LG大舉開發可彎曲顯示面板技術

LG Display, the world’s second-biggest flat-panel display maker, is betting big on large-scale OLED television panels, brushing aside industry scepticism about the chances of the technology displacing mainstream liquid crystal display.

全球第二大平板顯示器製造商樂金顯示(LG Display)正在向大尺寸有機發光二極管(OLED)電視平板顯示器投入重注。至於業界對這種技術能否代替主流液晶顯示(LCD)技術的懷疑，該公司毫不在意。

OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, panels use ultra-thin, lighter technology to produce higher picture quality and lower power consumption than LCD screens. They feature on Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

與LCD屏幕相比，OLED面板使用更輕的超薄技術，生成圖像的畫質更高，耗電量更低。三星電子(Samsung Electronics)的Galaxy智能手機和平板電腦上就採用了這種面板。

LG aims to steal a march in the potentially lucrative market on crosstown South Korean rival and world leader Samsung Display, which is instead focusing on improving LCD panels for ultra high-definition TVs.

LG此舉的目的是在這個可能帶來豐厚盈利的市場上搶佔先機，超過同城的韓國對手、全球業界領袖三星顯示(Samsung Display)。後者的戰略與LG不同，他們把主要精力放在了改善LCD面板以適應超高清電視的需要上。

The diverging strategies reflect the mixed views about the future of OLED technology, long touted by industry watchers as a potential game-changer for the $94bn global TV industry but which remains clouded by doubts about its commercial value because of high production costs and technological challenges.

兩種截然不同的戰略表明，人們對OLED技術的未來的看法可謂喜憂參半。長期以來，業內觀察家對OLED技術大加讚揚，稱這種技術可能會改變940億美元規模的全球電視製造業。然而，這種預期由於人們對其商業價值的疑慮而一直不甚明朗，原因是這種技術生產成本過高，技術上也面臨諸多挑戰。

Behind LG’s aggressive investment to expand OLED production capacity lies the belief that demand for OLED TVs will take off once they are more affordable.

促使LG以激進投資方式擴大OLED產能的，是這樣一種信念：只要OLED電視機成本再降一些，它們就會蓬勃發展起來。

“LCD has no future. The Chinese can make even ultra high-definition TVs at lower costs,” says Oh Chang-ho, senior vice-president of LG’s OLED TV development division. “We cannot win this price war. For survival, we have to make products that they cannot make.”

LG OLED電視研發部門資深副總裁吳昌鎬(Oh Chang-ho，音譯)表示：“LCD毫無前途。中國人能以更低的成本製造超高清電視。這種價格戰我們是打不贏的。爲了生存，我們必須生產他們製造不了的產品。”

Sony launched the world’s first commercial OLED TV in 2007 but the Japanese company was surpassed by Korean rivals. However, mass producing large OLED TVs is difficult and more costly. Samsung and LG rolled out 55-inch full-HD (high definition) curved OLED TVs last year but the hefty price tag – roughly $15,000 – deterred consumers.

2007年，索尼(Sony)曾推出全球首款商業級OLED電視，但是這家日本企業很快就被韓國對手超過。不過，OLED電視的大規模生產十分困難，成本也更高。三星和LG去年曾推出55英寸的全高清曲面OLED電視，不過大約1.5萬美元的高昂標價嚇住了消費者。

LG reckons it is finally in a position to cut costs, thanks to breakthroughs to boost production efficiency and resolve colour distortions. It plans to introduce curved ultra high-definition OLED TVs as large as 77 inches this year.

LG判斷，由於在提高生產效率和解決色彩失真方面取得的突破，該公司最終走到了降低生產成本這一步。今年，該公司計劃推出尺寸高達77英寸的超高清OLED電視。

The company is convinced OLED can breathe new life into consumer demand because the technology, best suited for flexible display, allows TVs to be made in all sorts of shapes. OLED panels are easier to bend than LCDs because they work without a backlight.

LG確信OLED會爲消費者需求注入新的活力，因爲這種最適合軟性顯示器的技術令電視能做成各種形狀。OLED顯示面板比LCD更易於彎曲，原因是這種面板工作時不需要背光源。

LG has recently developed an 18-inch rollable OLED panel as well as the same-size transparent OLED panel and is confident that it can develop an UltraHD flexible and transparent OLED panel of more than 60 inches by 2017.

LG最近開發了一種18英寸的可滾動OLED面板，以及一種同樣尺寸的透明OLED面板。該公司對於在2017年前開發一種尺寸超過60英寸、柔性透明超高清OLED顯示面板信心十足。

But LG is in the minority with its confidence in the budding technology. Its rivals remain sidelined by concerns that OLED may go the way of plasma – once promising technology that has been expensive to develop and ultimately not widely adopted.

不過，LG對於這種初創技術的信心在業內並不多見。它的對手依然對此採取觀望態度，因爲他們擔心OLED可能會走上等離子體顯示技術的老路——這種技術曾經很有前途，卻由於其開發過於昂貴而最終沒有得到廣泛應用。

Samsung Display has opted to push the technological boundaries of LCD panels with high-margin ultra high-definition TVs capable of displaying four times the resolution of existing HD TVs.

目前，爲擴大產量降低成本，LG還在努力將更多OLED顯示面板銷售給歐洲和日本的電視機生產商，以及中國的創維(Skyworth)、康佳(Konka)和長虹(Changhong)。該公司把目標對準了中國日益富裕的中產階級，它認爲中國市場是它成功的關鍵。

It has decided to produce small OLED panels instead of large ones at its new South Korean plant coming on stream next year. Sony and Panasonic have both pulled out of the market, abandoning their OLED TV joint venture in December. Cracking the cost formula for large OLED TVs remains the key challenge. LG says its production efficiency ratio for large panels has reached 70-80 per cent, versus more than 95 per cent for LCD panels.

許多分析師對此卻不夠樂觀。雖然他們也希望三星最終能加入與LG的競爭——就算僅僅是爲了避免落後也行，但他們同時也警告說OLED不太可能在短期內取代LCD。