Samsung to invest $2.2 billion on LCD expansion

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it plans to invest 2.06 trillion won ($2.21 billion) to expand its eighth-generation liquid crystal display line.

Samsung, which had been cooperating with Japan's Sony for its No. 8 line, is making the investment on its own for this phase, a Samsung official said.

[Techno mixer]

wow

Any one/company that is willing to invest that much money into making TV?s is really hoping for a large pay out which only bring up the question.

how much is it going to cost to pick one up?

[TogetherinParis]

Please don't be silly

Companies make investments when they think they will make a
profit. They make a profit by bringing to market goods that are
higher quality and/or cheaper than current market offerings. Thus
prospective spending on Samsung's part suggests that they have
faith that their technology will supplant existing systems. So, get
ready for ever cheaper, better TV's and monitors. It doesn't mean
you're going to get ripped off.

[cmcmanis]

Note the headline "8th generation"

Since the production of TFT displays is similar to the production of integrated circuits, being able to make them on bigger sheets of glass means you can get better yields for the same amount of money put in and *lower* prices. An 8th generation fab can make over a dozen 19" display glasses on a single sheet. Since the cost of doing a single sheet proportional to size but the yield is a function of control, you get higher yield for the same cost of glass. That means more you can sell that means you need to make less on each one to get your required level of profit.

I find it a good endorsement from the one company who has consistently positioned LCD as a valid video system (unlike Pioneer or Hitachi who do LCD "just because" but seem to invest all their R&D in plasma). The LTN series from Samsung should get cheaper once this fab is in full production.