[simond83]

FT.com / UK - Canon to launch radical TV after Applied Nanotech drops appeal

Simon

[NicolasB]

Don't hold your breath.

I would still put the chances of there ever being a commercial SED product at less than 50-50.

[1-Format]

Probably, they just DON'T want to do it. Don't upset the apple-cart. I have invested so much in LCD production lines and future OLED lines. So much money. Do you want to upset me?

[AML]

They already said that in this currently bad economy it would be stupid to introduce a new product like SED. It would be niche at best.

Perhaps if it were cheap and clearly better than LCD then perhaps.

But with OLED on the way I doubt SED will ever have that chance.

[McFaber]

My thinking also.
I think is running fast out for SED, as who knows what will be around the corner and in the current economic climate a huge risk....

Is that risk worth taking?


Cannon and whoever was in bed with them at that time should've pulled out all the stops and got the technology or rather their products out in the initial HD boom...

It's a wonderful tech and probably miles ahead of Plasma & LCD in the PQ stakes, but I can't help but think they've missed the boat on this one.

[JoseD]

I disagree. Just look at what the Kurus go for. They can still get a market. They'd have to focus on very high screen sizes though.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by JoseD

I disagree. Just look at what the Kurus go for. They can still get a market.

Yes, but Pioneer has already pulled out of the new-plasma-technology market, hasn't it? All new Pioneer plasmas will be rebadged Panasonic panels.

[eiren]

Originally Posted by NicolasB

Yes, but Pioneer has already pulled out of the new-plasma-technology market, hasn't it? All new Pioneer plasmas will be rebadged Panasonic panels.

I think the next generation Pioneer screens are only going to be using glass/arrays sourced from panasonic. Pioneer will still be responsible for all the internal electronics.

I hope one of the new television formats comes through and addresses flaws in the existing technologies.

[LV426]

We seem to have drifted away from SED towards Plasma here. Can we drift back, please?

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by LV426

We seem to have drifted away from SED towards Plasma here.

With all due respect, LV, we have done nothing of the kind. We're talking about what market sector SED screens might have to target, and hence talking about the market conditions for large-screen flat-panel TVs. At present plasma is the only player in that market sector, and consequently the only tangible evidence we have about the nature of that sector is the commercial performance of present-day plasma devices. We're analysing that data in order to hypothesise in an educated manner about the likely commercial success of SED devices. That is absolutely on-topic.

[LV426]

Perhaps you have a point - taken.

[AML]

If they could release huge SED panels then they might be able to crack that market, but to begin with (as with the first commercial OLED screen) the first panels would probably be smaller (and more expensive) than any plasma thats out right now.

I still think that even if they could get into the large panel market it would still be niche.

Especially with LCD's geting cheaper and larger every year.

At the end of the day, is the average consumer going to notice the difference between an LCD and an SED? (quality wise)

Joe 6 pack looks for things like price, size and thin-nes of a panel.

Not so much at screen quality.

If SED is based off CRT then wont the panels (first ones anyway) be much thicker than the LCD's or even Plasmas we have now?

That is something joe will notice (and not in a good way)

Dont get me wrong, I would love to see SED become a success because I know the tech is sound and in many ways better than LCDs or even Plasmas.

But I just get the feeling it wont happen.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by AML

If SED is based off CRT then wont the panels (first ones anyway) be much thicker than the LCD's or even Plasmas we have now?

No. They're not "based off CRT". They use electron beams to excite phosphors, but a CRT uses a single beam that is deflected by variable amounts to hit each phosphor spot in turn. I say "single": a typical direct-view CRT actually uses 3 beams, one for red dots, one for green and one for blue; but the point is that the beam is scanned across the whole screen. That means the tube has to be long; if it isn't then a tiny deflection in the angle of the beam is enough to make it hit the wrong dot.

SED uses one dedicated electron beam for each dot and there's no steering involved; the source of the beam is practically flat up against the phosphors. So the whole thing is extremely compact. I would expect SED panels to be no thicker than plasmas, possibly slightly thinner.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by AML

At the end of the day, is the average consumer going to notice the difference between an LCD and an SED? (quality wise)

No. But then the average consumer doesn't notice the difference between LCD and plasma either and that hasn't completely destroyed the plasma market; there are some people who are willing to pay more for a bigger, better display. It is plasma that SED will compete against (if it ever launches): big, high-quality, very expensive panels. At the smaller, cheaper end of the market it will be OLED competing with LCD.

[joshua_bond]

An interesting point NicolasB but I reckon for the consumer market neither will exists. There will still be plasma and lcd. sed (and the like e.g. oled) will be in niche markets. Panasonic is already the dominant force in plasma (because of the conslidation) and lcd market will be distributed.

That leave SED and the like. Companies are not going to invest huge money into the market when u can get a decent plasma for 500 quid

[simond83]

From what i recall, SED is hard to manufacture in size's under 40". Big sizes are how this technology works best.

I believe their stratgey will be to market high end screens for front of house displays in reception areas and to professional TV companies, for editing and grading (there are currently no Grade 1 'flat-thin' monitors on the market that can do this at present) video at true 10/12 bit resolutions. If they're clever, they might even make native 4k screens too and then they would just wipe out the competition in one fail swoop.

We'll just have to wait and see what plans they have afoot. I'll keep an eye out from my sources ;-)

Si

[JayAy]

I've seen the prototypes running in 2005 at the Canon Expo in Paris - they were, in the main, very large panels, with fantastic looking PQ although being shown in a relatively low light area. The expectation at that time was that Canon would concentrate on the large panel market with Toshiba looking at the smaller (relatively) domestic use. However things move on and in the three years since, Toshiba has dropped out and the accepted size of domestic panels has increased considerably. If Canon does decide to enter this market, it will be when the economic conditions are right and I'd expect them still to concentrate on the larger, higher value panel market.