Beating the EU Regs?
As we have noted, the EU will implement strict power consumption rules in March that would disqualify 8K Micro-LED and OED/LCD TVs from being sold in EU countries. Under the new regulations the power consumption of 8K TV sets, as they currently stand, would not qualify under the regulations and could not be sold in EU countries. While the power consumption of control and driving circuitry for each sub-pixel in both 4K and 8K TVs is small, there are 24.88m sub-pixels in a 4K TV and 99.53m in an 8K TV, which makes even this basic power consumption math simple to understand, although TV set brands do little to help consumers understand TV set power consumption, with many stating only a ‘predicted amount of electricity needed to operate the product under average conditions for one year’, without specifying the number of hours.
Simple comparisons between 4K and 8K sets (same series, same size, same brand) indicate that total energy consumption for some sets can be as high as 3.3x for 8K, while others show a more reasonable 2.0 to 2.5x ratio. Regardless of the numbers, the EU seems to be holding steadfast to the new rules and thus far has not even granted a hearing where TV brands could plead their case. That said, LG Display (LPL) has taken matters into their own hands and announced its 3rd generation OLED display panel, which combines Micro-Lens technology and a new ‘brightness enhancing algorithm’ with last year’s ‘Ex Technology’ which swaps the strong atomic bonds of Deuterium (aka Heavy Hydrogen) for those of Hydrogen in a number of materials in the OLED stack. According to LGD, the combination will improve panel energy efficiency by 22% at the same brightness level.
If those specs prove out, LG Display OLED panels would be able to operate under the new EU requirements, allowing products made with such panels to be sold in EU countries. While LGD’s 55”, 65” and 77” 4K panels will use the new technology, the most important application will be for the company’s 77” and 88” 8K panels and is expected to push the technology toward its 97” OLED panel in 2024. The company indicated that mass production of the updated panels will begin some time this year, which we expect will begin in 1Q, at least on a limited basis, as each of the company’s OLED TV panel fabs will have to make production process changes and requalify designs. That said, unless similar power efficiencies are found for LCD and Micro-LED 8K sets, OLED will rule the European 8K market for at least a portion of 2023, although with less than 400,000 8K units expected to have been sold in both eastern and western Europe last year, it is still a very small market that is struggling to grow..
Simple comparisons between 4K and 8K sets (same series, same size, same brand) indicate that total energy consumption for some sets can be as high as 3.3x for 8K, while others show a more reasonable 2.0 to 2.5x ratio. Regardless of the numbers, the EU seems to be holding steadfast to the new rules and thus far has not even granted a hearing where TV brands could plead their case. That said, LG Display (LPL) has taken matters into their own hands and announced its 3rd generation OLED display panel, which combines Micro-Lens technology and a new ‘brightness enhancing algorithm’ with last year’s ‘Ex Technology’ which swaps the strong atomic bonds of Deuterium (aka Heavy Hydrogen) for those of Hydrogen in a number of materials in the OLED stack. According to LGD, the combination will improve panel energy efficiency by 22% at the same brightness level.
If those specs prove out, LG Display OLED panels would be able to operate under the new EU requirements, allowing products made with such panels to be sold in EU countries. While LGD’s 55”, 65” and 77” 4K panels will use the new technology, the most important application will be for the company’s 77” and 88” 8K panels and is expected to push the technology toward its 97” OLED panel in 2024. The company indicated that mass production of the updated panels will begin some time this year, which we expect will begin in 1Q, at least on a limited basis, as each of the company’s OLED TV panel fabs will have to make production process changes and requalify designs. That said, unless similar power efficiencies are found for LCD and Micro-LED 8K sets, OLED will rule the European 8K market for at least a portion of 2023, although with less than 400,000 8K units expected to have been sold in both eastern and western Europe last year, it is still a very small market that is struggling to grow..
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