Future of TVs at a crossroads

By Kim Yoo-chul

Major television makers, including Korea’s Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, are pondering whether they should rethink their future strategies as their Herculean efforts for Web-enabled televisions to go mainstream have so far produced underwhelming results.

While it’s not a setback likely to threaten Samsung and LG’s leadership in the global television market in 2013, or even in the foreseeable future, company officials are concerned that they have yet to find a real heir to conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) models.

Televisions capable of displaying three-dimensional (3D) content will probably never be more than niche products.

Smart televisions, which enable viewers to access the Web while enjoying conventional broadcasting, reflect sexy technology but the paucity of consumer excitement suggests they are solutions to problems that don’t exist.

``Samsung and LG Electronics have so far been good in televisions and they will be also good next year amid serious difficulties for their main Japanese rivals like Sony. But the Korean firms also seem to be stuck in terms of innovation,’’ said an official from the Korea Electronics Association (KEA).

``Improvements have been made but televisions with organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting technology and stereoscopic capabilities appear to be isolating mainstream consumers with their high prices and lack of content ecosystems.’’

Samsung and LG will both attend the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in the new year, expected to showcase large televisions supporting ultra high definition (UHD) technology. However, officials from the companies admit that the products may prove to be nothing more than ``symbolic.’’

Samsung confirmed that it will showcase a 110-inch UHD television at this year’s CES, and industry insiders believe LG might have a rival product up its sleeve.

``In televisions, Samsung and LG are obsessed with beating each other to the No. 1 title in every category imaginable. That will be the same with UHD televisions at the CES. However, it’s hard to imagine there will be buyers for sets that cost $18,000 to $25,000,’’ said one industry official.

``They have to put these products on display to maintain their reputation in picture quality and display technology. But they won’t be able to find mainstream products from the products they will be taking to Las Vegas.

Samsung and LG choosing to call their new technology UHD is awkward as well. Japanese broadcaster NHK is using the same term to describe their broadcasts for super-high vision televisions built on 8,000 pixel displays, compared to conventional 4,000 pixel models.

The new format, regardless of whether it is right to call it UHD, is expected to be crippled by lack of content and the expansive hard drives consumers will have to buy to watch movies in that definition.

``Samsung will use UHD displays for a 110-inch TV supplied by Chinese maker BOE. This panel doesn’t support 3D functionality,’’ said one high-ranking industry executive, adding that Samsung’s decision to use panels from cheaper Chinese companies show its sense of urgency.

Samsung has bought 110-inch LCD panels from another Chinese firm, Shenzhen-based CSOT. The display uses LG’s in-plane switching (IPS) technology not Samsung’s own vertical alignment (VA) format, said the executive.

Samsung representatives said they will showcase various UHD televisions at the CES, though they declined to comment about the recent display purchases from Chinese companies.

LG Electronics is planning to exhibit an 84-inch UHD TV but company officials say UHD screens for that size TV are supplied by affiliate LG Display.

``Samsung needs to be practical and I can say LG needs to invest more for content for next-generation TVs. By sticking to hardware-related products, they can’t innovate. But hardware is the thing the Korean firmss can boast of. That’s why they are facing an innovation trap,’’ said the KEA official.