 Reports out of Japan indicate Panasonic are to quit manufacturing OLED TV’s and “can’t expect to raise profitability amid high production costs,” reports The Japan Times.
The company plans to sell its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) assets to Japan Display Inc, sources have suggested.
Panasonic does not sell OLED TVs in Australia, championing 3D, LCD and 4K Ultra High Definition technologies here, although was a latecomer to the 4K race.
Last year, Panasonic announced it was pulling out of the Plasma TV market.
It is now said to be focusing on developing LCDs screens for non TV products to make money.
Pana’s Audio Visual sales decreased 3% in FY14, but division profit rose 159% to 21.5 billion yen due to sales increase in B to B and business restructuring in TVs and panel businesses.
At CES, in January, the company said OLED panels was part of its future and was using RGB all-printing method of production.
Sony also recently announced plans to “suspend” the development of OLED display screens.
Sony and Panasonic had entered a joint venture in 2012 to develop OLEDs but dissolved the partnership late last year.
Samsung and LG in particular are champions of expensive OLED technology, which has failed to gain major traction among consumers, to date.
LG 55″ OLED costs around $6000 although a 55″ 4K UHD TV from the same brand has dropped to almost half the price of an OLED.
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