Sony will stop making rear-projection televisions and focus on liquid crystal display (LCD) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology in the flat-TV market. This follows similar moves by Seiko Epson Corp and Hitachi.
Demand for rear-projection TVs, which were once dominant in the large-sized flat-TV market, has been dropped as consumers switch to the flat screens and cleaner design living. Sony expects to sell more than 10 times as many LCD TVs: 10 million LCD TVs this fiscal year through March, up from 6.3 million the previous year.
Manufacturers are all working on LCD technology for TVs, as well as another technology called Plasma Display Panels, or PDP. Earlier this month, Sony began selling a small 11 inch TV that uses a relatively new but expensive flat-panel technology called OLED which we wrote about earlier this year. Sony's XEL-1 measures just 3 millimeters, or 0.12 inches, thick and delivers clear vivid images.
However the market is very competitive with many collaborative deals similar to the one where Sharp provide Toshiba with all their LCD screens. What is clear is that Flat is the only way forward today and the race is on for both the large and small screen market.
