CHIBA, Japan--Dolby, the sound company, is getting into TVs.
The company is at Ceatec, the large Japanese trade show taking place here this week, to promote Dolby Contrast and Dolby Vision, two technologies (one currently real, one on the drawing board) to extend its reach into digital TV and cinema.
Both Dolby Contrast and Dolby Vision are essentially ways to apply the dimmer switch concept to light emitting diodes. LEDs are being increasingly used as the backlight in flat panel LCD TVs. Dolby Contrast allows the TV to dynamically adjust. One LED could go completely black while its neighbor could be full or high, or the two could offer light that creates slightly different shades of tan. "You get much better blacks," said Gaven Wang, senior video product manager at Dolby.
Dolby Contrast can be used on current LEDs while Dolby Vision is more of a long-term technology that will apply to LEDs that emit more lumens, or light, per watt.
Black has always been a problem for LCDs. As a result, the Dolby technology could heighten the competition with plasma. Plasma TVs do well with black, unlike conventional LCDs.
The technology, according to analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering, could even create a third category of displays. Interestingly, NXP Semiconductor, formerly Philips Semiconductor, has come up with a technology that functions differently but with similar results.
The problem now lies in finding customers. Dolby has no signed contracts yet to announce but hopes TVs employing the technology will come out next year or in 2009. The fact that Dolby is at Ceatec, where many of the world's largest TV makers are showing off their latest goods, shows, however, that the company is seeking the right people.
Dolby didn't invent this technology itself. It acquired it from a company called Brightside that it bought. But Dolby is no stranger to video. Founder Ray Dolby started out by developing a system for removing noise and artifacts out of black-and-white video footage. The industry went to color and Dolby went to black and white.
Dolby also demonstrated its 3D cinema technology. Theater owners pay about $26,000 for the system, which revolves around doing a software upgrade to digital servers. That price tag is relatively cheap, according to Dolby. The company's 3D technology will get a full international airing when Beowulf premieres later this year. Many 3D theaters will use Dolby's tech.
(Credit:
Vizio)
For all the clout and brand-recognition that accompanies names like Sony and Samsung, it was Vizio, a virtual unknown a year ago, that topped all LCD TV makers in the second quarter of this year.
Vizio sold 606,402 TVs in North America in the second quarter, a 76 percent jump from the previous quarter, according to a report by iSuppli released Monday. That brings the low-price TV seller's market share to 14.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent.
Former market-share leader Samsung dropped to second place, shipping 467,210 units compared with 445,683 the previous quarter. But the company that took the biggest dive was Sony, which fell from third to sixth place, moving just 253,377 units, compared with 412,232 last quarter.
Certainly selling a flat-panel TV for an affordable price through discount outlets like Costco and Wal-Mart helps, but how did Vizio manage to displace the likes of Samsung, Sony and Sharp TV buyers? Check back later today for an analysis of how Vizio did it.
Though Japanese television manufacturers have mostly ditched tube TV manufacturing, their Chinese counterparts are just getting started exporting the sets.
In 2007, China's TV exports will for the first time surpass its domestic shipments, according to a new report from market research firm iSuppli. That's a direct result of Japan's TV makers' decision to focus on the more lucrative business of flat-panel sets, which bring in significantly higher margins, said Kathleen Zhang, iSuppli's China analyst. China will export 39.6 million TVs this year, and ship 38.3 million domestically, iSuppli said.
(Credit:
Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)
Though more U.S. buyers have begun to snap up these high-definition flat panels, much of the rest of the world is still buying CRTs (cathode ray tubes), mostly because they're more affordable in small to midrange sizes and there's less demand for giant television sets in places other than the U.S. That's good news for China.
The bad news is though low prices might still be attractive in the North American market, the U.S. transition to digital television and high tariffs--up to $20 per set--on Chinese imports pose problems for China's manufacturers.
As of March, all TVs sold in the U.S. must have both a digital and analog tuner for the upcoming switch to all-digital over-the-air television transmissions, which will officially begin in 2009. Putting a digital tuner in a set is more expensive and if consumers have to upgrade their TV, many will likely go with an LCD or plasma while they're at it.
However, iSuppli says it expects China to adjust well and continue to increase its TV exports despite these factors. The market for televisions exported from China could be up to 54.5 million by 2011, the firm says.
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