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SED's dead, baby: Canon abandons development of new HDTVs, we take a look back
Oh, surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED). We still remember the halcyon days of 2005 when we first laid eyes upon your black as a CRT / thin as a plasma or LCD self, and equally recognize the pain of each false start and delay that followed, each leading up to today's announcement by Canon that it is abandoning SED HDTVs entirely. It had held out hope as late as last spring that the technology could have a future in professional displays, but Japan's The Nikkei reports it simply couldn't bring down costs enough. There's still the possibility for a future in "image diagnostic equipment" but all those prototypes will never see the light of mass production. Check after the break for some of the highlights along the way, or just to imagine what might have been if not for lawsuits and technical issues.
Canon wins SED lawsuit, can produce SED displays again
It's been a while since we've heard about Canon's legal troubles with SED, but it sounds like things are taking a turn for the better -- the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Canon had not broken its contract with Nano-Proprietary (now called Applied Nanotech Holdings) since Canon is now the sole owner of its previous joint venture with Toshiba, SED Inc. The court also reinstated Canon's license to the SED tech, but since Canon stopped working on the tech last year, it'll probably be a while before we see any SED displays actually show up. We'll see how it goes down -- hopefully those rumors of a skunkworks SED project inside Canon will make this all seem like a bad dream someday.[Thanks, Alex]
Canon said to be developing own tech for SED TV production
After being hampered by habitual delays both legal and technical, it looks like the long-awaited über-tech of the display world may finally be on the cusp of reaching market, as Canon is reportedly developing a way to build surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TVs without using contentious IP. Specifically, Japanese newspaper Asahi is reporting -- without citing sources -- that Canon is working on a "non-carbon" method of producing the sets that bypasses the Nano-Proprietary patents at the heart of that lawsuit. Still no hint on when we'll actually be able to install one of these models in our home theater, but the promise of unrivaled black levels, brightness, and contrast could well have us drinking the SED Kool-Aid for years to come.[Via Bloomberg, thanks Dr. MORO]
SED televisions delayed, again -- possibly forever
Damn, not another SED television delay. Yup, Canon and Toshiba just announced the postponement of the "late 2007" launch of their SED televisions citing the prolonged patent lawsuit with Nano-Proprietary as the reason. Presumably, Canon is in no mood to strike a new licensing agreement with both Nano-Proprietary and Toshiba as required by a previous ruling which sided with Nano-Proprietary. Wait, it gets worse. Not only has the litigation delayed the launch of Toshiba's 55-incher with 100,000:1 contrast, Canon also announced that they've stopped work on the technologies required to bring production costs down to that of LCDs and plasmas. That calls into question the commercial viability of the technology in the long run. Whatever, we've had it, we're turning our attention to OLED -- hear that Sony and Toshiba? You'd better not let us down.
Canon SED fraud case dismissed
Nano-Proprietary's fraud lawsuit against Canon in a Texas court has been dismissed, with a jury saying no damages had been sustained, since no products have actually shipped. Nano-Proprietary holds patents to some of the technology behind SED, and licensed it to Canon in 1999. Canon then brought Toshiba in as a manufacturing partner, and Nano filed suit. Now that all claims against Canon USA have been dropped, Canon doesn't have to pay any additional damages to Nano beyond the price of the original license -- but because the original SED patent licensing agreements with Canon have also been scrapped, rights to build the next-generation television have to be negotiated all over again.[Via TG Daily]
Judge favors Nano-Proprietary in Canon licensing quandary
We all had high hopes that SED TVs wouldn't become another case of "what could have been," but unfortunately for everyone, things aren't looking too bright right about now. Last we heard, Canon was reportedly all set to buy out Toshiba's display stake, theoretically squashing Nano-Proprietary's claim that licensing agreements would be breached if Tosh remained in the mix, but it seems that things just can't be so easy. A federal judge has now ruled that Canon "violated its agreement with Texas-based Nano-Proprietary by forming a joint television venture with Toshiba," and while "damages still need to be determined," it's fairly clear who will come out the victor in this scenario. Still, this just appears to be yet another snag in the development of new nanotube sets, and while we should all just be used to it by now, that glimmer of hope that Canon and Nano-Proprietary "could now develop a new licensing agreement" is still (currently) alive.
Canon set to buy out Toshiba's display stake, SED production in sight?
There's not too many technologies that eventually surfaced after hitting as many snags as these long-awaited SED TVs, but it looks like the final hurdle may finally be overcome. Canon has just announced that it will buy out Toshiba's stake in the pair's joint venture in order to get that pesky Nano-Proprietary patent lawsuit off their collective backs. The lawsuit claimed that its original agreement to license technology to Canon did not extend to Toshiba, thus presenting quite the quandary when Toshiba kept trying to get its SED displays out to showroom floors. SED TV production, however, is still up in the air, as Canon said that prior plans to erect a $1.49 billion manufacturing facility in Japan is now "under review," and an analyst even mentioned that the company might end up "reconsidering growth drivers to replace SED." Nevertheless, Canon is still clinging to the idea of popping out SEDs for now, although it was mentioned that it would be "on a smaller scale," which isn't apt to give these elusive sets any kind of price advantage whenever it lands. Interestingly, Toshiba still stated that if things went smoothly, it would buy some of the manufactured SED displays directly from Canon and throw its own logo on it, theoretically bypassing the lawsuit and simultaneously snubbing Nano-Proprietary. But hey, we've got no qualms with a little joint venture competition, and considering how every other HDTV price is falling through the floor, we'll bet they need it.[Thanks, Greg]
Toshiba SED production hits another snag
Well, it looks like there's more than just "technical issues" holding up production of Toshiba's long-awaited SED TVs and keeping them away from this year's CES, with Japan Today reporting that a US lawsuit may now delay the construction of a plant to produce the high-end TV sets. The suit comes from US-based Nano-Proprietary, which had an agreement with Canon (Toshiba's partner in the SED biz), but apparently is not so keen on Canon sharing its patents with its new best buddy Toshiba. Exactly how much, if any, this latest development will delay Toshiba's planned late 2007 launch of its SED sets remains to be seen, though it sure wouldn't be the first time the launch date got pushed back.
Toshiba's 55-inch SED TV to be a no-show at CES
If you had high hopes of seeing Toshiba's "soon-to-be-released" SED TV showcased at CES in just a few weeks, well, you can probably already read the writing on the wall. Unsurprisingly, the set has seemingly hit another snag on its journey to retail reality, as Toshiba has announced that "technical issues" will keep the 55-inch surface conduction electron emitter display from being present at the show. While another delay hasn't exactly been confirmed, in all likelihood there's yet another one behind the scenes, and it could be due to the tension between Canon (Toshiba's partner) and Nano-Proprietary. Reportedly, the two firms are in "closed-door settlement talks" over licensed technology to be used on SED TVs, and the matters at hand could be forcing Toshiba's hand to hold back at CES. Nevertheless, it's a shame we won't be getting up close and personal with the mystical display in just a few weeks, but Toshiba feels that the issue(s) should be "resolved soon," and insinuated that we'd see a demo here in the States before too long.
