|
Sony Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) (www.sony.co.jp)
has decided to stop supplying HTPS-LCD panels to external customers
for use in projection systems as of March 30, 2004. Production
will continue, but only for internal Sony products. Production
of HTPS-LCD panels for near-eye applications will continue unchanged.
Sony has been informing its customers of the decision over the
last month in letters to the affected companies.
In explaining Sony's decision, marketing manager Eiji Watanabe
said, "The production yield was not of the expected level,
and there were no clear countermeasures to catch up and meet customer's
demand. In addition, since the market price of panels has been
dropping drastically, the business situation has become worse
and worse. Sony will continue its viewfinder HTPS-LCD business,
however, since the yield is stable."
Watanabe stressed that Sony's ability to supply panels and the
products' profitability were the reasons for the decision - not
a need to assure panel supply for its growing success in LCD RPTV.
He said production would continue for Sony's own RPTV products,
where considerations of Sony's overall DTV strategy can be considered
as part of the supply-profit formula for the panels.
Sony's departure will create some big ripples in the industry.
Does it signal the beginning of the end for HTPS? If Sony can't
be profitable, can Epson? Will Sony's customers switch to Epson,
or accelerate DLP and LCOS programs? These are key industry-shaping
questions for which there are no clear answers right now.
Sony would not confirm to which companies it supplies HTPS projection
panels, but we believe the list includes at least the following:
NEC, Sanyo, Sharp, BenQ, InFocus, Delta, Fujitsu, Hitachi, LGE,
Prokia, Wellsome and a few others. We asked several of these companies
to comment, but did not get much response.
Epson responded by stepping up plans it has for a new factory
in Hokkaido, Japan, which will process 12-inch substrates to support
HTPS-LCD production. The first pilot run is scheduled for October
2004, with initial production capacity set at 2000 microdisplay
sets per month (see related story).
Epson spokesperson Satofumi Koike believes Epson can make HTPS
projection panels profitably. He notes that the price reduction
over the last year has been about 10%, but the performance has
improved, and will continue to improve. Apparently confident in
Epson's manufacturing prowess, Koike says Epson will work on yield
improvement processes. He has no plans to move production overseas
to lower-cost centers, or to add further automation.
"We are already seeing inquiries from Sony's customers, so
we have responded by moving up production at our new factory,"
said Koike. "We plan to accept demand as much as possible,
in order to maintain the HTPS market share of the projector market."
Sony, Eiji Watanabe, 858-942-3034, eiji.watanabe@am.sony.com
Epson, Satofumi Koike, [81] 266-62-6650, koike.satofumi@exc.epson.co.jp
Contact:
Insight Media
Annmarie Gabisch, 203-831-8464
annmarie@insightmedia.info
GET
OUR NEWS ALERTS
|
