SED TV's won't be mass produced...or so it seems

[13Gigatons]

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST16045820070223

A U.S. court has ruled against Japan's Canon Inc. (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) in a patent dispute over flat-panel displays, saying the company violated the license agreement it had with Nano-Proprietary Inc. (NNPP.OB: Quote, Profile, Research).

The ruling is a blow to Canon's endeavor to enter the $84 billion global flat-TV market using technology owned by Texas-based Nano-Proprietary.

According to a ruling issued on Thursday, Judge Samuel Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas said Nano-Proprietary had the right to terminate the license agreement it signed with Canon in 1999.

Nano-Proprietary's technology is used for surface-conduction electron-emitter displays (SED) TVs, which are said to have brighter pictures and consume less energy than liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma models.

 

[91TTZ]

Why would you ever think that they won't be mass produced? If you read the article you linked to, you'd see that Canon still plans on building a factory to make them.

Even if you didn't read that part, you know that there's a company that owns the patents to these SED TVs. How would they make a profit if nobody built sets using the technology? Do you think that they're just going to sit on the technology and do nothing with it when they can be making money?

 

[darkswordsman17]

This is being sensationalized by some people. The ruling just says that Canon violated their original agreement and thus has to pay the company money. Canon was actually making way into complying with the agreement so they'll probably just pay them money. Its possible they might make a new agreement, or maybe even the company will go elsewhere (which is what I would want as Canon seems to be taking their sweet time in implementing it and I would think Samsung or one of the other major players in the market that have a lot more experience would possibly actually bring products to the market).

 

[So]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Why would you ever think that they won't be mass produced? If you read the article you linked to, you'd see that Canon still plans on building a factory to make them.

Even if you didn't read that part, you know that there's a company that owns the patents to these SED TVs. How would they make a profit if nobody built sets using the technology? Do you think that they're just going to sit on the technology and do nothing with it when they can be making money?

You'd be surprised what some small companies will do when their "IP" gives them delusions of grandeur.

 

[razor2025]

This is why the patent system is double-edge sword, and a very rusty one at that.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Why would you ever think that they won't be mass produced? If you read the article you linked to, you'd see that Canon still plans on building a factory to make them.

Even if you didn't read that part, you know that there's a company that owns the patents to these SED TVs. How would they make a profit if nobody built sets using the technology? Do you think that they're just going to sit on the technology and do nothing with it when they can be making money?

Did you read this part:

But without expertise in televisions, Tokyo-based Canon has said it planned to outsource the manufacturing of the television sets to Toshiba while making the panels on its own.

Canon has also said it is reviewing its initial plan to build a 180 billion yen ($1.48 billion) factory this year at a site owned by Toshiba in western Japan to mass-produce the panels.

Instead, the company aims to start producing SED panels at a smaller site and begin limited sales of the televisions in Japan in the October-December quarter.

SED has already been delayed to much and is no longer as attactive because LCD and Plasma prices have fallen faster then expected. I'm sure a few SED sets will make it to market but it will be 5 to 10 years before we see mass production if at all. Look how long Plasma and LCD have taken to get where they are now.

A 24" widescreen SED monitor would rock for computer use.....maybe OLED will have better luck.

 

[Linux23]

OLED will never be produced.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: Linux23
OLED will never be produced.

I dunno... Sony seemed pretty eager to hop on that train at CES. Epson (The guys with most of the LCD projection patents) are also pursuing the technology at full tilt.

If I learned one thing in my 15 years in the electronics industry... Never count a technology out of the market and never bank on seeing a new one come in.

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: 13Gigatons

SED has already been delayed to much and is no longer as attactive because LCD and Plasma prices have fallen faster then expected. I'm sure a few SED sets will make it to market but it will be 5 to 10 years before we see mass production if at all. Look how long Plasma and LCD have taken to get where they are now.

A 24" widescreen SED monitor would rock for computer use.....maybe OLED will have better luck.

I don't really know much about the technology, but couldn't the rapid drops in lcd and plasma prices create demand for OLED? If there is all this price competition slashing the margins of the lcd/plasma manufacturers, you'd think that the premium manufacturers would want to adopt a new technology that they could push as the new hottness that is so much brighter/crisper/clearer or whatever. Sony could say, "lcd technology sucks, buy our OLED at double the price."

Are the costs involved in manufacturing OLED that prohibitive?

 

[RU482]

Yeah!! another reason to wait to buy a TV

 

[Gibsons]

Here's where we hope capitalism will work as it should. If it's really a superior technology, then selling it will offer too much profit for any Reasonable Person (or corporation?) to not make money off of. Otoh, I've known some unreasonable people.

 

[zephyrprime]

Originally posted by: preslove
I don't really know much about the technology, but couldn't the rapid drops in lcd and plasma prices create demand for OLED? If there is all this price competition slashing the margins of the lcd/plasma manufacturers, you'd think that the premium manufacturers would want to adopt a new technology that they could push as the new hottness that is so much brighter/crisper/clearer or whatever. Sony could say, "lcd technology sucks, buy our OLED at double the price."

Are the costs involved in manufacturing OLED that prohibitive?

Cost of oled is actually much less I believe. The problem is color and durability.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: preslove

Originally posted by: 13Gigatons

SED has already been delayed to much and is no longer as attactive because LCD and Plasma prices have fallen faster then expected. I'm sure a few SED sets will make it to market but it will be 5 to 10 years before we see mass production if at all. Look how long Plasma and LCD have taken to get where they are now.

A 24" widescreen SED monitor would rock for computer use.....maybe OLED will have better luck.

I don't really know much about the technology, but couldn't the rapid drops in lcd and plasma prices create demand for OLED? If there is all this price competition slashing the margins of the lcd/plasma manufacturers, you'd think that the premium manufacturers would want to adopt a new technology that they could push as the new hottness that is so much brighter/crisper/clearer or whatever. Sony could say, "lcd technology sucks, buy our OLED at double the price."

Are the costs involved in manufacturing OLED that prohibitive?

The problem is the price/quality threshold. The price on LCD's and Plasma is falling fast every year and the quality continues to improve. Most people just want or need good quality at a good price then they are satisfied.

The problem with SED and OLED is you need billions to start with and then you hope you turn a profit over the years, it's a long term investment. Of course you need to convince people that buying a SED is better then buying a LCD or Plasma.

 

[arcas]

There are s number of problems for SED to overcome:

1) SED is awfully late to the game. The technologies SED is competing against aren't standing still. When SED was demoed at CES a couple or three years ago., one of its big selling points was an excellent contrast ratio. Fast forward to 2007. Later this year we'll have LCDs with reconfigurable LED backlighting whose manufacturers claim a contrast ratio in excess of 100,000:1 (and at least one who claims 1million:1). Further, Pioneer is introducing a new plasma technology and claims a contrast ratio beyond measurement (ie. blacks are truly black)... Let's assume it takes another 5 years for mass-production of SED panels to get underway. Where will the competition be?

2) It takes a lot of investment to bring a display technology to maturity. How many iterations will it require for SED to be ready for prime time? Plasma display technology is currently transitioning to 8th generation. Likewise, one can argue that microdisplay rear projectors are in their 3rd or 4th generation. Similarly, LCD display technology has been around for a while and has matured significantly. The point here is that there are a lot of companies making huge investments in each of these technologies. Will Canon, as the sole major licensee of the technologies behind SED, be willing to invest the kind of money year after year to bring SED up to speed and down in price? It's one thing for Canon to be able to produce a handful of SED panels per year for use in $50k professional displays but it's another thing entirely to be able to produce 80,000 SED panels a year for use in $3k-$5k consumer displays.

SED and OLED are probably both viable technologies but it's perhaps foolish to expect that they'll be ready for prime-time immediately out of the gate.