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TOKYO—Pioneer Corporation and Matsush*ta Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. have agreed on a comprehensive business alliance on PDP technology development and panel production. Matsush*ta will absorb Pioneer’s PDP development team, while it becomes responsible for volume production of PDP panels and modules used in the two companies’ independently branded large screen TV products.
Under the agreement, Matsush*ta will take a lead in developing new PDP panels. Pioneer will share with Matsush*ta the company’s proprietary PDP-related technologies. Under the new structure, Pioneer’s PDP R&D team will be transferred to Matsush*ta.
Matsush*ta will be also in charge of PDP panel production. The company will start volume production of the newly-developed panels in June. Matsush*ta will then supply the new panels and modules to Pioneer in time for Pioneer’s own branded new PDP products—scheduled for launch in the fall of 2009. Matsush*ta will then integrate the same technologies in their own TV receivers for later release.
Pioneer, focused on the high-end PDP market, has been struggling with low sales volume for its panels on the global market. Without economy of scale, Pioneer has not been able to reduce the cost of its panel while prices trend downward for most flat panel displays. A month ago, Pioneer announced plans to exit from producing its own PDP panels. (see: Pioneer to exit plasma panel manufacturing). In search of a PDP partner, Pioneer came to Matsush*ta seeking the deal that was just announced.
Low power consumption
By combining the two companies’ accumulated PDP technologies, Pioneer and Matsush*ta plan to tackle on the Achilles’ heel of PDP: its whopping power consumption —especially in comparison to LCD panels.
The partners hope to create by 2010 a large-screen PDP TV whose power consumption will be slashed by two thirds, compared to PDP TVs of 2007, while infinitely increasing contrast and reducing panel thickness to less than an inch.
Ken Morita, senior vice president at Panasonic AVC Networks Company, said, “We are confident that we can develop a 42-inch PDP TV whose power consumption is 150 watts, equivalent to that of a 27-inch CRT TV. With a 100-inch PDP, we can reduce power consumption to a level comparable to today’s 42-inch PDP TV.”
Matsush*ta will use the company’s proprietary technology, unveiled earlier this year, called NeoPDP,” designed to double the PDP luminous efficiency.
Pioneer will contribute its high-contrast, high-luminous efficiency technologies and thin panel expertise to the new PDP panels Matsush*ta will be producing later this year.
Starting in 2009, Pioneer and Matsush*ta will effectively use the same PDP panels for their respective display products. Susumu Kotani, Pioneer’s executive officer, said, “We have our own image processing and video expertise for our TV receivers, which help us differentiate our products from those of Matsush*ta.”
New product lines
Pioneer will offer two separate flat panel product lines. One is LCD screens using LCD panels supplied by Sharp Corp., while the other is PDP screens based on PDP panels produced by Matsush*ta. Pioneer’s Kotani noted that depending on market trends, Pioneer may consider using LCD panels for 42-inch, 44-inch and 46-inch flat panel TVs, instead of PDPs.
Meanwhile, Matsush*ta said it will use LCD panels for small and medium size screens, while its larger screen displays will depend on PDP panels. The Japanese consumer electronics giant added that it plans to start replacing a portion of its medium and small screen TVs with OLED TVs by 2015.
Matsush*ta projected that among all flat-panel TVs that will have sold in Japan in 2008, 47 percent of them will be displays with a screen size larger than 37 inches. That share will grow to 52 percent in 2011, the company predicted.
Meanwhile, Matsush*ta estimated that 31 percent of all flat-panel TVs sold in Japan in 2007 were already HD-capable. This share will grow to 51 percent in 2008, and 74 percent in 2011.
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/Jensby
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