Posts

Fierce Price Competition Amongst WOLED TVs, QD-OLED TVs, and Neo QLED TVs

/in , /by

 

We experienced fierce price competition in the first half of 2022 among premium TVs with a launch price of $2,000 or more. It will be interesting to see how the Amazon Prime Day event scheduled for July will affect TV prices.
2022 OLED TV prices until June 2022 was analyzed based on 65 inch TVs. The standard was the selling price on Bestbuy.com and Sony’s QD-OLED TV selling price on their official website.
LG Electronics’ WOLED TVs B2, C2, and G2 released in March were $2,300, $2,500, and $3,200, respectively. Samsung Electronics’ QD-OLED TV S95B was $3,000. Sony’s WOLED TV A80K was priced at $3,800 and QD-OLED TV A95K was priced at $4,000.

In June, the price of LG Electronics’ G2 model fell by $200, forming a price difference of $500 for each series. Samsung Electronics’ S95B model continues to maintain a price difference of $200 lower than LG Electronics’ high-end model G2. Sony lowered the price of the WOLED TV A80K by $300, while maintaining the price of QD-OLED TV A95K.
Samsung Electronics’ S95B and LG Electronics’ high-end OLED TV G2 are in heavy price competition. Sony is setting the price of QD-OLED TV higher than WOLED TV.
The price competition is also fierce between OLED TVs from each set makers and Neo QLED TVs with Samsung Electronics’ mini-LED technology.
As of June, the prices of Samsung Electronics’ 4K Neo QLED TVs, QN85B, QN90B, and QN95B, are $1,800, $2,600, and $3,300, respectively. The 8K Neo QLED TVs QN800B and QN900B are $3,300 and $4,800.

The prices of Samsung Electronics’ 4K Neo QLED TV series and LG Electronics’ 4K OLED TV series are similar. Within Samsung Electronics’ entire TV series, QD-OLED TV is located between 4K Neo QLED and 8K Neo QLED. Sony’s OLED TV series, which is highly evaluated in terms of picture quality, is competing in price with Samsung Electronics’ 8K Neo QLED TV series.
Although this price trend is expected to continue this year, aggressive marketing following the Amazon Prime event in the second half of the year and the Qatar World Cup is expected to be strong variables. Attention should be paid to how LG Electronics’ OLED TV with micro lens array technology, which is expected to be released next year, will affect the premium TV market in the future.

What is the future change of WRGB OLED to respond to QD-OLED?

/in , /by

2As Samsung Display’s QD-OLED begins to be applied to TVs and monitors in earnest in 2022, technological changes are being detected for LG Display’s WRGB OLED, which has been leading the large OLED market.

LG Display’s WRGB OLED has produced a WBC structure consisting of two blue layers and one red+yellow green layer in Paju by the end of 2021, and a WBE structure consisting of two blue layers and one red+green+yellow green layer in Guangzhou. Deuterium substitution technology was applied to the blue of the WBE structure.

Since 2022, LG Display has stopped producing WBC panels from its Paju line and has been producing ‘OLED.EX’ panels with deuterium substitution technology applied additionally to green of WBE produced in Guangzhou.

<Photo of OLED.EX presented by LG Display at the 2022 OLED Korea Conference>

At SID 2022, LG Display also exhibited a large OLED panel with micro lens array technology. Micro lens array technology was applied to Samsung Electronics’ ‘Galaxy S Ultra’ series, and it is the first technology applied to large OLEDs. LG Display is known to expect a 20% improvement in luminance compared to the previous one by applying micro lens array technology. Panels which micro lens array technology is applied are expected to be produced in Paju from the second half of this year.

Lastly, it is known that LG Display is developing a structure in which yellow green is removed from WRGB OLED. By eliminating yellow green, material and processing costs can be saved, and color gamut is expected to be improved.

Attention is paid to how LG Display’s WRGB OLED will evolve to compete against QD-OLED.

<OLED panel with micro lens array technology exhibited by LG Display at SID 2022>

LG Display Achieves Record Sales in 2021, Swinging a Profit after Three Years

/in , /by

 

As LG Display posted the highest sales ever, at the same time it also made a sharp pivot into a profit for the first time in three years. On the 26th, LG Display announced that it had achieved annual sales of 29.878 trillion won and operating profit of 2.23 trillion won in 2021. “This is the result of the large-sized OLED panels in the premium market, the strengthening of the small and medium-sized OLED business base, and the innovation of LCD structures centered on IT products,” LG Display goes on the explain. While the overall TV market experienced negative growth last year, LG Display led the large-sized OLED business. OLED TV panel shipments grew by more than 70% compared to the previous year, which turned to profit in the second half of the year. This helped reach a break-even point.

Following the previous year’s earnings announcement, LG Display stated, “This year, we plan to expand profitability in stages based on shipment growth of more than 20% compared to the previous year and strengthened business capabilities,” and “From the second quarter, ‘OLED.EX’ will be applied to all OLED TV panel series to accelerate the trend toward OLED in the premium TV market.” OLED.EX is a TV panel that increases screen brightness (luminance) by 30% and reduces bezel by 30% by applying ‘deuterium technology’ and ‘personalization algorithm’ to organic light emitting devices. These are the core elements of OLED picture quality. In the case of small and medium-sized OLEDs, the mobile sector plans to improve profitability by expanding new models and high-end products in the second half of the year and expand to the overall mobility industry. The LCD division will continue its strategy of selection and concentration focusing on IT products.

LG Display also expressed confidence in Samsung Display, which has emerged as a new competitor in the OLED market. When asked about LG Display’s competitiveness compared to Samsung Display’s QD-OLED, Large-Scale Marketing Manager Lee Tae-Jong remarked, “Our competitor’s products have not been released yet, so an accurate comparison will be possible only after the actual launch.” He continued, ”LG Display, which has been in business for more than 10 years is far superior in our overall competitiveness in our products and cost, economies of scale, and customers. We will continue to widen the gap in the future.”

Samsung Display’s QD-OLED applied to Sony’s TV and DELL’s monitor

/in , /by

QD-OLED panels, which are being mass-produced from the second half of 2021 at Samsung Display, will be applied to new products for Sony and DELL.

First, Sony announced ‘A95K’, the first TV with QD-OLED in its 2022 TV lineup. A95K is available in 55-inch and 65-inch models, featuring 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

<Sony’s QD-OLED TV ‘A95K’, Source: electronics.cony.com>

Meanwhile, Samsung Display’s QD-OLED is also applied to DELL’s 34-inch gaming monitor. DELL’s ‘Alienware AW3423DW’ monitor has a 34-inch size, 3440 x 1440 resolution, a refresh rate of 175 Hz, and a response speed of 0.1 ms. In addition, the monitor supports ‘DisplayHDR 400 True Black’. DELL said it will start selling around March 2022.

As Samsung Display’s QD-OLED enters the TV and IT markets, it is expected to compete fiercely with LG Display’s WRGB OLED and JOLED’s RGB inkjet printing technology in the existing mid-to-large market. Many have a huge interest as to which company’s technology will become the main technology in the mid- to large-sized market in the future.

 

 

Samsung Display begins mass production of QD-OLED in the fourth quarter of 2021

/in , /by

Samsung Display begins mass production of QD-OLED in the fourth quarter of 2021, a new growth opportunity in the large OLED market

Samsung Display is planning to start mass production of QD-OLED in earnest from the fourth quarter of 2021. The mass production scale is 8.5G 30K/month, and it is expected to be mass-produced mainly for 65-inch 4K resolution panels. Since three 65-inch panels can be produced in the 8.5th generation, about 1 million panels are expected to be mass-produced annually.

At the closing seminar held in the second half of 2020, UBI Research predicted that Samsung Display’s QD-OLED will produce 200,000 units in 2021, 600,000 units in 2022, and 800,000 units in 2025. However, as Samsung Display announced in its second quarter conference call that it will also introduce a monitor product with a smaller QD display than a TV, production is expected to vary depending on the proportion of products..

If mass production begins in the fourth quarter, QD-OLED TV will be unveiled for the first time at the CES 2022 exhibition held in Las Vegas in 2022, and the product is expected to be officially released in the first half of the year.

Joo-seon Choi, president of Samsung Display, emphasized in a recently published sustainability report that “If QD displays are commercialized, new growth opportunities will be created in the large display industry, which has been stagnant for a long time.”

Attention is paid to how much influence Samsung Display’s QD-OLED mass production will have in the large OLED market led by LG Display.

<Expected structure of QD-OLED, Source: UBI Research>

Middle and Large OLED sales growth of 40.2% in 2020

/in , , /by

Although Samsung Display’s rigid OLED line is expected to decrease due to a decrease in Huawei’s volume due to the US production, demand for rigid OLEDs is expected to increase as demand for laptops, monitors and tablet PCs is increasing. To respond to this, investment in rigid OLED lines in A4 is also being reviewed. This year’s notebook OLED panel is expected to come out with more than 10 different model product lines, and Apple’s OLED production for iPad is scheduled to start from 2022, so demand for middle and large-sized OLED panels is expected to increase.

In addition, LG Display, a leader in P-OLED supplying in the automotive field, is planning to supply plastic OLEDs for automobiles to German car makers by producing premium OLED panels, and Samsung Display is also supplying OLED panels for vehicles.

According to the 2021 middle and large OLED annual report published by UBI Research, the total sales of middle and large-sized OLEDs in 2020 was $3.882.7 million, and last year was $2.63 billion, an increase of 40.2% from the previous year. By application, the notebook and automobile markets have increased remarkably, and the notebook, monitor, and automotive product markets are expected to grow in 2021.

Samsung Display’s QD-OLED mass production is expected to be around December 2021, and 65-inch panels are highly likely to be used by Sony. Samsung Electronics is expected to receive only 32-inch QD-OLEDs for monitors, not purchasing 65 inches.

LG Display’s 2020 TV OLED panel shipments were counted to 4.4 million units, and if the Guangzhou plant operates at 90K from the third quarter, the production capacity will reach 8.5 million units in 2021.

 

 

How much will be the investment cost for 8Generation QD-OLED TV?

/in , /by

In the “2018 OLED Equipment Report” recently published by UBI Research, the required investment cost was analyzed for the QD-OLED that Samsung Display started to develop.

QD-OLED, which is being developed by Samsung Display, is a method of displaying three colors of RGB by separating green and red from the light emitted from blue OLED through QD (quantum dot) material. The light passing through the QD material once again passes through the color filter and displays a richer color.

QD-OLED is similar to the manufacturing method of WDRGB OLED produced by LG Display. First, both companies use oxide TFTs. At WRGB OLED, blue is applied twice and red and green are deposited between them. In contrast, QD-OLED is fabricated by depositing only blue material twice. Both methods use the open mask with an empty center.

For both QD-OLED and WRGB OLED, the color filter manufacturing cost is assumed to be same; however, QD-OLED should be equipped with additional equipment to coat QD materials.

According to the report, it is expected that the investment cost is to be equal because the similar equipment can be used for module, cell, encapsulation and evaporator. Since WRGB OLED is bottom emission type, it is formed together when backplane is formed including TFT. However, QD-OLED adopts top emission method. A color filter is separately formed on the top glass substrate and the QD layer is patterned thereon. Therefore, QD-OLED requires higher investment cost than WRGB OLED.

The report describes that based on 8Generation 26K, the investment cost for QD-OLED is estimated to be US$ 1.1 billion, which is 1.03 times higher than WRGB OLED (US$ 1.07 billion). In contrast, the required investment cost to manufacture OLED by inkjet method, which JOLED is promoting commercialization, is projected as US$ 0.88 billion, which is to be about 80% of QD-OLED.

TV용 8세대 QD-OLED 투자 비용 얼마나 될까?

/in /by

유비리서치에서 최근 발간한 “2018 OLED 장비 보고서”에서 삼성디스플레이가 개발을 시작한 QD-OLED 투자 비용이 얼마나 필요한지를 분석하였다.

삼성디스플레이가 추구하고 있는 QD-OLED는 청색 OLED에서 나오는 빛을 QD(quantum dot) 재료를 통하여 녹색과 적색을 분리하여 RGB 3색을 나타내는 방식이다. QD 재료를 통과한 빛은 다시한번 칼라 필터를 통과하며 보다 풍부한 색감을 나타내게 된다.

QD-OLED는 LG디스플레이가 제조하고 있는 WRGB OLED와 제조 방식과 유사한 부분이 매우 많다. 우선 TFT는 양사 모두 oxide TFT를 사용하고 있다. WRGB OLED는 청색이 두 번 도포되며 그 사이에 적색과 녹색이 증착 된다. 이에 비해 QD-OLED는 청색 재료만 두 번 증착하여 제작된다. 두 방식 모두 증착용 마스크는 가운데가 비어 있는 오픈 마스크를 사용한다.

QD-OLED와 WRGB OLED의 칼라필터 제조 비용을 동일할 것으로 추정되나 QD-OLED는 QD 재료를 코팅하는 장비가 추가로 도입되어야 한다.

보고서에 의하면 모듈과 cell, encapsulation, 증착기는 유사한 장비가 사용될 수 있어 투자 비용 역시 대등할 것으로 예상된다. 하지만 WRGB OLED는 bottom emission 방식이어서 TFT를 포함한 backplane 제조시에 같이 형성되나 QD-OLED는 top emission 방식을 추구하고 있어 상판 유리 기판에 칼라필터를 별도로 제작하고, 그 위에 다시 QD층을 패터닝하여 만든다. 따라서 QD-OLED는 WRGB OLED에 비해 다소 높은 투자 비용이 필요해진다.

8세대 26K 기준으로 투자비를 계산하였을 때 QD-OLED는 1.1 billion$로서 WRGB OLED 1.07 billion$에 비해 1.03배 높을 것으로 예상된다. 이에 비해 JOLED에서 사업화를 추진중인 잉크젯 방식의 OLED 제조에 필요한 투자 금액은 0.88 billion$로서 QD-OLED의 80% 수준이 될 것으로 본 보고서는 기술하고 있다.

TV向け第8世代QD-OLEDへの投資額は？

/in /by

最近、UBI Researchが発行した『AMOLED製造・検査装置産業レポート』では、Samsung Displayが開発を始めたQD-OLEDへの投資額がどれくらいなのかを分析した。

Samsung Displayが目指しているQD-OLEDは、青色OLEDから放出される光が量子ドット（Quantum Dot、QD）材料を通って緑色と赤色に分離され、RGBの3色を実現する方式で製造される。QD材料を通り抜けた光は、再びカラーフィルターを通り、さらに豊かな色を表現できるようになる。

このようなQD-OLEDの製造方式は、LG DisplayのWRGB OLEDと似ている部分が多い。まず、TFTは2社ともにOxide TFTを使用している。WRGB OLEDは青色が2回塗布され、その間に赤色と緑色が蒸着される。それに比べ、QD-OLEDは青色材料のみ2回蒸着して製造される。蒸着用マスクは、両方ともオープンマスク（Open Mask）を使用する。

 

 

QD-OLEDとWRGB OLEDのカラーフィルターの製造費は同様であると考えられるが、QD-OLEDの場合、QD材料をコーティングする装置を追加導入しなければならない。

本レポートによると、モジュールとセル、封止、蒸着装置は、同じ装置が使用される可能性があり、投資額もほぼ同様になると予想される。しかし、WRGB OLEDは背面発光方式のため、TFTを含めたバックプレーンを製造する際に同時に形成される反面、QD-OLEDは前面発光方式のため、上部のガラス基板にカラーフィルターを個別に形成し、その上に再度QD層をパターニングして製造する。その結果、QD-OLEDにはWRGB OLEDより高い投資額が必要となる。

第8世代の26Kを基準に投資額を計算してみると、QD-OLEDは11億米ドルで、10億7,000万米ドルのWRGB OLEDに比べて1.03倍高くなることが見込まれる。一方、JOLEDが事業化を進めている印刷方式OLEDの製造に必要な投資額は8億8,000万米ドルで、QD-OLEDの80%程度になるとみられる。

 

Daejeong Yoon(ydj7211@ubiresearch.com)

 

What is the investment cost for large-area OLED that will lead the premium TV market?

/in /by

■ Investment cost comparison and analysis for WRGB OLED, solution processed OLED and QD-OLED
■ Total OLED process equipment is expected to form a market of US$ 58.8 billion from 2018 to 2022, and inspection equipment market is estimated as US$ 8.4 billion

In the premium TV market, the market share of OLED TVs is steadily rising, and the number of OLED TV camps is gradually increasing. OLED TV adopts color filter to WRGB OLED, and currently LG Display only mass produces the OLED panels.

On the other hand, Samsung Display is developing QD-OLED (blue OLED + quantum dot color filter) to compete with WRGB OLED in the premium TV market. Blue OLED is a technology in which the blue light emitted from OLED passes through a quantum dot layer and a color filter to represent red and green colors.

<Expected structure of QD-OLED>

UBI Research analyzed the structure and investment amount of WRGB OLED and QD-OLED, which are the latest issues, in the‘AMOLED Manufacturing and Inspection Equipment Industry Report’ published on June 6. In addition, the investment amount of the solution process OLED, which has got the industry attention due to its possible implementation of real RGB in large-area OLED, is also analyzed and compared.

As a result of analyzing the equipment investment cost based on the 8th generation 26K, the QD-OLED investment cost is 3% higher than WRGB OLED and the investment cost of solution process OLED is 19% less than that of WRGB OLED.

In the QD-OLED investment cost, it is reflected that QD color filter is separately formed and its laminating process is added. For the analysis of solution processed OLED investment cost, color filter is excluded and ink-jet printer is applied instead of deposition equipment.

In addition, the report forecasts the overall OLED equipment market from 2018 to 2022. The total OLED overall equipment market is expected to reach US$ 106.7 billion from 2018 to 2022. The market for process equipment is projected as US$ 58.8 billion and inspection equipment market is to be US$ 8.4 billion.

Premium TV 시장을 주도할 대면적 OLED의 투자 비용은?

/in /by

최근 premium TV 시장은 OLED TV의 점유율이 지속적으로 상승하고 있으며 OLED TV 진영도 꾸준히 증가하고 있는 추세다. OLED TV는 WRGB OLED에 color filter를 적용한 구조로써, 현재 LG Display만이 유일하게 OLED panel을 양산하고 있다.

이에 Samsung Display에서는 premium TV 시장에서 WRGB OLED에 대항하기 위해 blue OLED + quantum dot color filter(이하 QD-OLED)를 개발하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다. Blue OLED는 OLED에서 발광 된 청색광이 quantum dot층과 color filter를 통과해 red와 green 색을 나타내는 기술이다.

<QD-OLED 예상 구조>

유비리서치는 지난 6일 발간한 ‘AMOLED Manufacturing and Inspection Equipment Industry Report’에서 최근 이슈가 되고 있는 WRGB OLED와 QD-OLED의 구조와 투자 금액을 분석했다. 뿐만 아니라, 대면적 OLED에서 real RGB를 구현할 수 있어 주목받고 있는 solution process OLED의 투자 금액도 함께 분석하여 비교했다.

8세대 26K 기준으로 장비 신규 투자비를 분석한 결과, QD-OLED 투자비는 WRGB OLED에 비해 3%가 많고 solution process OLED는 WRGB OLED에 비해 19% 적은 것으로 조사되었다.

QD-OLED 투자비에서는 QD color filter가 따로 형성되고 이를 합착하는 공정이 추가된 내용이 반영되었으며, solution process OLED 투자비에서는 color filter가 제거되고 증착 장비 대신 ink-jet printer가 투입된 내용이 반영되었다.

이 밖에 본 보고서에서는 2018년부터 2022년까지 OLED 전체 장비 시장도 예상하였다. 2018년부터 2022년까지 OLED 전체 장비 시장은 US$ 106.7 billion을 형성할 것으로 전망되며, 공정 장비는 그 중 US$ 58.8 billion, 검사 장비는 US$ 8.4 billion의 시장을 형성할 것으로 예상된다.

<2018년~2022년 장비별 전체 시장 점유율 전망>

How will Samsung Electronics secure its premium TV market share?

/in /by

Choog Hoon Yi, president of UBI Research, presented about the issues and predictions for 2018 premium TV market at the seminar on the OLED market review in the first half of the year, held by UBI Research on June 28.

He said “The TV demand for 60 inches or more will be expanded from 12 million units in 2016 to 33 million units in 2021 as the investment for Gen10.5 will be increased and therefore the cost for panels will be decreased.

TV prices are expected to decline in 2018 as panel prices fall. In case of Samsung Electronics, TV shipments in the first quarter of 2018 declined 4% YoY to 9.7million units, which led to an operating profit of 4% in its VD division. This is 10% lower than the operating profit of LG Electronics’ HE division.

Lee mentioned ” Samsung Electronics is expected to focus on securing operating profits even if its sales are down. Therefore, they will concentrate on promoting mega-sized products over 65 inches.”

Currently, Samsung plans to use QD-OLED as a TV panel to increase its market share in the premium TV market. QD-OLED is a technology that uses blue OLED as a light source and the light passes through a quantum dot color filter (QDCF) to realize red and green colors.

Lee added that “The success factor of QD-OLED is to be the production of 8K OLED panel of 65 inch or above, but the saturation of premium TV market due to the early investment of LG Display’s 10.5 generation OLED will be a threat.

According to the ‘2018 OLED Emitting Material Industry Report’ published by UBI Research in April, since the QD-OLED is top emission type, the aperture ratio is increased by about 70% compared to the bottom emission, which emits light in the TFT direction. Thus, it is more advantageous to implement 8K resolution and high luminance than the existing WRGB OLED. In addition, it is expected that it will be possible to reach BT.2020, UHD color standard, by using QD material with high color recall rate as color filter.

<The structure of Original WRGB OLED (left) and QD-OLED (right). Source: UBI Research>

Meanwhile, UBI Research predicted that OLED TV sales would grow by about 30% annually to about US$ 5.7 billion in 2022.

삼성전자가 프리미엄 TV 시장 점유율을 확보하기 위해서는?

/in /by

지난 28일 유비리서치가 개최한 ‘상반기 OLED 시장 결산 세미나’에서 이충훈 대표는 2018 프리미엄 TV 시장 이슈와 전망을 발표하였다.

이충훈 대표는 60 inch 이상의 TV수요에 대해 ’2016년 1200만대에서 2021년 3300만대까지 확대될 것’이며, ‘이는 Gen10.5의 투자가 증가함에 따라 패널의 가격이 하락하기 때문이다’고 설명했다.

2018년은 패널 가격이 하락하면서 TV가격도 하락할 전망이다. 삼성전자의 경우 2018년 1사분기 TV 출하량은 970만대로 전년 동기 대비 4% 감소하여 삼성전자의 VD 사업부 영업이익은 4% 수준에 머물렀다. LG전자의 HE 사업부 영업이익 대비 10%나 낮다.

이 대표는 ‘삼성전자는 매출이 줄어도 영업이익 확보를 우선시 할 것으로 예상됨에 따라, 65 inch 이상의 초대형 크기 제품 프로모션에 집중할 것’이라 언급했다.

현재 삼성전자는 프리미엄 TV시장에서의 점유율을 높이고자 QD-OLED를 TV panel로 이용할 계획이다. QD-OLED는 blue OLED를 광원으로 사용하고 그 빛이 QDCF(quantum dot color filter)를 통과하여 red와 green 색을 구현하는 기술이다.

이 대표는 QD-OLED의 성공 요소로는 65 inch 이상 8K OLED panel 생산 등이라 말한 반면, LG디스플레이의 10.5세대 OLED 조기 투자로 인한 프리미엄 TV시장 포화가 위협 요소로 작용될 것이라 언급했다.

유비리서치가 4월 발간한 ‘2018 OLED 발광재료 산업 보고서’에 따르면, QD-OLED는 top emission 방식이기 때문에 TFT 방향으로 빛이 방출되는 bottom emission 대비 개구율이 약 70% 증가되어 8K 해상도와 고휘도 구현이 기존 WRGB OLED보다 유리하다. 또한, 색재현율이 높은 QD 재료를 color filter로 사용하여 UHD 색 규격인 BT. 2020에 도달이 가능할 것으로 예상된다.

<기존 WRGB OLED(좌)와 QD-OLED(우) 구조, 출처: 유비리서치>

한편, 유비리서치는 OLED TV의 매출액은 연평균 약 30% 증가하여 2022년 약 57억 달러 규모가 될 것이라 전망하였다.

How will Samsung Electronics secure its premium TV market share?

/in /by

Choog Hoon Yi, president of UBI Research, presented about the issues and predictions for 2018 premium TV market at the seminar on the OLED market review in the first half of the year, held by UBI Research on June 28.

He said “The TV demand for 60 inches or more will be expanded from 12 million units in 2016 to 33 million units in 2021 as the investment for Gen10.5 will be increased and therefore the cost for panels will be decreased.

TV prices are expected to decline in 2018 as panel prices fall. In case of Samsung Electronics, TV shipments in the first quarter of 2018 declined 4% YoY to 9.7million units, which led to an operating profit of 4% in its VD division. This is 10% lower than the operating profit of LG Electronics’ HE division.

Lee mentioned ” Samsung Electronics is expected to focus on securing operating profits even if its sales are down. Therefore, they will concentrate on promoting mega-sized products over 65 inches.”

Currently, Samsung plans to use QD-OLED as a TV panel to increase its market share in the premium TV market. QD-OLED is a technology that uses blue OLED as a light source and the light passes through a quantum dot color filter (QDCF) to realize red and green colors.

Lee added that “The success factor of QD-OLED is to be the production of 8K OLED panel of 65 inch or above, but the saturation of premium TV market due to the early investment of LG Display’s 10.5 generation OLED will be a threat.

According to the ‘2018 OLED Emitting Material Industry Report’ published by UBI Research in April, since the QD-OLED is top emission type, the aperture ratio is increased by about 70% compared to the bottom emission, which emits light in the TFT direction. Thus, it is more advantageous to implement 8K resolution and high luminance than the existing WRGB OLED. In addition, it is expected that it will be possible to reach BT.2020, UHD color standard, by using QD material with high color recall rate as color filter.

<The structure of Original WRGB OLED (left) and QD-OLED (right). Source: UBI Research>

Meanwhile, UBI Research predicted that OLED TV sales would grow by about 30% annually to about US$ 5.7 billion in 2022.

QD-OLED TV, is it to be the next generation premium TV?

/in /by

Samsung Electronics is currently occupying the premium TV market with QD-LCD TVs, which use ‘PL-QD (photoluminescence quantum dot) technology’. This technology has a mechanism in which the material stimulated by external light re-emits light.

The operating profit of the consumer electronics division (CE), which controls QD-LCD TVs, fell more than Korean won 1 trillion in last year and the operating profit ratio was only 3.6%.

On the other hand, LG Electronics’ HE business division achieved a record operating profit of Korean won 1,566.7 billion and an operating margin of 8.1% through OLED TV. Sony also turned its operating profit into a surplus by quickly taking over the premium TV market with OLED TV.

OLED TV has had a positive effect in driving corporate sales growth.

Samsung Electronics has been developing EL-QLED, with EL-QD (electroluminescence quantum dot) technology, to increase its market share in the premium TV market. However, efficacy, lifetime and mass production technology of quantum dot, which is the material of QLED, is not yet secured.

Recently, QD-OLED TV technology, which uses blue OLED as a light source and that implements red and green colors through a quantum dot color filter (QDCF), is attracting attention.

<Expected structure for QD-OLED, Source: Samsung Display Blog>

By using QDCF, it is possible to easily make desired colors by adjusting the size of the QD material and improve the color reproduction rate. This is because the color gamut is enlarged to BT2020, so it is close to natural color and it is possible to deliver vivid picture quality more clearly. In addition, QD-OLED TV has a top emission structure, which makes it easy to secure the aperture ratio, thereby improving resolution and screen uniformity.

However, in QD-OLED TV, there are various problems to be solved such as lifetime and efficiency of blue OLED, and technology of ink-jet printing process. Given that the industry is still in the early stages of reviewing the business possibility, QD-OLED TVs are expected to go into mass production after 2020.

Attention is focused on the QD-OLED TV’s entry into the premium TV market and its impact.

QD-OLED TV, 차세대 프리미엄 TV가 될 수 있을까

/in /by

삼성전자는 현재 ‘PL-QD(photoluminescence quantum dot)기술’ 적용한 QD-LCD TV로 프리미엄 TV시장을 점유하고 있다. 이 기술은 외부 광에 의해 자극된 물질이 다시 빛을 내는 메커니즘을 갖는다.

이러한 QD-LCD TV를 관할하는 가전부문(CE)의 영업이익은 지난해 1조 이상 줄었으며, 영업 이익률은 3.6%에 그쳤다.

반면, LG전자의 HE사업본부는 OLED TV를 통해 영업이익 지난해 1조 5,667억원, 영업이익률 8.1%로 역대 최고치를 달성하였다. SONY 또한 OLED TV를 앞세워 빠르게 프리미엄 TV 시장을 점유함으로써 영업이익을 흑자로 전환시켰다.

OLED TV가 기업의 매출 상승을 이끄는 긍정적인 효과를 낳은 셈이다.

이에 삼성전자는 프리미엄 TV시장에서의 점유율을 높이고자 EL-QD(electroluminescence quantum dot) 기술을 적용한 진정한 의미의 EL-QLED를 개발에 박차고 있으나, 여전히 QLED의 재료인 quantum dot의 효율과 수명, 양산기술은 아직 확보되지 않은 것으로 알려졌다.

최근 blue OLED를 광원으로 사용하고 그 빛이 QDCF(quantum dot color filter)를 통과하여 red와 green 색을 구현하는 QD-OLED TV 기술이 주목받고 있다.

<예상되는 QD-OLED 구조, 출처:삼성디스플레이블로그>

QDCF를 이용하면 QD재료의 크기를 조절하여 원하는 색을 쉽게 만들 수 있으며, 색 재현율을 향상시킬 수 있다. 이는 색 영역을 BT2020까지 확대하여 자연색에 가까우며 더 선명하게 생생한 화질을 전달할 수 있을 것으로 보인다. 또한, QD-OLED TV는 전면 발광구조로 개구율 확보가 용이해 해상도와 화면 균일도를 향상시킬 수 있다.

그러나 QD-OLED TV에는 blue OLED의 수명과 효율, ink-jet printing 공정기술 확보 등 풀어나가야 할 여러가지 문제점들이 존재하고 있다. 이에 대해 관련 업계에서는 아직 사업 검토가 초기 국면임을 감안할 때, QD-OLED TV의 양산 시기는 2020년은 넘어야 할 것으로 전망하고 있다.

QD-OLED TV가 프리미엄 TV시장에 진입하여 어떠한 지각변동을 불어 일으킬 것인지 귀추가 주목된다.