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OLED TVs to Arrive This Year But Won't Make Huge Splash

A new report from NPD DisplaySearch points to a slow start for OLED TV shipments in 2012.

November 5, 2012

Despite excitement from OLED (organic light emitting diode) TV makers, it is unlikely the new display market will take off this year.

According to NPD DisplaySearch, the sets will likely be available only in small volumes by the end of 2012 — not exactly the kind of returns for which manufacturers Samsung and LG Electronics were hoping.

and 55-inch OLED TVs at this year's CES, with the sets expected to be available in time for the London summer Olympics. But mass production challenges and high projected retail prices slowed the process, and the TVs were still in the demo phase by the time the rolled around.

OLED TV panel makers and set manufacturers, NPD said, are still targeting commercialization this year, but are only expected to ship 500 sets by year's end. That is small in comparison to the total TV market, but the fact that they're actually - finally - shipping "will be an important breakthrough," NPD said.

"If we do see OLED TVs hit the market within 2012, the shipments will be used primarily for retail demonstrations in developed regions like North America and Europe," NPD DisplaySearch vice president David Hsieh said in a statement.

LCD TVs, he added, are currently the focus of the market, and widely available, so OLED TVs need to make a statement and "demonstrate its technical superiority," Hsieh said.

It won't be an easy road for OLED TVs, though. NPD points to technical challenges with making 55-inch panels, as well as high retail prices, staring around $10,000 for a 55-inch OLED TV.

There's also the possibility of competition from 4K TVs - or - which also made a splash at IFA this year. For more, see PCMag's at the show.

Neither LG nor Samsung immediately responded to a request for comment.

DisplaySearch expects OLED TV shipments to pass one million units by 2014, when a number of Asian manufacturers will begin AMOLED TV panel production. By 2016, OLED penetration will exceed 3 percent, NPD said.