casual viewer, provided he or she has realistic expectations for what a built-in, mock-surround-sound audio system can do.
But its picture will fade over time. The half-life on this well-made plasma TV is 30,000 hours, after which time the screen will be half as bright as it was out of the box. The decline in screen brightness will probably be imperceptible, since it occurs quite slowly over time. Burn-in, on the other hand, will be quite noticeable, if one fails to take some common-sense precautions against it. Although most of the big-name manufacturers have taken great steps to ward off burn-in in their plasma TVs, the possibility of burn-in occurring on a plasma screen persists. Which makes this plasma a less-than-stellar candidate as a working computer monitor. Reasonable care is more than enough to prevent burn-in in the first place, but there is nothing like immunity—especially if one intends to have his or her flat panel TV double as a computer monitor.
So, while the Panasonic plasma is a more-than-adequate television, it is probably a bit less versatile than the Sharp LCD is, which is one reason why the Sharp gets the nod here.
The Sharp 37G4U LCD TV matches up nicely with the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma TV, input-wise. The Sharp has all rear-facing inputs, in similar quantities as the Panasonic: 2 component video inputs, 3 composite video inputs, a DVI input, an HDMI interface, 3 RCA-type audio inputs, and a PC audio input. The only difference between these two units is that the Panasonic plasma display has 3 S-video inputs, whereas the Sharp LCD monitor only has only one. (There is a corresponding disparity in audio inputs, two less on the Sharp LCD TV since it has two fewer S-video inputs.) All things considered, these flat panel displays tie one another in the connectivity department.
Where the Sharp LCD really outpaces the plasma, though, is in the screen integrity/longevity department. The single greatest distinction between plasma and LCD displays—besides picture quality and coloration—has to do with the imperviousness of LCD screens to burn-in and the renewability of their picture elements. The florescent bulb that powers the Sharp"s picture should realistically last about as long as the plasma TV"s half-life, 30,000 hours. The bulb may not burn out for a few thousand more hours, but its white balance will probably have changed enough and the bulb itself will probably have dimmed dramatically enough to merit replacement. Whereas one would have to replace an entire plasma TV in such instances, one only has to replace the bulb in the Sharp LCD. The Sharp LCD TV can be returned to "like-new" performance levels with a simple bulb change out, which Sharp"s Service Center assured us can be done by the user him- or herself. Thus, the Sharp Aquos line has a big advantage over Panasonic"s plasma line when it comes to performance over time.
A well-made plasma may have a slight edge, picture-wise, over a similarly well-made LCD display, but users can count on their LCD TVs to continue to perform, given a minimal investment (around $270 for a new lamp), indefinitely.
Between the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma display and the Sharp 37G4U LCD display, the real value has to be the Panasonic unit. The prices of both these flat-panel TVs reflect the cost of tuners and speakers as included with the units. In this scenario, we had to give the Panasonic plasma the nod: For a street price of around $2600 for the Panasonic plasma TV, one saves about $1400 over the comparably equipped LCD TV (which has a street price around $4000). Simply put, the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP is an excellent value. The disparity in price has very little to do with the quality of the additional features, the tuner and speakers, when you consider the fact that the Panasonic plasma comes with a 16W sound system (versus a 20W sound system on the Sharp LCD, which, to our ears, sounded no better or worse than the 16W system on the Panasonic), and an integrated NTSC/ATSC tuner (versus a set-top box containing only an NTSC tuner with the Sharp). One simply gets more for his or her money, picture-wise, with plasma display technology, mostly because LCD glass screens still cost more to produce—especially in larger sizes—than plasma screens do.
Although the Sharp 37G4U LCD television is a good unit, its price seems a bit high for a 37-inch widescreen display, high definition or not. This really goes to show how expensive LCD screens can get when they approach HD-quality pixel counts, as this one does.
In a head-to-head competition, Panasonic"s TH-37PWD6UY and TH-37PD25UP plasma TVs bested their flat-panel display cousin, the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV. Plasma technology"s margin of victory has shrunk over time, except where price/value is concerned.
This time the victim is Sharp, which plans to sell its manufacturing plant in Mexico and license its brand name to Hisense for the Americas, Reuters reports. The news follows an especially rough quarter for Sharp, in which it posted an operating loss of nearly $232 million.
“Sharp has not been able to fully adapt to the intensifying market competition, which led to significantly lower profits compared to the initial projections for the previous fiscal year, and has been suffering from poor earnings performance,” the company said in a statement.
Sharp is also considering a wider overhaul of its consumer electronics and LCD panel divisions as it tries to turn its fortunes around. While the company is best known for its Aquos televisions, it also sells home speaker systems, and has dabbled in U.S. smartphone sales with the bezel-free Aquos Crystal handset. Its IGZO display tech has also appeared in phones and tablets from other companies.
Sharp isn’t the only Japanese electronics maker to bail on the TV market. In January, Toshiba announced that it would stop making TVs in North America and license the brand to Taiwan-based Compal Electronics. Panasonic also abandoned the U.S. market last October, handing its Sanyo TV unit to Japan-based Funai Electric.
The impact on you at home: The average shopper probably won’t notice much of a change. Both Sharp and HiSense use Roku software for their smart TVs in the United States, though Sharp has also used Android TV, and it’s unclear whether HiSense will continue to do so. As for hardware, TV makers’ inability to distinguish themselves is one reason once-proud brands like Sharp are struggling in the first place. Sharp’s exit is just the latest sign of how hard it’s become for TV makers to succeed as prices fall, and new technology like 3D and 4K fail to spur sales growth.
Just days into the new year, we already have a good idea of what TV shoppers can expect in 2023. It starts with more LCD sets that use Mini LEDs in their backlights; some developments to boost brightness in OLED TVs, which traditionally have topped our TV ratings; and more TV brands offering sets with screens 85 inches and even larger.
This year, both Samsung and LG (which is sticking with its WOLED tech) say they’ve found new ways to make their OLED TVs brighter, pushing them to levels we’ve typically only seen from the brightest LCD/LED TVs.
In LCD/LED TVs, most of the new sets being built with Mini LEDs are mid-tier or flagship models. (One exception is Hisense; see below.) With this technology, companies cram thousands of tiny LEDs into the backlights behind their LCD panels, then divide the LEDs into zones that can be dimmed or illuminated individually. Because each zone is so small, they can be controlled very precisely to help improve brightness, contrast, and black levels, and help reduce the halos you often see on LCD TVs when a bright image appears against a dark background.
The new “ultimate” LCD/LED TV, ULED X, comes with some major claims in both brightness—up to 2,500 nits—and state-of-the-art Mini LED technology, with over 20,000 Mini LED lights and more than 5,000 local dimming zones. It has a new AI processor, along with a 16-bit “light control” algorithm, which is supposed to provide more precise control over local dimming zones. The set includes a newly developed “CineStage X” 4.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos audio system. The first set will be available only in an 85-inch screen size; price and availability weren’t disclosed.
LG will manage a now-familiar balancing act, touting improved performance in its LCD lineup while continuing to promote its OLED TVs as the pinnacle of TV performance. But at CES it was clear that OLED TVs are occupying the bulk of the company’s TV attention, with some interesting new designs.
Once again, both the G3 and C2 sets get the high-performing Evo OLED panels and the company’s most advanced AI processors, which help up-convert lower-resolution content. These panels use a new algorithm and light-control architecture to boost brightness by up to 70 percent in the G3 sets, which can hit 1,800 nits, the company says. The G3 sets have an additional brightness booster feature the C3 sets lack. Last year, both sets were among the best TVs we tested.
LG didn’t have a lot to say about its LCD/LED TV lineup, which we assume will be revealed closer to launch, but this year only the top-tier QNED 85-series models, in 55- to 86-inch screen sizes, get Mini LED backlights. (The QNED80- and QNED75-series sets will have more conventional local dimming.)
The big news from Sharp this year is that it will be offering both its first Mini LED sets as well as its first OLED TVs in the U.S. The Sharp TV brand has gone through some ownership changes in recent years. It’s once again controlled by parent company Foxconn, which regained the rights from Hisense after that company licensed the Sharp TV brand for a few years.
Sharp’s new Mini LED sets, offered in 65,- 70-, and 75-inch screen sizes, will be offered under the Sharp Aquos XLED moniker. The sets, like QLED TVs from companies such as Samsung and TCL, also use quantum dots for an extended range of colors. The company says that the TVs will have more than 2,000 dimmable zones in the backlight, which can help improve contrast and minimize halos around the edges of bright objects when displayed against dark backgrounds.
In addition to the XLED Mini LED sets, Sharp will also have both LCD/LED and OLED TVs that use the Roku smart TV system. So far, no information has been released about the LCD/LED sets other than that they’ll be offered in 50-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch screen sizes.
Sharp also says it will have 4K OLED TVs in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes this year, using Roku’s new OLED TV reference design, which is being offered to all Roku TV partners. In addition to including the Roku smart TV system, these sets will include gaming features such as support for 4K 120Hz variable refresh rates and auto low-latency game modes.
As for Sony’s LCD/LED TV Lineup, last year the two top series—the Z9K and X95K—got Mini LED backlights plus Backlight Master Drive technology Sony claims can offer more control over the Mini LEDs than conventional methods. We’ll have to wait to see if Sony rolls out Mini LED backlights in more models in 2023.
The new Q series will focus on bigger and better QLED models, starting with the Q6 sets, which will be brighter than last year’s entry-level QLED models. Available in screen sizes from 50 to 75 inches, these will be 60Hz sets that feature 120Hz processing (called Game Accelerator 120) for VRR gaming. Stepping up to the Q7 sets gets you higher peak brightness, more local dimming zones than last year’s QLED sets, and a native 120Hz panel, with up to 240Hz Game Accelerator VRR. The sets, which feature IMAX Enhanced certification for the first time, will be available in 55- to 85-inch screen sizes.
At its current price, the 650U is still a good deal, even if it does exact a bit of a premium over the likes of the Vizio E1i-A3 series, a worse performer that"s still its principal current competition. I expect that competition to stiffen further over the next nine months as more makers enter the 60-inch-plus mainstream, but if last year is any indication, the Sharp 6 series will continue to remain one of the best values.
Series information: I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 60-inch Sharp LC-60LE650, but this review also applies to the other screen size in the series. Both sizes have identical specs, and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.
Apart from a new SmartCentral page, Sharp"s menu system is identical to those of previous years. Navigation is top-loaded and scrolls left to right, and it is fairly easy to find the things you need.
Features The 650 series is Sharp"s entry-level model and does without some of the more involved features like a 3D compatibility, and the four-color 8 series. The TV has an edge-lit display but lacks local dimming, and I wouldn"t be surprised if only the electronics (and not the LCD panel itself) received an upgrade over the LE640. Other features include USB and DLNA media playback and built-in Wi-Fi.
The LE650 sports a new "Wallpaper Mode" that can display preinstalled artwork or photos from a USB drive when the unit is powered down. It"s a nice touch, and the muted backlight level makes the image look less like a TV left turned on and more like room decor. Sharp assures us the power draw is minimal.
Smart TV: If there"s one major change to this TV, it"s better brains. While only select Sharp models from last year got the full Smart TV suite, in 2013 it has now been rolled out to the entire range -- with the exception of the 50-inch 6 series. Every other 2013 Sharp, including this one, can receive access to Hulu Plus, Pandora, and a Web browser in addition to old favorites like Netflix. Check out our
The TV now includes two smart modes too. Hit the Smart Central button and you"ll see the marquee look of before, hit it again and you"ll get a more traditional interface divvied up into categories -- video, music, games etc. Like most Smart TVs the games aren"t much chop, and Sharp hasn"t yet erected a store to buy new ones.
The Sharp 650U features five tweakable picture modes, a gamma slider, a full color management system, and an upgraded 10-point grayscale control. Also included is the ability to tweak the strength of dejudder, aka
Is the LE650"s picture quality a significant improvement on the TV that came before it? No, but that"s perfectly OK since its predecessor was one of the few LCD TVs last year to earn a "7" or higher in this category. The LE650 has better color accuracy, particularly with skin tones, and it can render shadow detail a bit more successfully than the 640, but conversely its 1080i film de-interlacing got worse. The 640"s strengths, including solid black level performance and the ability to handle ambient light well, remain intact, allowing this Sharp to outperform competitors like the Vizio E1i-A3.
Black level: Black levels are very similar between the old and new Sharp, with the LE650 showing an ever-so-slight edge, particularly with high-contrast scenes. The two Sharps were the darkest in our lineup, apart from the Panasonic ST50, and the Vizio and LG were the weakest in terms of having the lightest black levels.
During "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part II," however, something unusual was happening between the two Sharps. The LE640 showed a preference for shadow detail on the right side of the screen (45:55) while the LE650 illuminated the left. In the LE640"s case this turned out to be a matter of the TV creating false details in dark areas -- none of the other TVs in the lineup exhibited the same "unmasking". Shadow detail on the LE650, on the other hand, was very good, with both punchiness and subtlety in equal measure.
Color accuracy: Overall the color balance of the Sharp LE650 was very good, especially in the cooler end of the spectrum. Blues and cyans on the Sharp were closer to the Panasonic ST50 during the images of oceans in "The Tree of Life." Greens and reds showed a tendency for desaturation, but skin tones were quite good.
Uniformity: Uniformity was an issue for the previous year"s television, and it"s no surprise that the issue hasn"t changed on the LE650. While it was acceptable there were some issues in the top-left corner -- both black and color uniformity were off. However, both Sharp TVs performed better than the LG LM7600, which had very poor uniformity with yellow blotches of leaking light. When viewed off-axis the LE650 also performed identically to the LE640 with desaturated colors and blueish blacks.
Bright lighting: The big Sharp is well suited to a bright space. It has a matte screen, and like the LE640 before it, performs well in a lit room with contrast and deep blacks equal to its peers".
However, with rock music and action movies there has been a slight improvement in bass response. Compared to the other TVs in the lineup, the LE650 was nearer the bottom while the Panasonic ST50 came out best with full bass, clear vocals, and plenty of treble. The only TV that was worse than the Sharp was the LG LM7600, which distorted our Nick Cave test track. GEEK BOX: Test Result Score
According to Bloomberg, which obtained court papers filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, Sharp and Samsung paid $105 million and $82.7 million, respectively, for their alleged involvement in driving up prices for LCDs sold between 1999 and 2006. Chimei Innolux paid $78 million as part of the class action lawsuit"s settlement.
"They colluded on minimum prices of panels, pricing policies on each product type, timing of price increases, and a ban on cash rebates," the country"s Fair Trade Commission said at the time. "They were aware that such action was illegal, and kept their gatherings and information secret."
The alleged price fixing impacted several markets and a host of companies, including Dell, Motorola, and Apple. In 2009, AT&T and Nokia sued Samsung, LG Display, and other panel makers, alleging that the companies artificially inflated prices on LCD panels. Dell followed with a lawsuit of its own last year, taking aim at Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, and others, accusing the firms of collusion on LCD panel pricing.
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Sharp had been the first to bring electronic calculators incorporating ICs or LSIs to the market but further miniaturization would only be possible if the display could be made smaller. The fluorescent elements, or LEDs (light emitting diodes), used in displays up to that time consumed a lot of electricity, so calculators had to be equipped with bulky batteries. Sharp set out to find a new display that would use less energy and take up less space. After examining the problem from every angle, it was finally decided to begin research into LCD (liquid crystal display) technology in 1970.
Though the superior characteristics of LCDs had already been recognized by researchers throughout the world, the technology was generally dismissed as impractical for commercial use due to the difficulty of selecting and combining the necessary materials. But through the unrelenting efforts of Sharp"s engineers, the company succeeded in 1973 in introducing a calculator with the world"s first practical LCD unit. The electronic calculator that incorporated this breakthrough, the EL-805, was a COS type unit in which the LCD, CMOS-LSI circuitry and wiring were all accommodated on a single glass panel.
The new unit was 1/12th as thick, 1/125th as heavy, used 1/250th as many individual components, cost 1/20th as much and consumed 1/9,000th as much power as Sharp"s first calculator model. Able to operate for 100 hours on a single AA-size battery, it was truly a landmark product and sold very well.
Since the launch of the EL-805, advances in LCD technology have continued. Today, the LCD is one of the most widely used electronic devices, finding applications in all sorts of fields from calculators and watches to audio-visual and data processing equipment and beyond. The LCD is now one of Sharp"s key products.
The oil crisis of 1973 gripped the whole world. Prices in Japan rocketed and raw materials of all sorts became scarce. Government measures designed to decrease overall demand resulted in a sudden downturn in the business outlook. Sharp pressed ahead with new energy-efficient products to improve its cost competitiveness, and established a new design center to emphasize innovative design as the key to stronger product appeal.
This was also the year that Sharp"s business creed, "Sincerity and Creativity", made its appearance. The company"s corporate philosophy and direction for future business activities were henceforth to be based on these ideas.
The oil crisis caused prices to rise sharply, and in 1974 Japan"s GNP dropped 0.5% from the level of the previous year. This was the first instance of negative growth since the end of World War Ⅱ. The market for electrical goods was in a depression more severe than that of 1965.
Sharp, while striving to make its management system more efficient and strengthen the company as a whole, decided to concentrate on developing a new line of energy-efficient products, such as color TVs and refrigerators, to meet the new demands of society. This line of products, dubbed "ELM," emphasized savings in Energy, Labor and Materials.
The same year, Sharp also introduced the EL-8010, an ultra-thin calculator only 9 mm thick, and the EL-8009, a compact folding calculator. A major technological advance was the successful development of a thin-film EL (electroluminescent) element.
The establishment of Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. (SECL) to market Sharp products brought to five the number of advanced industrialized countries in which Sharp maintained overseas sales subsidiaries. In addition to Canada, these included the US, UK, former West Germany and Australia.
And in Malaysia, Sharp set up its first "re-export" production base for audio equipment, Sharp-Roxy Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. (SRC). Sharp was to later establish additional manufacturing and sales bases in that country. This was the first step in a series that eventually resulted in Malaysia being Sharp"s largest overseas base.
Though the level of personal consumption remained flat, in 1975 Sharp introduced several distinctive new products. Among these were a radio-cassette player unit featuring a unique automatic song selector function, and an ultra-thin electronic calculator only 7 mm thick. This was also the year Sharp produced its 10 millionth electronic calculator. In addition, a color TV production plant was set up by SCA to coincide with the introduction of color television broadcasting in Australia.
Samsung Display will shut down its LCD production at the end of June, full six months ahead of the previously announced schedule. Industry insiders revealed competition has been too fierce and Samsung Group wanted to limit losses.
Reports from Display Supply Chain Consultants revealed the price of an LCD is 36.6% of what it used to be in January 2014, the component’s peak production period. This is in no small part due to makers like BOE from China and AU Optronics from Taiwan to join the battle and offer lower prices to clients.
The LCD business was initially scheduled to close in 2020 but with the arrival of COVID-19 and the need of affordable devices for home entertainment (including cheap smartphones and tablets), Samsung decided to postpone this major step.