SED suffers setback

The ‘plasma killer’ approach of CES 2006 was a notable absentee at CES 2007 and a sudden change in the technology’s ownership has now put its ability to challenge existing display technologies in serious doubt. SED – or surface conduction electron emitter display technology – was originally being driven to market by two consumer electronics giants: Canon and Toshiba, more widely experienced in displays. SED held the promise of displays with higher brightness than plasma or lcd, whilst consuming less energy. But even before the Consumer Electronics Show began earlier this month in Las Vegas, rumours were growing that Toshiba was about to pull back. These were confirmed as the annual ‘gadget riot’ ended, with news that Canon is buying out its former partner in the SED joint venture. The deal is said to be the result of a lawsuit filed last year by US IP group Nano-Proprietary which covered some of the SED technology. This said the US company’s original licensing agreement with Canon did not extend to joint ventures the Japanese firm might undertake, such as that with Toshiba. Canon now faces a tough decision on whether to follow through with building out a $1.5billion SED panel fab in Japan on its own. Other ongoing trends in the displays market suggest it will not. The stalling of SED’s development has provided little relief for existing panel manufacturers. Both Samsung and the LG-Philips joint venture warned last week that continued erosion in average selling prices would lead to them missing analysts’ expectations in next to report quarters. Meanwhile, data from the US Consumer Electronics Association forecasts falls in average wholesale unit prices for lcds from $808 to $772, and for plasma displays from $1767 to $1542 over the course of 2007.