In September, Samsung Electronics will launch a 40-inch LCD-TV that features an LED backlight, according to Displaybank. The 40-inch will be aimed initially at the European market, and will be priced at the equivalent of $3,000. The panels for the new set will come from S-LCD, the LCD-panel manufacturing venture owned jointly by Samsung and Sony. Displaybank commented that the LED-lit LCD is being released primarily to strengthen Samsung’s brand image, but can a Sony version be far behind?

Ken Werner
Senior Analyst and Editor
of HDTV Retailer and
Mobile Display Report

In November 2004, Sony launched 40-and 46-inch LED-backlit LCD-TVs as part of the company’s high-end Qualia line. The two models were priced at $7,334 and $9,629, and the 46-inch was impressive when we saw it at CES 2005. But LED backlight units (BLUs) were expensive, the Qualia TVs were overpriced, and sales did not meet Sony’s expectations.

LED BLUs are still considerably more expensive than CCFL-based units, but both are a lot less expensive than they were two years ago. Digitimes Research says that a 40-inch LED BLU costs about $610 this year, compared to $210 for a conventional BLU using cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). In addition, LCD panels are much less expensive. As a result, it’s possible for Samsung to produce a premium LED-backlit LCD-TV at less than half the price partner Sony charged less than two years ago.

Matt Brennesholtz, one of the authors of Insight Media’s 2006 Backlight Unit Report, commented that Insight Media’s cost models indicate that in 2009 40-inch LED BLUs will cost the same as or less than 40-inch CCFL BLUs. As a result, LED BLUs will outsell CCFL units in 2010.

What is clear right now is that LCD-TVs will be rolling out this fall at a faster clip than most analysts - except for Insight Media - predicted, despite the fact that LED BLUs are still more expensive than their CCFL counterparts.