OLED could be bad news for UHD progress
October 25, 2017
By Chris Forrester
IHS Technology’s Media & Technology Digest, in its latest October edition, suggests that OLED displays, while being seen as “better” technology by consumers, could actually inhibit UHD, as consumers will wait for technology that has severe supply constraints.
IHS says the past year or so has seen a complete reversal in the balance of UHD technologies. In 2015, for example, South Korea’s LG Electronics was almost alone in promoting OLED technology while its rivals were all firmly behind LCD. Now, says IHS, “It is the opposite. Most premium brands have OLED in their top spots, with Samsung alone pushing LCD as a high-end solution.”
Report authors Paul Gagnon (Director) and Paul Gray (Principal Analyst) say that they believe that LCD can get “very, very close to OLED performance. What matters is the effect in the TV set market. Consistent marketing messages on OLED are beginning to have consequences in consumer perception. OLED is beginning to be viewed as distinctly ‘better’ technology for consumers.”
The report says that OLED will be unable to grow rapidly as the technology is physically limited by capacity, and the consequence of consumer popularity inhibits the emergence of true UHD displays using LCD.