Toshiba puts off SED TV again
BEIJING--SED TV just can't get off the ground.
Toshiba said it would postpone the launch of surface conduction electron emitter display (SED) TVs from a planned launch in the fourth quarter. This time the delay is because Canon, its partner in SED, will not be able to supply displays to meet the original schedule. A specified time for the launch cannot be stated at this time, Toshiba said.
Last October, it was all systems go for SED TVs, which have better picture quality than LED TVs but are just as thin, according to advocates of SED. Toshiba showed off a prototype at Ceatec, an electronics trade show in Japan, and said its first commercial product would be a 55-inch set. SED TVs had been delayed in the past, but this time it appeared that the release would occur.
But in December, Toshiba announced it wouldn't show the sets at CES in the coming January. The reason was a long-simmering lawsuit between Canon and Nano-Proprietary. Subsequently, Toshiba sold off its interest in the Toshiba-Canon joint venture to Canon. Toshiba, though, said it would still come out with sets. Canon, however, has never made TV sets.
