Samsung, LG to abandon LCD TVs

LED screens are expected to become dominant in the global television market starting next year as the world’s two top television makers ― Samsung and LG ― are poised to stop producing LCD panel TVs in North America this year to focus on LED.

LG Electronics had already expressed such plans at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas earlier this month. Recently, Samsung also said it would be suspending the production of LCD panels in Mexico, Hungary, Slovakia and others.

In particular, the plants in Mexico, which account for about 20 percent of Samsung Electronics’ annual flat TV production, were expected to fully switch to LED production within the first quarter of this year, Samsung officials said on Wednesday.

Last year, Samsung had sold around 51 million flat TVs.

Both LG and Samsung have said they are making the switch mostly due to energy and cost reasons.

LCDs require a backlight, which in turn leads to higher energy consumption and also means the TVs can’t be made as flat as the manufactures and consumers want.

LED, on the other hand, independently produces light to reduce energy consumption, while also allowing for flatter panels.

The move from Samsung and LG is expected to be a harbinger for other TV makers to follow suit, industry watchers said.

LG officials, meanwhile, emphasized that the pendulum has yet to swing completely toward LED TVs in Korea, as the company has plans to continue manufacturing LCD TVs this year.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)