Sure, LG's current 55-inch OLED HDTV is pretty pricey with a US MSRP of $12K, but that may start to change next year when panel supplier LG Display kicks its new 8G production line into full gear. LG Electronics holds a 38 percent stake in the company and although it supplies screens to many others as well, the next generation of 55EM9700s will likely be a large segment of the displays produced. Although LCD manufacturers ramped up 8G facilities capable of producing six 55-inch displays from one piece of glass in the late 2000s, oversupply caused prices to drop and manufacturing to slow down, including at LG Display.
Now, new display technology is ramping up investment again, which will see this new line installed at its P9 plant in Paju, South Korea at a cost of 706 billion won ($655 million). Based on LG's WRGB OLED evaporation process, it should be capable of working with as many as 26,000 input sheets per month once it's up to full speed in the first half of 2014. Chief competitor Samsung showed off "production" OLED HDTVs last year and plenty of demo units at CES with a mid-year release planned, we'll see if it manages to keep up before / if the tech goes mainstream.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, LG
If you spent the entirety of 2012 with 11 million won ($10,000 US) in your savings account and begging LG to take it, we'd wager that you were hoping that the Korean manufacturer's 55-inch WRGB OLED HDTV -- announced at last year's CES -- would make its way to your doorstep in a reasonable amount of time. Whether or not you feel that one revolution of the Earth around the Sun can be called reasonable, LG will begin taking pre-orders for the breathtaking screen in Korea on Thursday (January 3rd) and will ship the first batch to early adopters next month. There's still no word on when we can expect to see one in other parts of the world, but this -- as well as its stamp of approval by the FCC -- is a good sign that the wait may soon be over. Check out the full press release after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Source: LG