[IFA 2015] Panasonic’s OLED entry puts pressure on Samsung

BERLIN ― Samsung Electronics may have felt a pinch when Japanese TV maker Panasonic unveiled its first 65-inch organic light-emitting diode or OLED TV at this year’s IFA electronics trade show. 

Panasonic was joining LG Electronics in producing the still nascent OLED TVs as the second major TV manufacturer to do so.

The price is estimated to hover above $10,000, which compares to LG’s model priced at about 8.9 million won ($7,400).

Last year, LG was the sole producer of OLED TVs. But this year, along with Panasonic, China’s Skywalls, Changhong, Haier and HySense and Turkey’s Vestel showcased their own versions of OLED TVs at IFA.

“Japanese TV makers are seeking to revive (their) past glory they enjoyed as LCD TV pioneer. Panasonic’s OLED entry could affect its cross-town rival Sony,” said a representative of a global TV maker, declining to be named. “Then, Samsung, the No. 1 TV maker, would have no other option (but) to follow the suit.”

Samsung suspended its OLED TV production in 2013 and has poured more resources into flat-panel LCD-based Ultra HD TVs instead. The company, however, has hinted it is still gauging the marketability of high-priced OLED TVs.

Yoon Boo-geun, Samsung’s home appliance chief, also said at the company’s IFA booth that the company was continuing to work on OLED TVs without elaborating on specific launch plans.

Despite all the virtues, such as higher resolution and lighter weight, panel production has been the key restraint to OLED’s wider penetration. Currently, most OLED TV makers are using the same panels from LG Display.

The display unit of LG Group plans to beef up the production of its OLED panels to 1.5 million units next year.

Samsung and LG have also clashed over panel types.

LG and its OLED alliance members, including Panasonic, use the RGBW panel design, which adds white color subpixels to the standard red, green and blue. But Samsung still prefers the three-color panel system that has dominated since color TVs hit the market.

LG, with aims to take the early lead in the OLED TV market, is expanding ties with TV makers to include more allies into its alliance, while Samsung is claiming that its LCD-based Ultra HD TVs can offer quality resolution to the same measure as OLEDs.

By Lee Ji-yoon, Korea Herald correspondent (jylee@heraldcorp.com)