Tech News

SED TVs put on hold… again

By Stevie Smith May 28, 2007, 15:56 GMT

This past Friday, electronics giants Canon Inc. and Toshiba Corporation have once again revealed that the launch of the much talked about SED TV platform has been temporarily put on the back burner – prompting immediate industry concerns regarding the commercial potential of the new flatscreen format.More pointedly, according to a Reuters news agency report, the two tech companies have now intonated, without issuing an official day and date, that the SED TV launch will now be shifted down the calendar into the year’s closing quarter. This latest postponement is the second SED TV has been hit with following a similar delay move that occurred during 2006.By way of explanation for the new delay, Canon Inc. offered that drawn-out legal wrangling with Nano-Proprietary Inc. concerning a patent dispute is the core reasoning behind the stalled SED TV unveiling. Canon also admitted that delaying the official launch would duly allow for the development of technology necessary to promote reduced production costs – vital if SED TV is to realistically compete with the market’s well-established Plasma and LCD flatscreen formats.Naturally, as a result of Canon’s production/pricing concerns and subsequent launch delay, Toshiba Corporation, which will be buying its SED panels direct from Canon, has also therefore been pushed into delaying its own launch for the hardware, though an official spokesperson echoed Toshiba’s continuing belief in the format, saying: “We still plan to offer SED TVs as soon as we secure panel supplies.”Although the proliferation and technological advantages related to the sleeker, more room-friendly LCD and Plasma TV formats has seen customers steadily upgrading their old widescreen tube-based monsters (upwards of 40-50 kilos in weight), the much touted benefits of SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) TV sets includes brighter and sharper images than those produced by LCD and Plasma sets, while also consuming less energy in the process.That said, analyst concerns springing up following Canon and Toshiba’s decision to push back the official SED TV launch, are indicating that SED suppliers are destined to face a mountainous challenge if they truly intend to overhaul current flatscreen widescreen TV manufacturers such as Sony and Samsung – particularly as SED suppliers are without access to large-scale production facilities at this time.