Samsung, Others to Pay Out $553 Million Over LCD Price-Fixing

Wall Street Journal Online ^ | 12/27/2011 | Joan E. Solsman

[GreenAccord]

Sharp Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to an over $550 million settlement with several U.S. states involving allegations of price-fixing.

It is the latest development in a large antitrust investigation into makers of LCD display panels, which are used in computer monitors and notebooks, ...

[GreenAccord]

OK, I don't see anything in the HDTV Ping List realm about this yet, so here's a decent link to one of many recent stories about this settlement.

I haven't been able to find out what the specific states are (the articles say there are 24 states included in the settlement. It seems there will be refunds due (likely after you prove you purchased one of the offending corporation's products).

The companies included are:

• Samsung
• Hitachi
• Sharp
• Chi Mei Innolux (anyone know who they make panels for?)
• Chunghwa Picture Tubes (another one I don't recognize)
• Epson Imaging Devices
• HannStar Display

My father-in-law owns an LCD rear projection set from Hitachi, so I am wondering if our state is included. I presume, since the suit includes sales from 1999 to 2006, this would include the LCD rear projection form factor since that was a predominant consumer set type in the early to mid-2000's.

[GreenAccord]

Just pinging you on this

[N. Theknow]

After being screwed by Samsung on their DLP (It’s the mirrors!) I have been regularly using my Samsung Logo VooDoo doll. I see it is working!

[Doc Savage]

Lawyers will take 552 Mil. You get nothing.

[Think free or die]

It seems that whenever I get class action suit notices related to our investments that there’s very little benefit to typical members of the class. The last one I spent hours documenting resulted in a settlement that didn’t cover the cost of the first class postage to send in the claim paperwork.

[Stevenc131]

Oh well, what you get for buying LCD instead of Plasma (just kidding). LCD has come a long way, but if I were going to get a new HDTV I’d still go plasma over LCD. LCD has always had a price advantage as far as manufacturing costs, I guess some companies figured prices were just too low on LCD.

[GreenAccord]

This was actually a (State) government suit, and of the total suit amount ($538.6 million), the legal costs are about $15 million. The rest seems to be going to cover refund resolutions. I am sure lawyers will get at that, but it is certainly not a class action suit where of some $100 million dollar settlement, lawyers get 92 million.

(I think I am reading another article (TimesOfIndia.com) correctly for those figures)

[Beagle8U]

I guess it wasn't enough for Epson to get sued over their ink cartridge scam, they had to get in on this one too.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

If they were gouging so badly, why have HDTVs gotten so cheap so fast?

The federal government is the most corrupt monopoly of all.

When do we get to sue them?

[chopperman]

...if I were going to get a new HDTV I’d still go plasma over LCD.

Get neither. LED blows them both away.

[Eye of Unk]

Last year it seemed like there was a massive campaign to buy 3-D anything, several times I tied to buy a regular plasma TV and salespeople kept trying to push the 3D sets on me.
However it does appear as if it may have fizzled out, its been months since I have seen any 3-D BluRay movies released, so hopefully this fad has come and gone.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Last year it seemed like there was a massive campaign to buy 3-D anything...

3D gets pushed hard about twice a generation and then seems to die out when the novelty wears off. I wonder if the porn industry will give it more staying power for this cycle. I suppose it all depends on hardware standardization and the availability of cheap and lightweight cameras.

[Tainan]

Chimei is the largest flat screen maker in Taiwan. Excellent quality.
They have had some problems of late with a venture into manufacturing in China for the Chinese domestic market. But their quality in Taiwan and export has not suffered.
They have been and still are a huge contract manufacturer.

They also built a really nice 9 story building on the campus of the local university - NCKU, National Chen Kung University.

ChungHwah and HannStar are also Taiwanese companies.

[GreenAccord]

Thanks for the update. Do they make TV panels or are they primarily making LCDs for the computer market?

[dis.kevin]

LED is LCD.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Oh well, what you get for buying LCD instead of Plasma (just kidding). LCD has come a long way, but if I were going to get a new HDTV I’d still go plasma over LCD. LCD has always had a price advantage as far as manufacturing costs, I guess some companies figured prices were just too low on LCD.

---

Plasma’s fine unless you live in a warm climate and do much air conditioning. It’s a space heater you pay once for the electricity to generate the waste heat, and three more times for the electricity to air condition it away.

[Tainan]

Both TV & computer monitors with LCD/LED/HD screens. I do not know if they are into plasma, but they probably are. (referring to Chimei here).

They also do a lot of laboratory, medical and industrial panels...big in that area.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the HDTV list.. HDTV pings!

[moonhawk]

LED only refers to the particular type of back lighting in an LCD.

There is no LED per se.

It does beat regular flourescent back lighting, however.

[Gene Eric]

Agreed.