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No Sony OLED Displays In 2004

Anonymous Howard writes "Designtechnica is reporting that Sony will not introduce any OLED displays in 2004 as previously anticipated. Sony was planning on producing 300,000 2-inch OLED panels per month for its portable devices such as DSCs (digital still cameras) and PDAs. Surprisingly, there have only been a handful of products out that use OLED displays; Samsung has a cell phone and MSI has an MP3 player, for example."

24 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Pioneer by Jhawkeye83 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I've had a pioneer CD Deck for my car for almost 2 years now that has OLED

    --
    Quality over Quantity.http://www.virusgaming.com/
  2. The answer is probably in the article by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the panels still have a shorter life span than TFT LCD panels

    and my guess is, they rushed their mass production announcement before doing the QA for full PR effect, and the stress-tests showed the shorter life span to be quite dramatically shorter than expected.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  3. Links links....where are the links!? by ProfessionalCookie · · Score: 4, Informative

    Such as MSI's MP3 Player and Samsung's Cell Phone.

    Come on folks- this is the internet.

    On a side note- I dare you to /. my .sig :)

    1. Re:Links links....where are the links!? by beesquee · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My samsung e715 sees to only have the 16 color oled display, not 256k like the site says. Besides that, an interesting thing I did notice was that the digital clock on the external display is always illuminated andafter a few months of use it's already dimmer then less used graphic diplay under it. Eviendence of blue oled life problems? maybe.

      --
      Things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise
  4. Kodak uses OLED by SuperRob · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All of Kodak's digital cameras are using OLED screens. They're probably the biggest shipper of OLED screens right now, but people always forget about them.

    Well take a look at one of their screens, and you won't forget. They're GORGEOUS!

    1. Re:Kodak uses OLED by ffsnjb · · Score: 4, Informative

      So maybe I'll get some mod points for this (makes up for maybe losing my job on Monday. :)

      DX7630 specs

      DX6490 specs

      Note the descriptions on the specs page, no where does it mention OLED, but LCD is everywhere.

      --
      "Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
  5. OLED - technology definition by syrinje · · Score: 5, Informative
    For those of you who RTFA and are still left mumbling "what the heck is an OLED.." here it is OLED is an Electroluminescent display technology. It is cnsidered one of the most promising emerging display technologies and exploits ultrathin films of organic compounds, either small molecules or polymers, which emit light (luminescence) when subjected to a voltage. These organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) produce bright, lightweight displays. A number of small independent firms in Europe and the US have been developing devices based on various luminescent molecules.

    On a related note, in its 2004 MiniDV camcorders of the HC-XX series Sony claims to use a "Hybrid LCD display" which is claimed to perform significantly better than the regular LCD screens it renders obsolete (like the one in my 2003 MiniDV). I tried to find out what Hybrid meant and failed - what is the big secret I wonder...

    --
    See that long UID - that's what you get for lurking too long
    1. Re:OLED - technology definition by janbjurstrom · · Score: 4, Informative
      I would also recommend an interesting (and lenghty) article on the subject in Scientific American I read a few months back:
      Better Displays with Organic Films
      It covers quite a few topics related to the technolog[y|ies], like the problems with the - currently - shorter life-span relative to LCD, etc.
      --
      668.5
    2. Re:OLED - technology definition by Dr+Zubi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Their "hybrid" display appears to be what's normally called "transflective". Each pixel has a transmissive area that allows a backlight to shine through, but also has a reflective area that modulates ambient light. So, it dim light it uses the *trans*missive part, and in bright light it uses the re*flective* part. The color in reflective mode is not so good, but better than a totally washed out backlit display.

  6. Re:Cost of OLEDs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You're right about the lessened life compared to LCDs, but you're wrong about the production cost. OLEDs are cheaper to produce than LCDs, this is a known fact.

    There is also many other advantages compared to LCDs; Organic light emitting diodes are self-emitting and don't require a backlight, they're brighter and require less power than LCD displays. They can also be read from a much wider viewing angle than LCDs, and they can even be made on plastic instead of glass.

    I sure enjoy the OLED display on my mobile phone :)

    - A lazy AC

  7. As long as it isn't passed over... by geschild · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... Because of vested interests.

    OLED holds many promises because it is, as the name indicates, a LED type of display. In other words, you don't block/filter an underlying lightsource like with LCD-type screens. Every pixel itself emits light. This makes for better image quality at higher resolution and less power consumption plus, as a bonus, no vulnerable, ill-distrubuted central light-source.

    Once (if?) the optimal solution is found to creating the seperate Organic colors reliably (and currently the biggest problem: durably) OLED should overtake all other techniques. Especially since some production techniques currently being pioneered do not have an inherent limitation to the substrate size (read: Mega sized displayes at Giga resolutions, ultraflat, high light-output and low power...).

    I say should because LCD is currently the entrenched technique and I don't think all investments have been recoverd yet. The question then becomes: is the best (cheapest to produce) OLED solution being brought forward by a current player with LCD 'capital' to defend or an outsider? If the latter, OLED has a fighting chance, if the former, we'll have to see if several producers have competing designs to make OLED still take off. A lot of money has gone into those factories, and even if they are relatively easily converted to OLED, most companies don't jump for joy at the prospect of destroying existing investments for a newer technology. (Or any new investments for that matter ;D)

    Recouping costs may hold OLED back more than any technological hurdle, I'm sorry to say.

    --
    Karma? What's that again?
  8. best not forget... by Animaether · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...because in a relatively short time, that gorgeous picture will have faded considerably.

    They're making great advances in battling this problem, thankfully. In addition, Kodak does offer a full warranty (last I checked) on the digital display components.

  9. too many LCD screens to sell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative


    there was an article on Bloomberg TV's asia market report the other day stating that there is a massive overproduction of LCD's and buyers are not buying so prices will fall as a result
    good news for LCD buyers but bad for those of us waiting for mass produced OLED's
    gotta buy the old stock before getting the new as usual and the less you buy the cheaper its gonna get for LCD's (forget plasma as it degrades dramatically in 3years)

  10. LG Phones by halo1982 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Many of LG's cell phones use the same OLED display. The VX6000, VX5550 the LG 4600 (Telus) and a ton of them in Korean markets. Also Samsungs E715, the upcomming i550 use OLEDs for the outer displays. If you've seen an OLED display you know how attractive and sharp they look, its quite different from an LCD. They also have a very nice expanded viewing angle. Hopefully late this year and next year there will be phones with full color OLEDs as displays.

  11. Re:Cost of OLEDs by mobby_6kl · · Score: 5, Informative

    OLED displays can also support much higher (than LCD) refresh rates. Because there is no backlight, when a pixel is black it it really black so the contrast is also much higher.
    30 years if of course too much, LCDs dont last that long and about 5 years should be good enough. Keep in mind that they do not die the day they turn 5 y.o., they just lose some of the brightness/contrast.

  12. Re:Cost of OLEDs by laing · · Score: 2, Insightful

    30 years is nuts. We don't even know if LCD or TFT displays will last that long since they haven't been around even half that time.

    I think once they can produce OLED cells that last more than about 5 years on average, you'll see them go mainstream. Anything less than that could end up costing the manufacturer big in terms of warranty obligations.

  13. Vested Interest in not using OLED by syslog · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Sony just sank a huge amount of cash in building a new LCD plant with Samsung. Why would they want to promote OLED? This was in the news all over the place in the last couple of days.



    naeem

    1. Re:Vested Interest in not using OLED by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Sony just sank a huge amount of cash in building a new LCD plant with Samsung. Why would they want to promote OLED? This was in the news all over the place in the last couple of days."

      I'm not claiming to be an expert on this topic, but wasn't one of the big selling points of OLED technology that current LCD facilities could be upgraded to handle it relatively cheaply?

      Not sure if I'm right on that or not, but Sony has demonstrated that they are interested in having a kick ass display. Go see their ultra-brite or whatever it is laptops they have at circuit city.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Vested Interest in not using OLED by aldoman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So what? LCD will become the CRT-style display in the future - OLED will then take the place of what a LCD display was like when everyone had TFTs, a luxury. Then the prices will start coming down until they have replaced LCDs and the next wave of technology will start.

      My god, I love capitalism.

      One intresting side of this 'Fire and Motion' is that films look more and more outdated even quicker. Before, it took 5-10 years for your average film to look really outdated when it came to computers, now it's taking much less than 5. Look at the stupid films in the late 90s with their CRT displays ;).

    3. Re:Vested Interest in not using OLED by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
      Look at the stupid films in the late 90s with their CRT displays ;).

      My favorite example of future monitors is 2010, with the monitor (in Dr. Chandra's office, IIRC. It's been a while though) with a case the size of a modern-day 22" CRT, but with a visible area of about 12" and a resolution of maybe 40x40. :) Yeah, not much they could do about the resolution and screen size considering the tech at the time, but the huge fucking box around it? Whose idea was that?

      A funny thing about late 90s movies and monitors: in a firefight, the LCDs never get hit. Every CRT in the room can get shot, but the LCDs go unscratched. Not surprising from a financial standpoint, since old, broken, or otherwise explosion-worthy CRTs are a dime a dozen and LCDs aren't, but it's still amusing to see the aftermath of an office fight scene with bits of computer shrapnel all over and one lone, unharmed LCD standing in the middle of it.

  14. Nomination for tin-foil hat of the day. by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Interesting
    First of oled are not yet perfected, secondly all the companies are bitterly fighting with each other. Products being held back can only happen in relatively static conditions where all the players have a intrest in maintaining the current balance.

    In electronics there is no such interest. The market for displaying things is huge. More and more things around the house have displays and who ever can make the cheapest/nicest can have a significant advantage.

    But for now LCD is not yet dead. The screen size of oled is still low (sure it is going up but so is lcd). What you are suggesting is that the CRT was holding back the LCD. Or the tv industry the computer screen or the paper/dotmatrix industry the tv-screen industry.

    Just because sony is having troubles doesn't mean oled isn't happening. As others have pointed out there are plenty of devices out there. I remember when camera's came with CRT viewers instead of the new fangled LCD. Nothing stopped the LCD except the tech and nothing will stop OLED except the tech. To many players who would love to get the holy grail of a cheap clear brilliant display.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  15. roentgen by sstory · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Whatever happened to the IBM Roentgen?

  16. Re:Cost of OLEDs by pslam · · Score: 3, Informative
    There is also many other advantages compared to LCDs; Organic light emitting diodes are self-emitting and don't require a backlight, they're brighter and require less power than LCD displays.

    The OLED panels I've played with have all been far lower power than an LCD with the backlight turned on, but that's not a fair comparison for some products. For example, MP3 players can get away with turning the backlight off in many cases. An LCD with the backlight turned off takes almost no power. This "idle" state was hard to do with the OLEDs I've used because they were PWM driven, and below a certain brightness they'd get flickery. At the lowest acceptable brightness, they were using about 100 times the power an idle LCD did.

    But OLED is still lower power for devices which are useless with the backlight turned off (like cameras, portable TV/DVD players etc). I wouldn't be surprised if next generation panels come down enough in power requirement that the difference isn't important.

  17. Size and durability issues by sandos_asagi · · Score: 2, Informative

    OLEDs are getting pretty big right now though I admit they are only prototypes - http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/showArticle.jhtml? articleID=20600073

    The durability will be overcome, I remember when labs were first playing around with the idea of OLEDs and they only had green colours and lasted for only 100hrs. Now the red and green last well into 20000 hrs it is just the blue that is failing to get up to spec. Last I heard they were just about to achieve 10000 on the blue - almost getting up to a useful standard.

    Currently the fullcolour screens are a lot thicker and power hungry than they will be eventually since atm three layers for each colour are used with a mask - even so these screens are a -lot- thinner than comparable LCD panels. Hit google image search for "OLED screens" and such (i'm in work atm and they filter google image search) you will find a lot of prototype screens in profile *awes at the thickness (should I say thinness)*

    They will be the screen technology of the future. No doubt about it - especially when a flexible polymer can be used as the substrate (currently glass) and we can all have relatively cheap, huge and flexible screens. They are so efficient and bright they are being considered as a new lighting system for airport runways - embedded OLEDs would mark the be the current 'white lines'.

    They will phase out LCDs starting with phones, I am sure it is in nokia's roadmap to start replacing LCD with OLED by 2005/2006 (cant find the source again though)

    Anyway OLEDs are great!

    *ramble ramble*