James Delahunty
12 Jan 2014 14:07
Samsung's executive VP of its visual display business HS Kim believes affordable OLED TVs are still several years away, but is optimistic on the transition to UHD.
Samsung and LG were the only two companies to sell OLED televisions in 2013, but with prices starting from around $9,000. OLED televisions make good impressions on reviewers but they are priced far out of the wider market that Samsung has dominated for years.
"Not many consumers tried to purchase OLED TVs at that price," Kim said. "Price was our greatest barrier. So our attempt to expand the market didn't really go well. I'm really, really terribly sorry to say this, but it will take more time. ... I believe it will take around three to four years."
Just a year ago, Kim had predicted it would take 2-3 years to make mass market OLED televisions, but there are difficulties plaguing the manufacturing process of OLED TVs.
Kim believes that the transition to Ultra-HD content will happen much faster than the transition to High-definition did nearly a decade ago. Content providers have made intentions clear to start offering 4K this year, with companies like Netflix in a prime position to benefit from the change.