What’s the difference between this and Canon’s SED?
In recent years, Sony Corp. has experimented with several types of display technologies. So, it was no surprise that Sony announced this week that it would establish a joint venture with a technology fund to develop a new type of flat-panel FED (Field Emission Display).
Sony said it and Tokyo-based Technology Carve-out Investment Fund (TCI) would invest a total of 2.5 billion yen ($21.7 million) in the venture, which is scheduled to begin operations in the coming weeks with a staff of about 30 employees. Reportedly, Sony will take a 36.5 percent stake in the venture with TCI investing the remaining 63.5 percent. Sony started work on development of FED technology back in 1998 with a California-based company called Candescent Technologies Corp., but only began developing the technology on its own from 2002. Candescent filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Ironically, Canon bought Candescent’s patents in an auction.
Field emission display (FED) technology was invented in the 1970s as a possible alternative to the traditional cathode-ray tube TV, and is related to SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display), which is being developed by Toshiba Corp. and Canon Inc. However, neither been commercialized and lost favor in recent years to liquid-crystal displays and plasma displays in the flat-panel race. FED and SED technology can be used to develop flat displays that are bright, consume relatively little electricity, have wide viewing angles, and offer greatly reduced depths (over CRTs). Some industry insiders have dubbed FED and SED technologies as the best of flat-panels and CRTs combined.
This will all change as Toshiba Corp. and Canon Inc. ramp up SED production next year, which looks to compete with 1080p LCD and plasma technology in the fast-growing flat TV market. Toshiba hopes to have its first 55-inch SED HDTV with a screen resolution of 1080p on the market by Christmas 2007, which was recently shown at CEATEC Japan 2006.
LCD and plasma display TVs have already been on the market for several years now. Picture quality for both has improved greatly over the years, and production efficiency has risen sharply due to big investments by makers such as Sharp Corp., LG, and Samsung (with Sony) among others. So, it’s unclear if either FED or SED, for that matter can make a dent in this marketplace in light of falling prices.
A Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa noted that “Any further investments would be made after assessing the venture’s results in 18 months. The likely commercial target of FED technology would be large professional-use displays such as those used at broadcasters,” he said. However, if Toshiba launches successfully launches SED, it can be easily speculated that Sony would quickly ramp-up FED production. Sony, who does not participate in the plasma arena, looks to have similar competing television technology