Saying that demand for the XEL-1 OLED TV is slowing in Japan, Sony is stopping OLED TV sales there.

They say that overseas sales will continue, but having tried to order one of these, there doesn’t seem to be too much inventory available. Full story exerpts below from Reuters.

“Sony said it had stopped production of ultra-thin TVs using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology for Japan, just a little over 2 years since it launched its first set. It plans to keep selling the TVs in overseas markets, a spokesman said.

OLED displays use organic, or carbon-containing compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. They produce crisp images and do not need backlighting, making them slimmer and more energy-efficient than LCDs, the most popular type of flat TV.

Sony has aimed to become a leader in the technology and positioned the product as crucial in its drive to regain its reputation as an innovator after losing out to Apple Inc in portable music and Nintendo in video games.

“I want this world’s first OLED TV to be the symbol of the revival of Sony’s technological prowess. I want this to be the flag under which we charge forwards to turn the fortunes around,” then president Ryoji Chubachi told a briefing in October 2007.

It is still technologically difficult to make large OLED panels and to produce them cheaply, limiting their potential as a mass-market product. Sony’s only model is an 11-inch set sold for 200,000 yen ($2,222) in Japan, considerably smaller and more expensive than other flat TVs.

“As flat panel TVs are getting bigger and cheaper, hurdles for OLED models have become higher, at least in the short term,” said Hisakazu Torii, vice president of Japanese TV market research at DisplaySearch.

Torii said the next big trend in the market will be 3D TVs and LCD TVs using light emitting diode backlights, and that mass adoption of TVs with OLED panels is some time off.

Sony said it would end sales of OLED TV in Japan when inventory runs out. It plans to continue putting money into research and development and production for North America, Europe and other overseas markets.

“We will continue to consider new products and applications including OLED TVs,” Sony spokesman Shigenori Yoshida said.”

Today I have an interview with Erich Strasser from OLED Web-Company. His company owns and operates the leading OLED technology websites. He just got back from CES 2010 and I thought I’d ask him about his trip.

Admin: Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your websites?
Erich: Our websites http://www.oled.at (german) and http://www.oled-display.net are the leading OLED information websites. Our goal is to inform our visitors about the newest products, findings, forecasts about and with OLED Display technology.

Admin:  How long have you been involved in OLED TV technology?

Erich: We started www.oled.at and www.oled-display.net about 7 years ago.

Admin:  Do you think OLED TV will eventually take over from plasma and LCD technology?

Erich: Yes I am sure about this. OLED is the future in the HDTV technology. OLED TV promises Superior picture Quality, High Efficiency, very thin and in future also cost effective. The first OLED TV XEL-1 and the LG 15 inch hitting the market today are very expensive, but those prices will fall dramatically as the technology matures and volume ramps up. OLEDs will prove more cost effective because they require fewer materials and fewer processing steps than LCD and Plasma Tvs.

Admin:  What are your thoughts on the emergence of LED backlit TV? Can OLED compete against it anytime soon?

Erich: Not soon because the companies must build more OLED fabrication labs.

Admin:  Can you please tell us what impressed you most at CES 2010?

Erich: Sonys 24.5 inch 3D OLED, and the 14 inch transparent AMOLED Notebook from Samsung mobile Display.

Admin: Who, in your opinion, will first produce a consumer ready OLED TV with a decent screen size?

Erich: Sony is in some financial troubles, LG Display introduced the 15 inch AMOLED TV and have big plans. Samsung wants to bring out larger Displays only if they compete with LCD and Plasma at the price segment. So my opinion is LG Display will be the first with larger sizes.

Thanks to Erich for this interview on the latest OLED TV news. You can see more at his site, just click on this link: OLED Television

Here’s a video of the 24.5″ Sony 3D full HD OLED TV. The 3D effect is created using an active shutter system. The Sony rep  at CES 2010 gives no promises however as to whether the technology will ever be available to consumers. This is a pure concept model. Too bad as many of us were hoping for a larger sized Sony OLED this year. Check it out.

This next year will be pivotal for OLED TV. WIth CES 2010 due to start in a few days, all eyes are on Las Vegas to see what the TV manufacturers will have on display.

More important though is will they have anything available to consumers? It’s been 2 years since the Sony XEL-1 was released to the public. It’s understood that Sony may be losing money on each XEL-1 OLED TV as the price is far too high to interest the general public and production costs are steep as well.

What we may see at CES are the following:

Sony OLED TV

Samsung OLED TV

LG OLED TV

Speaking of LG OLED technology, here’s some news from Kodak:

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 30 — Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced today that it has completed the previously announced sale of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) business to an entity set up by a group of LG companies.

This move will tighten Kodak’s investment focus and strengthen its financial position. Financial details were not disclosed.

“As we said earlier this year, OLED is one of the businesses we wanted to reposition to maximize Kodak’s competitive advantage at the intersection of materials and imaging science,” said Laura G. Quatela, Kodak’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer and manager of the company’s OLED business. “This action is consistent with that strategy. Our OLED intellectual property portfolio is fundamental; however, realizing the full value of this business would have required significant investment.”

Be sure to visit in the coming weeks for OLED TV reviews from CES 2010

Sony engineers are facing technological hurdles in producing larger sized OLED TVs. This is according to Sony Corp. Executive Deputy President Hiroshi Yoshioka.

At a press conference on Nov 19, Yoshioka stated that their TV division is facing challenges. Sony currently buys LCD panels from Samsung and despite releasing the first OLED TV 2 years ago, has yet to come out with a reasonable sized OLED model that would be attractive to consumers.

“The business is tough without our own displays,” Yoshioka said in an interview at Sony’s headquarters.

“For the short term, Sony has been bullish about 3-D TVs, one area where rivals are also just getting started, and Sony is promising products next year.

With 3-D TVs, images appear to have depth and give an illusion of almost jutting out from the screen, although they require special glasses.”

Lots of talk about OLED TV lately but when will we see someting bigger than 15″ in stores?

Full story at: ajc.com