Quantum Materials Corp. (fka QTMM)

[solartech]

The sales of Samsung's QD LCD TV is slow because it is NOT cadmium free, Samsung Electronics is considering whether to open its cadmium-free quantum dot display technology and expand the ecosystem, to provide cadmium-free quantum dot displays to partner companies at a cost or to maintain the technical gap by waiting for other TV makers to develop their own cadmium-free quantum dot displays. However, the company hasn’t made the final decision yet.

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technologies, starting with China in April this year
SEOUL,KOREA
20 September 2017 - 11:15am
Cho Jin-young

Samsung Electronics, which aims to maintain the number one spot in the global TV market for 12 years in a row, is seeking to find a solution to increase the sales of Quantum Dot TV, which is considered its next-generation TV as the growth is slower than expected.

According to industry sources on September 19, Samsung Electronics released its first ever ultra high-definition TV using the quantum dot technology in 2015 but the Quantum Dot TV has shown poor sales. So, the company is seeking out the ways to boost the sales.

Samsung Electronics is considering whether to open its cadmium-free quantum dot display technology and expand the ecosystem, to provide cadmium-free quantum dot displays to partner companies at a cost or to maintain the technical gap by waiting for other TV makers to develop their own cadmium-free quantum dot displays. However, the company hasn’t made the final decision yet.

Cadmium is generally used to produce quantum dot displays but it is a toxic heavy metal and its use is restricted under European and other environmental law because of its threat to both human health and the environment. So, companies are banned from selling electronics products that contain cadmium.

Currently, the Quantum Dot TV bloc consists of a small number of companies such as Samsung Electronics, China’s TCL and Hisense and Europe’s Vestel. In contrast, the OLED TV bloc is formed by a relatively large number of companies including LG Electronics, China’s Skyworth, Konka and Changhong, Japan’s Sony and Panasonic and Europe’s Philips, Grundig and Loewe.

An official from Samsung Electronics said, “Only few companies can produce cadmium-free quantum dot displays so the Quantum Dot TV market is not growing. Samsung is in a dilemma in opening its self-developed technology because the technical gap with TV producers that got into the business late can be easily narrowed while the company cannot create any profits.”

According to market research firm IHS Market, the share of Quantum Dot TVs in the total TV market stood at 1.5 percent in the first quarter and 0.8 percent in the second quarter this year.

Usually, a market leader releases a next-generation product and late starters follow the move. Previously, other TV manufacturers has copied Samsung Electronics’ products when the electronics giant launched new TV products, including curved, smart and UHD TVs, even without opening its technologies to them, creating the market together.

However, other TV producers cannot manufacture Quantum Dot TVs because cadmium-free quantum dot displays developed by Samsung Electronics is not easy to realize.

Starting with China in April this year, Samsung Electronics has held the QLED & HDR10 Summit, which exchanges quantum dot TV technologies, in the United States and Germany but it is not enough to expand the bloc.

The company is trying to expand the Quantum Dot TV bloc because the QLED brand can gain popularity when more and more TV producers around the world introduce quantum dot TV technologies, taking the leadership in the market.

An official from the industry said, “The number of OLED TVs has been rapidly increasing from the beginning of this year but it is difficult to expand Quantum Dot TVs. LG Display can supply OLED panels to TV makers but there is no firm that can supply quantum dot displays which are high technologies of materials.”


http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/19359-hurdle-spread-why-does-samsung-electronics-struggle-spread-quantum-dot-tvs