Samsung stops LCD panel manufacturing by end of this year

[darnoc]

Just read this that Samsung will be discontinuing all manufacturing of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in South Korea and China by the end of this year. Stated they will switch to Quantum Dot screens but that currently uses LCD panel behind the quantum dot layer. Reading further its states that future quantum dot screens will be OLED rather than LCD. This should make things very interesting in the market.

 

[whateverer]

QLED will be emissive Quantum Dots. It's emissive just like OLEDs but a different technology.

You seem to be confused here, saying Samsung is switching to OLED. One thing is for certain: we're in for a display alphabet soup in thew coming years: OLED vs QLED vs MicroLED is going to make for a very confusing future shopping trip!

 

[Armenius]

Seeing as it looks as though Samsung is using their own design, it would mean a real competitor is entering the OLED market which hopefully will continue driving prices down. OLED are very affordable now, but still more expensive than LCD.

QLED will be emissive QDs. It's emissive just like OLEDs but a different technology.

You seem to be confused here, saying Samsung is switching to OLED. One thing is for certain: we're in for a display alphabet soup in thew coming yeas.

Samsung is switching to OLED. They are using blue organic emitters with a QDCC layer. More on FPN:
https://hardforum.com/threads/samsu...duction-focuses-on-quantum-dot-oleds.1994741/

 

[whateverer]

Seeing as it looks as though Samsung is using their own design, it would mean a real competitor is entering the OLED market which hopefully will continue driving prices down. OLED are very affordable now, but still more expensive than LCD.

Samsung is switching to OLED. They are using blue organic emitters with a QDCC layer. More on FPN:
https://hardforum.com/threads/samsu...duction-focuses-on-quantum-dot-oleds.1994741/

Oh, I see, they're taking the easier way out than LG (which created a true white OLED, and uses direct color filters).

Lower max brightness, but it's already being mass-produced for QLED LCDs.

 

[Sancus]

Seeing as it looks as though Samsung is using their own design, it would mean a real competitor is entering the OLED market which hopefully will continue driving prices down. OLED are very affordable now, but still more expensive than LCD.

Samsung is switching to OLED. They are using blue organic emitters with a QDCC layer. More on FPN:
https://hardforum.com/threads/samsu...duction-focuses-on-quantum-dot-oleds.1994741/

The original reuters article is very short on details. There is no way Samsung is switching to anything using a QDOLED/self-emissive technology this year or for 2021. They have not ever even released a single product based on this technology. And there's no way they're going to stop all TV production for 5 years.

Most likely there is some confusion between old LCD lines and newer QLED-LCD facilities going on here.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/...-quantum-dot-oled-south-korea-china-factories

"Samsung told The Verge that it does not expect the shutdown to affect its LCD-based QLED TV lineup....One alternative is that Samsung buys its LCD panels from suppliers like TCL-owned CSOT and AUO, which already supply panels for Samsung TVs."

 

[sharknice]

The original reuters article is very short on details. There is no way Samsung is switching to anything using a QDOLED/self-emissive technology this year or for 2021. They have not ever even released a single product based on this technology. And there's no way they're going to stop all TV production for 5 years.

Most likely there is some confusion between old LCD lines and newer QLED-LCD facilities going on here.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/...-quantum-dot-oled-south-korea-china-factories

"Samsung told The Verge that it does not expect the shutdown to affect its LCD-based QLED TV lineup....One alternative is that Samsung buys its LCD panels from suppliers like TCL-owned CSOT and AUO, which already supply panels for Samsung TVs."

Yep.

I'm pretty sure the author of the original article doesn't know that QLEDs use LCDs and thinks QLED (which is actually QLED LCD), LED LCD are completely different technologies. It's hard to blame them when Samsung would like you to think that.

The article says nothing about a new emissive quantum dot display. I'm pretty sure we would have heard about it if they had them ready to manufacture.

 

[kasakka]

All articles on this are a complete shitshow. Since QLEDs are just LCDs with a quantum dot filter it would be weird for Samsung to stop manufacturing them so suddenly. I guess all this means is that they will stop making any non-QLED LCDs. Reports at CES 2020 said that Samsung's OLED TV panels were nowhere near good enough at that time with low brightness and other issues.

My understanding is that there is very heavy competition for LCDs from China so South Korean companies Samsung and LG are stepping out of that game and focusing on the higher end tech, leaving bog standard office LCD production to Chinese factories and maybe just selling monitors assembled from those under their own brands.

 

[euskalzabe]

Just to clarify Samsung is not switching to self emissive QLED, that's still a few years away. What they are doing is switching to OLED in a kind of clever way to deal with the current limitations of organic panels. Whereas the blue pixels in LG OLEDs age much faster than the red and green ones, leading to image inconsistencies over time, Samsung is using a full blue OLED panel so it all ages at the same rate. They are doing this because their usual Quantum Film AFAIK filters bluish light to create the rest of the colors, so the same logic applies to a blue OLED. What's more because QD films transmit light way more efficiently, they don't have to drive this blue OLED as hard and can keep it a lower brightness, thereby lengthening the product's lifetime.

This is essentially a stopgap measure until they can get micro-led done or the masses. Still it should lead to much better TVs starting next year.

Whatis currently blowing my mind is that just yesterday there were new laptops announced with models such as an MSI 17in laptop with that mini LED backlight (https://www.anandtech.com/show/1568...re-laptops-with-nvidia-rtx-super-and-mini-led). Someone please explain to me how it is possible that manufacturers are always complaining about the difficulty of putting miniLEDs in smaller screens, and suddenly they go ahead and put it on a 17-inch laptop which has a razor thin 4k screen with basically no room for cooling. And this laptop costs $1,700. So why aren't they making the same 4k screen in a 32" format with plenty of space for cooling? If you do the math that means you could get a mini LED monitor right now for just under $1000. WHERE IS THAT MONITOR???

I fear that instead of getting better monitors everywhere starting next year, manufacturers will simply switch providers to the cheapo Chinese producers to keep giving us garbage LED monitors... For what, another decade of time waste?

This is beyond frustrating.

 

[MistaSparkul]

Just to clarify Samsung is not switching to self emissive QLED, that's still a few years away. What they are doing is switching to OLED in a kind of clever way to deal with the current limitations of organic panels. Whereas the blue pixels in LG OLEDs age much faster than the red and green ones, leading to image inconsistencies over time, Samsung is using a full blue OLED panel so it all ages at the same rate. They are doing this because their usual Quantum Film AFAIK filters bluish light to create the rest of the colors, so the same logic applies to a blue OLED. What's more because QD films transmit light way more efficiently, they don't have to drive this blue OLED as hard and can keep it a lower brightness, thereby lengthening the product's lifetime.

This is essentially a stopgap measure until they can get micro-led done or the masses. Still it should lead to much better TVs starting next year.

Whatis currently blowing my mind is that just yesterday there were new laptops announced with models such as an MSI 17in laptop with that mini LED backlight (https://www.anandtech.com/show/1568...re-laptops-with-nvidia-rtx-super-and-mini-led). Someone please explain to me how it is possible that manufacturers are always complaining about the difficulty of putting miniLEDs in smaller screens, and suddenly they go ahead and put it on a 17-inch laptop which has a razor thin 4k screen with basically no room for cooling. And this laptop costs $1,700. So why aren't they making the same 4k screen in a 32" format with plenty of space for cooling? If you do the math that means you could get a mini LED monitor right now for just under $1000. WHERE IS THAT MONITOR???

I fear that instead of getting better monitors everywhere starting next year, manufacturers will simply switch providers to the cheapo Chinese producers to keep giving us garbage LED monitors... For what, another decade of time waste?

This is beyond frustrating.

Eh I don't think it was MINI LED that had a hard time being made in smaller screens, isn't that MICRO LED? But yes you are correct while laptop screens have nice displays while still being decently priced, desktop monitors are something else entirely. Which is why I am switching to the 48" CX OLED and never looking back.

EDIT: Lol I just checked that MSI laptops specs and....240 dimming zones hardly qualifies as "Mini LED".

 

[sharknice]

Eh I don't think it was MINI LED that had a hard time being made in smaller screens, isn't that MICRO LED? But yes you are correct while laptop screens have nice displays while still being decently priced, desktop monitors are something else entirely. Which is why I am switching to the 48" CX OLED and never looking back.

EDIT: Lol I just checked that MSI laptops specs and....240 dimming zones hardly qualifies as "Mini LED".

The only MicroLED displays there are right now are those super huge 100"+ modular wall displays and super tiny 1" prototypes several different companies have. There is no in between size for monitors. It's kind of like how OLEDs are either too small (phone sized) or too big (TV sized) but even more extreme.

 

[Snowdog]

Just to clarify Samsung is not switching to self emissive QLED, that's still a few years away. What they are doing is switching to OLED in a kind of clever way to deal with the current limitations of organic panels. Whereas the blue pixels in LG OLEDs age much faster than the red and green ones, leading to image inconsistencies over time, Samsung is using a full blue OLED panel so it all ages at the same rate.

Nope.

LG uses monochrome white subpixels with color filters on top. So all the subpixels for LG age at the same rate.

Samsung is essentially doing the same thing as LG, except using monochrome blue, and QD filters.

This is essentially a stopgap measure until they can get micro-led done or the masses. Still it should lead to much better TVs starting next year.

Again, Nope.

This is not stopgap, This will be Samsung next big thing in TVs for a decade, if not more. Microled for consumer TV's is pie in the sky.

manufacturers are always complaining about the difficulty of putting miniLEDs in smaller screens,

I haven't seen those complaints.

 

[Sancus]

I'll eat my hat if Samsung releases any self-emissive product using ANY TV-sized panel technology they manufacture in 2021 for under $5,000. That stuff is years off.

 

[kasakka]

TFTCentral has a good article on this: https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/blog/samsung-display-to-cease-lcd-panel-production-by-end-of-2020/

 

[Snowdog]

TFTCentral story is the best one I have read about this.

This seems to be mostly about TVs.

It really doesn't mean a big influx of OLED TVs from Samsung (those are still a year or two from intro). Just more likely that your Samsung LCD TV will have a non-Samsung Panel. But this was already pretty likely on the lower end. My 10+ year old Samsung TV has an AUO panel.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

TFTCentral story is the best one I have read about this.

This seems to be mostly about TVs.

It really doesn't mean a big influx of OLED TVs from Samsung (those are still a year or two from intro). Just more likely that your Samsung LCD TV will have a non-Samsung Panel. But this was already pretty likely on the lower end. My 10+ year old Samsung TV has an AUO panel.

I have a ten year old LG TV with a Panasonic LCD panel...

These companies are just straight up incestuous

 

[sharknice]

TFTCentral story is the best one I have read about this.

This seems to be mostly about TVs.

It really doesn't mean a big influx of OLED TVs from Samsung (those are still a year or two from intro). Just more likely that your Samsung LCD TV will have a non-Samsung Panel. But this was already pretty likely on the lower end. My 10+ year old Samsung TV has an AUO panel.

Yep, basically there are two companies. "Samsung Display" that makes the LCD panels, and "Samsung" that makes the TVs.

"Samsung Display" is stopping LCD manufacturing. "Samsung" is still making and selling the same TVs, but they're going to have to buy their panels they use in their high end TVs from other companies. Their high end TVs generally had better quality control on their panels, but no longer will because they'll be using the same panels as everyone else.

This is a good video explaining it.

 

[euskalzabe]

LG uses monochrome white subpixels with color filters on top. So all the subpixels for LG age at the same rate.

If that's true, I'd love a source. I'd actually like to learn more in depth how they do it. As far as I know, what you say is inaccurate: they have RGBW subpixels, which does not mean the RGB are on top of the W, far from it. The W is there because their OLED don't get bright enough without burn-in. This was LG's solution to be brighter without damaging the panel. That implies that no, all subpixels don't age equally in LG TVs. Again, I might be wrong here, but I'd love a source to check this out.

This is not stopgap, This will be Samsung next big thing in TVs for a decade, if not more. Microled for consumer TV's is pie in the sky.

Maybe I'm too hopeful, but MicroLED does seem to be on track to be sold to consumers well before the end of the decade. Although, Samsung is hoping to commercialize these OLED+QD film in 2022, so... who knows.

I haven't seen those complaints.

Of course. You haven't been to electronics shows like CES and talked to industry workers. So many things are said off-record. For obvious reasons.

 

[Snowdog]

If that's true, I'd love a source. I'd actually like to learn more in depth how they do it. As far as I know, what you say is inaccurate: they have RGBW subpixels, which does not mean the RGB are on top of the W, far from it. The W is there because their OLED don't get bright enough without burn-in. This was LG's solution to be brighter without damaging the panel. That implies that no, all subpixels don't age equally in LG TVs. Again, I might be wrong here, but I'd love a source to check this out.

LG needs the White subpixel to recover brightness, because they are using RGB color filters on top of their white base. Those color filters block a lot of the light, the clear section lets it all through for the white subpixel.

LG doesn't typically post that detailed technical info, in it's marketing material. IIRC it's actually Kodak patented tech and LG bought Kodak patents. But it's widely discussed elsewhere. Here is a very simplified comparison comparing the current solution to proposed QD-OLED. UBI research comparing to the current solution to Samsung proposed one. White OLED with color filters, vs Blue OLED with QD Color Filters:





Here is Nanosys (Samsung licenses their tech) comparing the new QD-OLED to the LG solution.

Note that LG makes it's White OLED, by combining Blue and Yellow, hence this slide show blue and yellow hitting the color filters, and passing through the clear section.

Maybe I'm too hopeful, but MicroLED does seem to be on track to be sold to consumers well before the end of the decade. Although, Samsung is hoping to commercialize these OLED+QD film in 2022, so... who knows.

If there are only commercializing QD-OLED in 2022, why would expect Micro-LED soon after. They have announced they are investing billions in QD-OLED till 2026. That is just the announced round of investment. They will want to make money on that for many years After that. There is ZERO about commercializing micro LED. Look how many decades they milked LCD. Maybe in 2030 we will start hearing about commercializing Micro-LED for consumers.

 

[sharknice]

If that's true, I'd love a source. I'd actually like to learn more in depth how they do it. As far as I know, what you say is inaccurate: they have RGBW subpixels, which does not mean the RGB are on top of the W, far from it. The W is there because their OLED don't get bright enough without burn-in. This was LG's solution to be brighter without damaging the panel. That implies that no, all subpixels don't age equally in LG TVs. Again, I might be wrong here, but I'd love a source to check this out.



Maybe I'm too hopeful, but MicroLED does seem to be on track to be sold to consumers well before the end of the decade. Although, Samsung is hoping to commercialize these OLED+QD film in 2022, so... who knows.



Of course. You haven't been to electronics shows like CES and talked to industry workers. So many things are said off-record. For obvious reasons.

LG uses all white OLEDs with filters over the RGB. The W is just to boost brightness for HDR highlights.
Samsung has a prototype with all blue OLEDs and quantum dot filters. But it it's not even close to bright enough and not ready for mass manufacturing.

 

[Luke M]

This just means that Samsung can buy LCDs cheaper than they can make them, due to oversupply conditions in the market. Has nothing to do with future display technologies.