_Is LG trying to tell us something about their OLED TVs?
There has been some speculation in reference to LG Electronics’ (066570.KS) OLED TV lineup for 2017 in the trade press lately, with the focus on a 55” demo TV that LG showed last year, dubbed a ‘wallpaper’ TV, as it is extremely thin (3.65mm or 0.1437”), very light (5.5kg or 12.125 lbs – avg. 55” TV weighs between 36 and 40 lbs.) and flexible. The speculation is that LG will be releasing such a TV at CES as they have posted a short ‘teaser’ (https://youtu.be/5usEIbDjQqc) that shows a sheet being lifted to expose the words “See the next, January 4, 2017”. Given that the sheet being lifted looks like a piece of thin paper, speculation that the next LG TV will be a ‘paper-thin’ OLED TV, such as they have demoed in the past.
In November, LG posted a video titled “LG’s Wallpaper OLED Signage Installation Guide” for what is basically the ‘wallpaper TV’, as part of their digital signage offerings. The 9 minute video explains how to unpack and install the OLED display (model 55EJ5C) in a commercial setting, giving a bit more detail about the product than the typical spec sheet. Additionally, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an organization that certifies CE products that contain wi-fi communication capabilities, released certification for ~50 LG OLED TVs, and while there are many duplicates and regional varieties, there were some interesting changes that were noted, the most significant being the 2017 “W” configuration, which likely stands for “wallpaper TV”.
The basics as to the ‘signage’ model shown in the video (55EJ5C) are below, although this does not included the signage box, which contains the electronics and connectors needed to run the unit:
While the video gives a fairly detailed look at the display as part of the installation, it does give the indication that the display is flexible enough to bend when being attached to the wall frame, a bit less than the original demo photo (fig. 1) from May 2015 might have indicated, which was said to be less than 1mm thick and weighed 1.9 kg, but seemingly ‘bendable’. Given that the specs above, which are from LG Electronics, not LG Display (LPL) are a bit more oriented toward commercial use, particularly the surface treatment[i] and weight, and would indicate either a newer version of last year’s demo, or a more ‘ruggedized’ housing.
LG’s current Signature OLED TV line consists of two models, the OLED65G6P[ii] and the OLED77G6P, with the 55” OLED TV relegated to the “E” model line, a lower spec model, which also includes a 65” model. They also provide “C” versions, which are curved, and “B” versions, which are the entry priced units. Prices[iii] range from $19,999 for the 77” Signature model to the $2,499 low-end model (although it can be purchased for ~$1,459 on-line), with 2015 models still available at some dealers.
While LG does not offer its ‘wallpaper’ display on its commercial signage product page yet, we would expect that the installation video was produced with the idea that the unit will be offered to commercial customers in the near future. The commercial signage market would likely be able to absorb the higher cost of production, as we would expect relatively low yields (relative to rigid or curved OLED displays) when the product is put into production. Of course, the real attraction for such a display would be the retail market, and while OLED TVs are still a relatively small percentage (<1% of units) of the total TV market, and capacity is limited to one commercial-volume producer, such a device would certainly catch the eye of the tech press and even as just a novelty, would wind up in the man-cave of every NBA & NFL player regardless of the price, and to make things even less clear, LG has stated that they will unveil a new OLED TV with an “exclusive hardware platform” at CES 2017, that “only LG can produce”.
The real issue however, is how many units could LG make? The display, which is made by subsidiary LG Display would have to be produced either on a low volume pilot line or on a line that is probably being used for rigid OLED TV production or is being built for same. While this is certainly a possibility, it would likely reduce the unit volume output that LGD has earmarked for rigid OLED TV production this year, both from parent LG Electronics and other customers, such as Sony (SNE), Panasonic (6752.JP), and Skyworth (751.HK). The other consideration being the cost to produce such a device, which would likely be, especially at the onset of production, higher than LG’s rigid OLED TVs. Given that LGD is currently above break-even (on an EBITDA basis) for its OLED TV panel production, a large number of ‘wallpaper’ TVs could depress their push to stay in such a profitable mode, or they could limit the number of units to a relatively small amount to lower the overall cost impact.
Whatever the choice by LG, it will probably be announced at CES this week, with a tremendous amount of follow-up fanfare, but the true test will be whether they announce a retail release date and if so, whether it will be available outside of South Korea and when. We expect LG to make such a product available in limited quantities by March 2017, at least in South Korea, with eventual migration to China, which tends to be the best market for new display technologies. The price of such a product will depend on size and how much of the cost LGE is expecting to recover, with current Signature 77” and 65” OLED products selling for $12,239/m2 and $6,870/m2 of display area respectively. The concept however, is a good indication as to the ability of OLED to be used to produce display modalities that have not been available using other display technologies, and as such, will change the way consumers view content over the next few years. As noted previously, LG Display will also focus its CES publicity machine on automotive OLED displays, including free-form, transparent, and mirrored displays, while highlighting their plastic-based QHD 5.5” smartphone and smartwatch displays.
[i] Hardness in this case is indicated by the ‘pencil’ scale, with 8H – 9H being tempered glass and 1H- 2H being PET plastic films used for inexpensive screen protectors. At 2H, the coating material would have little effect on the flexibility of the display itself.
[ii] LG’s new ‘model coding’ system would show that these sets are OLED (used to be indicated by the letter ‘E’), with a screen size of 65” or 77”. The ‘G’ indicates the model, the ‘6’ indicates 2016 production year, and the last letter indicates the type of TV tuner being used, in this case a standard ATSC tuner.
[iii] Suggested Price
In November, LG posted a video titled “LG’s Wallpaper OLED Signage Installation Guide” for what is basically the ‘wallpaper TV’, as part of their digital signage offerings. The 9 minute video explains how to unpack and install the OLED display (model 55EJ5C) in a commercial setting, giving a bit more detail about the product than the typical spec sheet. Additionally, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an organization that certifies CE products that contain wi-fi communication capabilities, released certification for ~50 LG OLED TVs, and while there are many duplicates and regional varieties, there were some interesting changes that were noted, the most significant being the 2017 “W” configuration, which likely stands for “wallpaper TV”.
The basics as to the ‘signage’ model shown in the video (55EJ5C) are below, although this does not included the signage box, which contains the electronics and connectors needed to run the unit:
While the video gives a fairly detailed look at the display as part of the installation, it does give the indication that the display is flexible enough to bend when being attached to the wall frame, a bit less than the original demo photo (fig. 1) from May 2015 might have indicated, which was said to be less than 1mm thick and weighed 1.9 kg, but seemingly ‘bendable’. Given that the specs above, which are from LG Electronics, not LG Display (LPL) are a bit more oriented toward commercial use, particularly the surface treatment[i] and weight, and would indicate either a newer version of last year’s demo, or a more ‘ruggedized’ housing.
LG’s current Signature OLED TV line consists of two models, the OLED65G6P[ii] and the OLED77G6P, with the 55” OLED TV relegated to the “E” model line, a lower spec model, which also includes a 65” model. They also provide “C” versions, which are curved, and “B” versions, which are the entry priced units. Prices[iii] range from $19,999 for the 77” Signature model to the $2,499 low-end model (although it can be purchased for ~$1,459 on-line), with 2015 models still available at some dealers.
While LG does not offer its ‘wallpaper’ display on its commercial signage product page yet, we would expect that the installation video was produced with the idea that the unit will be offered to commercial customers in the near future. The commercial signage market would likely be able to absorb the higher cost of production, as we would expect relatively low yields (relative to rigid or curved OLED displays) when the product is put into production. Of course, the real attraction for such a display would be the retail market, and while OLED TVs are still a relatively small percentage (<1% of units) of the total TV market, and capacity is limited to one commercial-volume producer, such a device would certainly catch the eye of the tech press and even as just a novelty, would wind up in the man-cave of every NBA & NFL player regardless of the price, and to make things even less clear, LG has stated that they will unveil a new OLED TV with an “exclusive hardware platform” at CES 2017, that “only LG can produce”.
The real issue however, is how many units could LG make? The display, which is made by subsidiary LG Display would have to be produced either on a low volume pilot line or on a line that is probably being used for rigid OLED TV production or is being built for same. While this is certainly a possibility, it would likely reduce the unit volume output that LGD has earmarked for rigid OLED TV production this year, both from parent LG Electronics and other customers, such as Sony (SNE), Panasonic (6752.JP), and Skyworth (751.HK). The other consideration being the cost to produce such a device, which would likely be, especially at the onset of production, higher than LG’s rigid OLED TVs. Given that LGD is currently above break-even (on an EBITDA basis) for its OLED TV panel production, a large number of ‘wallpaper’ TVs could depress their push to stay in such a profitable mode, or they could limit the number of units to a relatively small amount to lower the overall cost impact.
Whatever the choice by LG, it will probably be announced at CES this week, with a tremendous amount of follow-up fanfare, but the true test will be whether they announce a retail release date and if so, whether it will be available outside of South Korea and when. We expect LG to make such a product available in limited quantities by March 2017, at least in South Korea, with eventual migration to China, which tends to be the best market for new display technologies. The price of such a product will depend on size and how much of the cost LGE is expecting to recover, with current Signature 77” and 65” OLED products selling for $12,239/m2 and $6,870/m2 of display area respectively. The concept however, is a good indication as to the ability of OLED to be used to produce display modalities that have not been available using other display technologies, and as such, will change the way consumers view content over the next few years. As noted previously, LG Display will also focus its CES publicity machine on automotive OLED displays, including free-form, transparent, and mirrored displays, while highlighting their plastic-based QHD 5.5” smartphone and smartwatch displays.
[i] Hardness in this case is indicated by the ‘pencil’ scale, with 8H – 9H being tempered glass and 1H- 2H being PET plastic films used for inexpensive screen protectors. At 2H, the coating material would have little effect on the flexibility of the display itself.
[ii] LG’s new ‘model coding’ system would show that these sets are OLED (used to be indicated by the letter ‘E’), with a screen size of 65” or 77”. The ‘G’ indicates the model, the ‘6’ indicates 2016 production year, and the last letter indicates the type of TV tuner being used, in this case a standard ATSC tuner.
[iii] Suggested Price
Screen Size: 55"
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Brightness: 100 - 400 nits
Color Gamut: 108%
Color Depth: 10 bit (1.07b colors)
Response Time: 1ms
Surface Treatment : Hard coated
Lifetime: 30,000 hours
Operation Hours: 18 Hrs/Day/7 days/week
Dimensions:49" x 27.75" (approx)
Weight: 5.5 kg (12.125 lbs)
Internal Memory: 64 Gb
Source: LG
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Brightness: 100 - 400 nits
Color Gamut: 108%
Color Depth: 10 bit (1.07b colors)
Response Time: 1ms
Surface Treatment : Hard coated
Lifetime: 30,000 hours
Operation Hours: 18 Hrs/Day/7 days/week
Dimensions:49" x 27.75" (approx)
Weight: 5.5 kg (12.125 lbs)
Internal Memory: 64 Gb
Source: LG
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