Sharp and Sony tie the knot on LCD HDTV production

The WSJ is reporting that, slightly close to what was rumored, market leaders Sharp and Sony are getting hitched on a joint LCD HDTV panel production business -- not unlike how LG and Philips have LG Display (formerly LG.Philips LCD). While the venture has yet to be named (we'll call it Sharp.Sony for now, why not?), the $3.5 billion plant is under construction right now in Sakai, and is due to open its doors in March 2010 where it will produce as many as 72,000 HDTVs per month. Sharp is slated to own two-thirds of the business with Sony owning the remaining third. [Warning: subscription req'd for read link]

[pete @ Feb 26th 2008 1:54AM]

I wonder what Sony and Sharp will do about banding problems. I have 3 sharps and none have banding but I've read a ton of people complaining of it to the point of returning the unit.

Not a Sharp basher and I love Sony TV's.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Feb 26th 2008 2:53AM]

Yes, all recent Sharp LCD TVs (younger than 3 years old that is), have banding problems: non-uniform backlight. This is NOT visible when watching stationary images, but it is when there is horizontal scrolling and when there are not many colors in a given scene (e.g. credits).

The 2008 LCD line up from Sharp has fewer banding problems than previous models, but the problem is still there.

[ATT @ Feb 26th 2008 2:16AM]

i when for Sony Rear-projection HDTV with 10000:1
why?

contrast ratio i couldn't afford Plasma back then but if i wanted to go for a flat TV I'll go with plasma instead of LCD.

lowest I'll go is 10000:1 anything else it's just bad if u want to watch movies with dark scenes.


Sony - BRAVIA XBR 52 = "true contrast ratio" 2000:1 that's just not good enough/crap. "this a 4k unit at bestbuy"
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8547593&productCategoryId=abcat0101001&type=product&tab=2&id=1188560191488#productdetail

they really have to do something about that

[Josh @ Feb 26th 2008 4:30PM]

You can't really compare contrast ratios, from what I have noticed, since they are not standard and are subjective to the television... You really do need to see the TVs to see what the deal is. For instance the new XBR4/5s have drop dead gorgeous picture qualities (I have a rear projection 60" XBR2 so this is from experience as well.)

[guerilla779 @ Feb 26th 2008 2:21AM]

The Hinomaru initiative

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2008022501938


these guys are gonna gang up and kill korean companies.

[Jordan @ Feb 26th 2008 2:53AM]

Everybody clap your hands for growing monopolies, and large corporations.

[Deluxe @ Feb 26th 2008 4:09AM]

You're telling me these companies are out to make money?! Say it isn't so!

[Josh @ Feb 26th 2008 4:33PM]

Without large corporations pouring money into R&D we wouldn't have a lot of the tech we do today. Get over it.

[Jordan @ Feb 26th 2008 9:18PM]

I say we have another hippie jam like Woodstock.

[Dan @ Feb 26th 2008 6:42AM]

Why isn't it Sony and Toshiba?

[mattclarkie @ Feb 26th 2008 7:47AM]

Despite a few issues Sony TVs are generally very reliable. If Sharp have a serious issue with panels it may not be wise for Sony to be joining up with them. Lets hope that Sony sort out whatever issue Sharp has before using the panels.

I wont be in the market for another TV for atleast 5 years, so I hopefully will be fine.

[Poom @ Feb 26th 2008 8:19AM]

Does this mean Sony produces its own stuff and Sharp produces its own stuff as well, or does it mean that the factory will produce the same stuff but the companies brand differently? I sure hope for the first. I love Sony's TV's...

Meanwhile, I wonder why Sony doesn't make its own production plants...

[primetime4 @ Feb 26th 2008 12:05PM]

This is just the LCD panel so pretty much the glass and substrate. Each company will still make their own televisions including the video processing engine.

[Poom @ Feb 27th 2008 9:02AM]

Thanks man.

[SOCOMRAIDER @ Feb 26th 2008 4:46PM]

Goodbye 40" Bravias, hello 42" Bravias.

[Allen @ Feb 26th 2008 5:30PM]

Whew, good thing I bought my Sony back when Samsung made the screens, I won't have the banding issues (or the hella annoying bad viewing angles). The W3000 is a very nice screen, thank you.

Still, I think the real time to buy is in 2010-2011, when OLED TV becomes standard. What I cannot understand is why Sony is investing this money with Sharp to build LCD's when OLED will be the business of the next decade. If average profit per screen at 72,000 HDTVs a month is $200, then in 3 years the plant will have generated only $518,400,000 in profit. Its true that the plant could actually be upgraded later, but LCD TV is limited in life with OLED to become mainstream by at most 2013.

60,000 hour lifespan? Blue OLEDs now last that long, so check.
Thinner and lighter than LCD? Check
Use less power, have better contrast, and better pixel response? Check.
Ease of production? They are made by what amounts to a giant inkjet printer. Check.

To invest this much in LCD TV now is foolish. The plant will pay for itself, I have no doubt, but this is not about paying for itself its about making money. Sure, I'm undercutting the total profit a little at $200 a unit, but make it $400 a unit and in 3 years the venture would only make a little over a billion dollars in 3 years.

And with shipping, parts, and R&D built in, thats a crazy amount of loss on the factory eventually. I do not like this deal. They need to up the ante into OLED TV for the next decade. LCD is getting to be standard right now, and keeping us waiting isn't going to help returns for investors.

[tekdroid @ Feb 27th 2008 7:11AM]

you must have some insight Sony and Sharp have overlooked before investing 3.5 billion in a new plant.