Sony pulls plug on OLED TV in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp has pulled the plug in Japan on sales of a next-generation flat TV due to sluggish demand, a setback for a product the company had trumpeted as a sign of its revival as an innovator.

Sony said it had stopped production of ultra-thin TVs using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology for Japan, just a little over 2 years since it launched its first set. It plans to keep selling the TVs in overseas markets, a spokesman said.

OLED displays use organic, or carbon-containing compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. They produce crisp images and do not need backlighting, making them slimmer and more energy-efficient than LCDs, the most popular type of flat TV.

[socomnick]

Nobody wanted OLED.

There is better tech out there more promising tech.

And where is my SED tvs :(

[alphakennybody]

don't feed the troll ppl. nothing to see here

[Maddens Raiders]

...sure nick, I presume you think it's called guido tech, because that comment makes about as much sense as sitting through an episode of Jersey Shore (on purpose).
==========

OT

SNE just got a little too far ahead of the curve on this one. This technology is ahead of it's time and people (the masses) are still ingesting and most are "just now" starting to embrace full on blu-ray and LED / LCD flat panels for their outdated dens and all the great things hi-tech digital companies have to offer for the a/v consumer in all of us.

Hell, my mom still has a DVD/VCR combo in her room. OLED TV to her would be the equivalent of Betsy Ross owning Captain Kirk's phaser. In time, people will gravitate toward this offering perhaps when all of the "wow" factor from the current tech begins to become a bit more pedestrian.

[Pennywise]

FIST PUMP!!!

[gaffyh]

It's just too expensive really, I would love an OLED TV, they look amazing, and they use very little power, but they are too expensive for the masses yet. Sony needs to hold it back for a couple of years until they are financially viable.

[mushroomwig]

@1.5

Yeah, pull the plug on something that is now earning Sony a profit...great idea genius.

Sorry to take off your fanboy goggles but the Playstation 3 isn't a failure, where have you been for the past year?

[SL1M DADDY]

Yeah, that's why they are continuing to sell them over seas.

[Pennywise]

First off "Gaystation"... Just for your name alone you should be banned to the open zone.

/on topic - OLED was way too expensive. They have a beautiful picture, but at what price. Sony needs to concentrate on more affordable options.

AND I stick to it - FIST PUMP!

[sikbeta]

OLED TV will be AWESOME, let see, in a Couple of years, Why? cuz at that time it'll AFFORDABLE, OLED TVs are Hell of EXPENSIVE NOW, that give you a hint PALS

[kwyjibo]

OLED is the f*cking future - it has so much potential. The screens are gorgeous, thin, flexible and low power.

And yet Sony are pulling back on this line, and concentrating on bullsh*t technologies that no one wants such as 3D TVs. Never before, has such a worthless technology been foist upon us by so many manufacturers.

For the last year, we've all been told how we should all want 3D TVs so we can watch the Weather while wearing colour destroying polarising lenses. Well, we don't.

Sony will rue this decision, when the Koreans end up owning the OLED market just as they wrapped up the LCD one.

[tda-danny]

Saying no one wants an OLED TV is just ignorant.

But I guess if the shoe fits...

[van-essa]

Stealing someone else's avatar is just plain lame.

[Guido]

Look who's talking!

[SKUD]

ROFL

[Oner]

^^^ ROFL is right! So far tda-danny wins because his account is the oldest @ 552 days meanwhile the one who originally b!@#%ed (van-essa) account is only 7 days old! LoL! What a way to own yourself!

[Crimsonite]

some people act so childish

[beardpapa]

Saying nobody wants OLED is like saying nobody cares for amoled phones or how people back in the day didn't give a damn about hdtv sets and convinced themselves that sdtv was good enough.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

The hard cold truth is that for 90+% of the public OLED are overpriced flat slim TVs while LCD and Plasma (maybe LED) FullHD panels are good enough.

A surer bet is the high performance version of those techs for 3D will be the next to dominate market. I would bet 120Hz, FullHD, 3D capable LCDs will be the biggest sellers for some time.

OLED like tech will have it market when we start to pocket our TVs around, most people don't even use Cellphone TVs. When this time comes, OLED maybe do a come back (it works greatly for small devices since it's thin and it also work pretty good for outdoor) or maybe another tech, more efficient (less $$$) take the crowd.

One thing is for sure, we can say that nothing more will ever be invented without a competitor aiming for the same market and a war to define the prevalent format. A lot of formats will get lost between the hurricane, OLED was just another one in this flat slim TVs war.

[Projekt7tuning]

Its a shame this might not be a technology that goes anywhere. I've only seen a few in person, but they looked outstanding. The first one I got to see was at Best Buy. It was only a 10in or so, but the cool thing was that as soon as I walked into the store I could see the thing from the front door all the way to the Magnolia room. It was pretty damn far away yet it was so bright and colorful. When I actually walked to it to check it out I almost fell over at the price. I think it was $6,999, and it was not even HD. It was very beautiful though. I was just picturing in my mind playing games on it in a 50in version.

[Neoraf]

If you want to own OLED screen at an affordable price, go buy the ZUNE HD.
Simply stunning piece of tech!
I use OLED everyday and it's awesome.

[anh_duong]

Odear

[commodore64]

Oreally?

[anh_duong]

oled is too expensive maybe when a cheaper method to construct oled comes a long led will suffice

[commodore64]

Oyes.

[xtreampro_REVENGE]

Development on HD TV's started in the 80's and it wasn't available to the public until 2005 (I think) so that's about 25 years of research but the OLED technology is already here and has been shown to the public so I think it just needs a bit of more research, say about another 3 to 4 years before it's available publicly in a 42/50" range.

I suspect that by then our HD 3D TV's will literally be a piece of really thin black tinted glass that when touched on the edge displays a super shard or 'ultra HD' image while the bezel of the screen is still see-through, or maybe the image will cover the edge of the lass as well. in 15 years time our current TV's will be ancient.

[Projekt7tuning]

@ 4
I'm not quite sure when HDTV's first became available @ retail. I kind of would like to know that myself, But it was way before 2005. I bought my first HDTV (monitor) in 2000. It was a swx 53in Hitachi ultravison. It was a bigger than hell projection tv. I worked for circuit city at the time. I think it was $5,999 retail, but they had a huge mark up on them so I got it at cost for almost half. In 2005 I got my first LCD, it was a 32in Sharp Aquos. It was so hard to sell that Hitachi, I just ended up giving it to my sister so I could replace it with a plasma. Even in 2005 A good 32in LCD was uber expensive compared to now. Today I could buy a better tv that's a 42 1080p for half of what I paid for that first Sharp. It dose still look very good, and works great for my guest room.

[i_am_interested]

"Sony said it would end sales of OLED TV in Japan when inventory runs out. It plans to continue putting money into research and development and production for North America, Europe and other overseas markets."

and?

[PotNoodle]

I think it is the best for any company to do this, make the tech available for very specific customers, you know, made to order - but really, no average customer will pay £4k to a 16" tv. Fantastic technology, looks great and it will eventually become the standard, but i think all these companies are trying too hard to rush it out there.

Let it develop, wait for it to become cheaper before you go into manufacturing this stuff.

[plb]

maybe everyone is just buying Samsung TV's now. That seems to be the trend I've noticed anyway.

[dirthurts]

Is a bit over rated really. Good stuff but not leaps ahead anymore. Especially their monitors. I have one now and I have a replacement on the way. I bought another Sammy to replace this one (newer, bigger, higher model) and it looked horrible. I took it back already. Their high end Tv's are good, but too glossy.

[Corrwin]

Could be, though Samsung and Sony screens are made in the same factories.

[evrfighter]

I really enjoy my 23" samsung led monitor but I'm gonna be trying acer's new 120hz monitor just as soon as fedex hurries their a$$ up...its out for delivery so im just sittin here kickin rocks till they get here.

I'm gonna really enjoy my pc dual screening these two beasts.

[bunfighterii]

Samsung are really good for the price- I game on a 32'' 1080p Samsung in my bedroom and it set me back only $1000AUD (that's like $850 USD). I've noticed recently though, while shopping around to upgrade another TV in the house that Sony TV's are now on price par with competing Samsung models. They're a little better build quality too.

[Bush]

OLED was a great technical leap but the demmand is not their and the price is to high. They might shelf this tv for now and wait for the price to come down then they might produce it again.

[fantasygamer]

maybe an OLED psp2 will come out in a year or two it would help drop the price of the OLED tech i think

[Corrwin]

Let alone "better" HDTVs. The next hurdle will be selling 3D-compatible sets to the masses.

[feelintheflow]

Most cable companies in smaller towns only have 20-30 channels in hd, so people go out and buy a 52 inch lcd and 80 channels look like junk and the 20-30 are good. Directv and dish have tons of hd channels but cable still outweighs them as far as market share. Your big cities have cable that has a ton of hd channels as well, but we all don't live in the big cities, in fact the majority don't. I can guarantee that my mom will never buy a big hdtv until her local cable company has the majority of her channels in hd. She came to my house and we were watching some stupid show she likes, my cable doesn't have it in hd, and she couldn't beleive how bad it looked on my 52 inch lcd.

[Corrwin]

The TV companies have really dropped the ball. Not only does the analogue to digital switch-over actually reduce the power of the transmission (more people getting graphical artefacts in their shows), but also they've barely developed any HD channels.

It's not a deal braker for me since I'd much rather watch a TV series with a dvd boxset or soemthing, but I can see why there's not much point for the rest of the world to go HD if their favourite channels couldn't care much for it.

[ballsofsteel]

i'm guessing sony will probably keep researching OLED technology to make it cheaper and get bigger screens. this really isn't the economy to introduce luxury electronic products. If sony can price their OLED tv relative to LCD's i'm sure OLED tv's can and will succeed it just takes time

[air1]

i seen the samsung oled in action and damn it looks good but that price sure as hell didnt.

will the day ever come when a new tv is affordable day 1? i mean c'mon 8 grand! its like tv's are trying to compete with cars and houses. with 8 grand down on a house or car you get great monthly payments and a real good interest rate.

[bunfighterii]

Yeah I know! But TV prices drop so much every year. LED TV's which were hyper expensive last year are now in the affordable range.

[Wrathman]

wotS OLED? Id honest to gawd never heard of that. i've heard of LED.

[Marty8370]

simply an amazing picture. OLED has a contrast ratio of 1mill: 1. Also they were ultra thin, to boot. Just first sets had a high price tag and a 11" size limit.

http://electronics.howstuff...

OLED looks miles better than LED.

[voice_of_ reason]

OLED tv's are coming, just not in the next few years. Give them about 5-7 years. Sony, like others above mentioned, was a little early putting their tv on the market. OLED manufacturing are currently unable to keep up with demand as it is (is smaller devices like phones and mp3 players). Kodak sold off it's tech to LG and Samsung is the worlds largest OLED manufacturer... so OLED tv's are coming. Remember how much the first plasma tv cost? WAY TOO MUCH! OLED tech might also replace current light bulbs... in other words, too much potential in OLED for it to fade away, as some think.

[SKUD]

Prices are WAY to high.

[ForROME]

Well I dont think its nobody WANTS I think its at this time because of price and production, no one NEEDS oled, LEDs are fine.

[dredgewalker]

I guess its not yet time for oled tv. People are just upgrading from sd tv to lcd and led since they've become cheaper.

[Gimped Hardware]

In this case it will be the PS3's turn soon - i mean how can a console wipe out all the profits from it's two forebears so quickly?!?!?!

Come on Sony - scrap the PS3 and give us a console to be proud of with decent exclusives and a decent online

[Pennywise]

Even apparently minor trauma to the head can lead to brain injury that can have a profound and debilitating affect on people?s lives Mild head trauma can leave the victim outwardly unaffected, often brain injury goes unnoticed, and in many cases this can mean that brain injury is either misdiagnosed or left untreated
Even apparently minor trauma to the head can lead to brain injury that can have a profound and debilitating affect on people?s lives. Mild head trauma can leave the victim outwardly unaffected, often brain injury goes unnoticed, and in many cases this can mean that brain injury is either misdiagnosed or left untreated. Analysing brain function is a complex process and it can be difficult to ascertain the long-term effects of head injury in the immediate aftermath of an accident, especially when there appear to be no obvious short-term affects on the victim?s health.

Brain injuries are usually categorised as mild, moderate or severe with the diagnosis depending on various factors including whether you lost consciousness, whether you lost your memory or whether there was any noticeable neurological damage such as loss of motor co-ordination, loss of sensory perception or affected speech. While both moderate and severe brain injury are usually accompanied with attendant symptoms evident in the immediate aftermath of a head trauma, mild brain injury can be more insidious and difficult to diagnose.

Unfortunately untreated brain injuries can lead to long-term or lasting effects on the physical, mental or emotional well being of the victim. One of the major problems with diagnosis is that symptoms may appear totally unrelated to the initial injury. For example, physical effects of brain injury can manifest in a huge variety of ways including stiffness in muscles, muscle weakness, dizziness or difficulty with balance, clumsiness, migraines or headaches, tiredness and fatigue right through to more dramatic symptoms such as seizures, loss of sight or hearing, loss of speech, stuttering and falling over.

Mental problems, or cognitive deficits, could also appear, lasting for short or long periods of time. You may begin to forget things or become confused in what used to be common places or situations. Your attention could become difficult or you could begin to process information a lot slower than you used too. Sometimes people lose the ability to read or write as the brain coordinates neuro motor activities, such as hand/eye coordination, and the relation between seen objects and making sense of those objects.

Emotional difficulties can also occur and these are perhaps some of the most complex long-term effects of untreated brain injures. It is often difficult to determine whether the fact that someone once calm and peaceful, is now irritable and tense, is due to the head accident they suffered.

There could possibly be mood swings, you may find yourself laughing or crying at strange and unusual things. Someone with an untreated injury causing emotional problems may even begin to act inappropriately in social situations.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the long-term affects of head injury can cause serious impact on the victim?s life, and can lead to loss of earnings and the need for medical care. If the head injury was caused through no fault of your own then you may be able to make a claim for damages. Brain injury is a complex area and can have wide-reaching affects on a person?s life, therefore it is advisable to talk to a specialist brain injury lawyer who can guide you through the complexities of making a claim.

[Marty8370]

Your a prick, Why don't you sod of and play your Crapbox.

O dear is it in the repair shop.

Jump Out, Play B3yond

[Azurite]

OLED tech is cheap to produce if they just put some effort into it.
It's possible to -print- it.

[Crystallis]

LMAO...dude that cracked me the hell up...

[Pennywise]

At this point it is the only acceptable explanation.

[mcnablejr]

Otherwise.. Oh Gawd.

[Pennywise]

Just a little tid bit from the speech I give around the country when I am touring... lol

Yes, copy and pasted the first article I found on long term effects of head trauma. That dude has brain damage.

[mcnablejr]

Sony: first at the start line, last at the finish line.

Other companies will pull off the same tech and destroy sony's sales, thats advertising/marketing for you.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

OLED tv is simply too expensive. Too ahead of its time. When they get OLED tvs to hit mass market price (you can be sure it will be integrated to 3dTV's) then you can bet people will flock to it.

[BenderDGreat82]

I have a Sony 46" 120hz LCD tv and I couldn't be happier. I'm not much a fan of the idea of 3DTV and was more excited about OLED but man, $2300 for an 11 inch OLED...I'm scared to imagine how much a 46" would be. They mentioned above that the technology was ahead of its time and maybe it is, but for the most part, current TV's are unbelievable and they're only getting cheaper. I'd give it another 5 years for OLED to make an honest comeback before I can consider upgrading from my tv.

[madjedi]

I would guess $1500-2k for a 46 oled, figure the price of a high end sony or samsung 46 inch tv + or - $200, thats one of the biggest obstacles with oled tvs, they cant make anything over 13 inches for retail atm. The other 2 are manufacturing cost and screen lifetime, i really hope this technology comes out in the next 5 yrs or so.

To all the guys saying they will never get an oled tv, how many of you used the old tvs, where to change the channel all 10 of them, you pressed a button on the front of the tv?

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Ouch. Just more bad news for an already troubling company in Sony.

[Kyur4ThePain]

They designed, manufactured and offered a product. The sales weren't there, so they stop offering it.

That is the right thing to do. It is something some other companies should do with their less successful products, but they prefer to pour money into a dark pit while beating their chest by shouting out unimportant numbers.

Oh...I just noticed I'm replying to Halo3. Never mind.

[bunfighterii]

I'll tell you why- the thing has a smaller screen than a laptop, the resolution is sub-hd, and it costs $8000.

Who the hell would buy that?

[THUNDERMARE]

OLED is so cool

[ReBurn]

OLED is cool, but way too expensive right now. I think the fashionable TV's right now are the LED backlit plasma and LCD displays. The latest Samsungs have awesome picture quality and are only 1.2 inches thick. Although these models are pretty pricey, they aren't as pricey as OLED.