QD-OLED

Yesterday we reported that Samsung's official CES PR did not include its upcoming QD-OLED TVs, which was a disappointment. Today it turns out that Samsung is indeed progressing with its QD OLED TV technology, as CES event organizers awarded the 65" QD-Display TV with its Best of Innovation' 2022 award.

The CES text reveals that Samsung's TVs will support 144Hz refresh rate, four HDMI 2.1 inputs and Samsung's 2022 Neo Quantum Processor. We did not see the actual TV yet, and Samsung did not reveal any launch plans yet.

DSCC sees fast growth ahead for the use of inkjet printing technologies for the production of quantum dots color conversion layers in OLED displays.

As you can see in the chart, the gray area represents the capacity (in 1,000 sqm) at Samsung's QD-OLED Fabs.

DSCC says that over 500,000 QD-OLED TVs will ship in 2022, offered by both Sony and Samsung. Shipments are expected to grow and reach 1.5 million units in 2026.

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The main limitation for QD-OLED TVs will by Samsung's production capacity. In 2023 the company will add 49-inch monitors and 77-inch TV panels, as SDC will start using Multi-cut Mother Glass (MMG) technology.

Display market research firm DSCC says that QDEF technology (QD films for LCD displays) will continue to grow at a fast pace, rising from $236 million in 2022 to $326 million in 2025. The main market will remain TV applications. This forecast does not include any perovskite-based films.

QDEF are quantum dots enhancement films, used to enhance the color gamut of LCD displays. The main display applications for QDEF are in TVs, monitors and laptops.

Market research firm DSCC says that it expects Samsung's QD-OLED panels to carry a lower material cost compared to LG's current W-OLED display - by as much as 30-40%.

These are unyielded costs, note, and LG's years of experience likely means its yields will be much higher at least in the first years of QD-OLED and inkjet-printing production.

Earlier this week Samsung officially launched its QD-OLED displays, with Sony, Dell and Samsung releasing the first products to use these displays.

We also have a first product review, of sorts, a short one from Tom's Guide - which says that this display is the best they have ever seen, with amazing colors and ultra-wide viewing angles.

The first reviews of Samsung's QD-OLED panels are in, as Dell starts shipping its QD-OLED gaming monitor. A German magazine reviewed the 34" monitor, and discovered an issue with color inaccuracies.

As you can see in the macro photo above, when there's a change from a dark color to a bright color, the display shows green lines that should not be there.

MSI is set to release a new QD-OLED monitor, the MEG 324C. This will use a 34" curved 75Hz 3440x1440 QD-OLED, the only QD-OLED in production right now.

We do not have more details, as MSI did not officially launch the new monitor yet, but it demonstrated it at Computex 2022.

MSI says it will launch an "super ultra wide" QD-OLED monitor in early 2023 (during the CES conference). The company did not disclose much - beyond saying that it will offer a 240Hz refresh rate, and that its current name is Project 491C.

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Samsung is the only QD-OLED Panel maker, and it does not offer a 240Hz panel yet (the only monitor-sized QD-OLED is a curved 34-inch 175Hz 3440x1440) - so it seems as if MSI is using a panel that hasn't entered production yet. This will be interesting to watch!