Sharp says there is concern about it's survival

I have a large concern about the state of Consumer Electronics and it's future. Having another large company exit the category will just increase the issues we have. Just as another Retailer leaving the industry as Circuit City did will not be a good thing for Consumer Electronics. This is becoming very unhealthy and will lead to further problems in the industry. This is not just a Vendor issue, or a Retail issue, or a parts supplier issue. We all need to step back and take a hard look at what we are doing, how we are doing it, and stop sliding down the slippery slope we are already on. COMMODITY - that is what we are saying about the industry - just like NAPKINS. There is a large difference in what it take to bring new Electronics to market - it can't be treated like NAPKINS.

JZ

Sharp admits 'doubt' on survival

By Jonathan Soble, FT.com

November 2, 2012 -- Updated 0115 GMT (0915 HKT)

A customer checks LCD television sets made by Japanese electronics maker Sharp on November 1.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Sharp has admitted there is "material doubt" about its ability to stay in business
• Comes as it warned of a second year of record losses and deepening Japan gloom
• The losses are blamed on failed investments in liquid-crystal display manufacturing
• Came a day after Panasonic stunned investors with a second consecutive $10B loss

(Financial Times) -- Sharp has admitted there is "material doubt" about its ability to stay in business as it warned of a second year of record losses, deepening the gloom surrounding Japan's once dominant consumer electronics industry.

The century-old company said it expected to end the financial year to March with a net loss of Y450bn ($5.6bn), worse than the Y250bn loss it had predicted in August. Last year it lost Y396bn. The losses are blamed on failed investments in liquid-crystal display manufacturing.

The warning came a day after Panasonic stunned investors by projecting a second consecutive $10bn loss. Panasonic's share price dropped a further 19 per cent on Thursday.

Sharp and Panasonic, along with Sony, are the most consumer-focused of Japan's large technology companies. All three have suffered as prices for flatscreen televisions and other household items plunged globally.

A strong yen and competition from lower-cost manufacturers elsewhere in Asia have turned the products that once underpinned their success into financial millstones. Last year, the three groups suffered a combined net loss of Y1.6tn -- a figure that Sharp and Panasonic will come close to matching between them this year.

"Sharp is in circumstances in which material doubt about its assumed going concern is found," the company said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Funding problems arising from the ballooning losses have forced Sharp to mortgage its headquarters building and seek a rescue investment from Terry Gou, the Taiwanese billionaire who founded Hon Hai Precision Industry, the contract manufacturer of Apple iPhones and Sony PlayStation video game consoles.

A deal with Mr Gou has been in limbo since it was tentatively agreed in March, as the two sides haggle over terms. Mr Gou had agreed to pay Y67bn for a 10 per cent stake in Sharp and partial ownership of an underused display factory near Osaka, but has been pushing Sharp to lower the price to reflect a precipitous decline in the value of its shares.

Sharp's stock price has fallen 75 per cent this year, more than that of any other company on the 1,600-member MSCI global index. In addition to mortgaging its headquarters, Sharp is selling several overseas factories and cutting jobs and wages -- the first retrenchment of its kind for the company since 1950.

In September, Sharp secured Y360bn in loan extensions, which the company says will be enough to fund its operations until at least next June, when the loans come due. By then, Sharp says its restructuring measures will have borne fruit and it will be generating a stable flow of cash.

Its position remains precarious enough, however, that analysts at Moody's and Standard & Poor's have cut its credit rating to junk.

In the six months to September, Sharp said it made a net loss of Y387.5bn as a result of rising restructuring costs and falling demand for LCD televisions. It booked Y84.4bn of extraordinary charges as it wrote off the value of surplus display inventory and pulled out of solar panel manufacturing -- another area where it has struggled to earn a profit -- in the US and Europe.

The company also wrote off Y61bn of so-called deferred tax assets -- corporate-tax credits it could redeem if it returned to profit, a prospect that now looks more distant.

Sony bucked the trend of worsening forecasts on Thursday by sticking with its projection for a narrow Y20bn net profit this year, a result that would break four consecutive years of losses. But it will have to improve its performance in the second half to achieve the target, after posting its seventh consecutive loss for the July-to-September quarter.

Panasonic said on Wednesday that it expected to end the financial year with a net loss of Y765bn, a reversal of its previous forecast for a Y50bn profit. It will not pay a dividend this year for the first time since 1950.

Shares in Sony fell 4.1 per cent, while Sharp shed 1.7 per cent ahead of its results.

4K LCD Television sales expected to start very slowly

I would agree with the point of view on the sales of 4K Television sets. 5-8 years , and still it will represent a small portion of the total sales. Below estimate is about 1% of toal units in the next 5 years. They nail it on all the right reasons. Price, and more importantly the lack of space in most homes for 60+ inch size televisions that have historically been less than 2% of the market year over year. Even if that was to double or triple it would still be a very small number to the total.

JZ

IHS: Initial 4K LCD TV Sales To Be Marginal

By Greg Tarr On Oct 4 2012 - 12:57pm

El Segundo, Calif. ” Consumer demand for new 4K ultra-high-definition TV displays will remain quite small for at least the next five years, according to a new study released by market research firm IHS iSuppli.

The IHS iSuppli Television Market Tracker Report” said shipments of high-profile 4K displays from Sony, LG, Toshiba and others will remain less than 1 percent of the global LCD TV market for at least the next half decade, before worldwide shipments climb to 2.1 million units in 2017, (or 0.8 percent of the global LCD TV supply). That will be up from just 4,000 units that are expected to sell this year, the study predicts.

LCD TVs are called 4K or ultra-high-definition when they have a dense pixel structure of 3,840 by 2,160 dots, or four times the pixel count of today™s FullHD 1,920 by 1,080p TVs.

Introductions of 84-inch 4K LCD televisions were recently announced by Sony ($25,000 suggested retail) and LG Electronics ($20,000). Toshiba offers a 55-inch model at $10,000 in Japan.

Hisense and Konka of China have also announced plans for 84-inch 4K sets later this year.

However, IHS said it believes that neither consumers nor television brands will have the interest required to make the 4K LCD TV market successful.

If you have a television that is 60 inches or larger and are watching video that has a 3,840 by 2,160 resolution, then a 4K television makes sense, said Tom Morrod, IHS TV systems and technology research director. “However, a very limited amount of content is available at the 4K resolution. Meanwhile, because of high prices and other issues, the market for super-sized, 60-inch and larger sets is very small ” at only about 1.5 percent of total television shipments in 2012. Furthermore, for most people, the 1,080p resolution is good enough. Because of these factors, combined with the massive price tags, the market for 4K sets during the next few years will be limited to very wealthy consumers or to commercial uses.

He added that 4K LCD sets may serve the high-end of the TV market as transitional technologies until AMOLED TVs arrive in the mass market.

“The 4K sets can fill the gap at the high-end of television brands™ product lines until the arrival of the next-generation AMOLED TVs, Morrod said.


Japanese brands are offering 4K product because they need to have a competitive alternative to the AMOLED TVs being sold by their rivals in South Korea, Samsung and LG Electronics. Meanwhile, the South Korean companies are having difficulties producing AMOLED panels, saying they will need two more years to achieve competitive volume and pricing. Therefore, the Korean brands are offering 4K sets as a transitional step until their AMOLED televisions are more widely available.

500K people cut cord from Traditional TV

I will point out that this is .0038% of the households in the US.

But - it makes news so please read on about how the world it dropping traditional content for streaming sources.

JZ

Nielsen Cuts 500,000 U.S. TV Homes on Census, Web Viewing

By Andy Fixmer - Sep 25, 2012 2:46 PM PT

The number of U.S. TV households fell by 500,000, reflecting the popularity of online viewing and results of the 2010 census, according to Nielsen, producer of the weekly ratings that help set advertising prices.
The adjustment in U.S. TV households to 114.2 million took effect Aug. 27 and will apply to the television season starting this week, New York-based Nielsen Holdings NV (NLSN) said today in an e-mailed statement.
“We have had no household formation over the past several years, and I believe there is a modest amount of cord-cutting happening in younger households and in lower-income households,” said Paul Sweeney, Bloomberg Industries’ director of North American research.
Nielsen said it’s working with TV and advertising clients on what should constitute a TV home and how to account for new products such as tablet computers. It has already begun incorporating online viewing into ratings. This is the second straight year it has reduced the number of homes with TVs. In May 2011, Nielsen adjusted the number to 114.7 million, a 1 percent drop and the first decline since 1990.
In the past year, three of the four largest broadcast networks experienced drops in audiences ranging from 2 percent to more than 8 percent. Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC, bolstered by the Olympics and football, increased its viewership by 19 percent, according to Nielsen data.
Nielsen said its estimates for the 2012-2013 season are the first to reflect demographic details from the 2010 census, including age, sex, ethnicity and ethnic households. For that reason, the reduction amounts to an adjustment rather than one-year population changes.
“To the extent that there is cord-cutting, over-the-top companies such as Hulu and Netflix (NFLX) are benefiting,” Sweeney said. “These households then fall out of Nielsen’s total household mix.”

HDTV - Ultra HD 4K or 8K - great article

Best article I have read to date on the subject of the new 4K or 8K televisions. Summed up perfectly in the last paragraph. Reality is that a large portion of the US market still watches in SD even if they own an HD television. The complete transition to HD is many years off, so a transition into 4K and / or 8K is a long way away.

JZ

The last 15 years have been an exciting time for home theatre enthusiasts thanks to the introduction of the DVD Player, the Blu-ray player, the personal video recorder (PVR), digital surround audio technologies, the switch to digital television and of course, the introduction of large screen flat panel high definition televisions (HDTV).

 

If you’re like most consumer electronics enthusiasts, you purchased one or more of these products in the last decade only to find out a few months later that an enhanced, updated, faster and cheaper version had since been released.
Fortunately, home theatre enthusiasts who have recently purchased a 1080p Flat Panel HDTV with a Blu-ray player and 7.1 A/V receiver capable of decoding the latest lossless audio formats can now sit back in their recliner munching popcorn knowing they need not worry about their home theatre system becoming technologically obsolete anytime soon.
Now before you get too comfortable in your La-Z-Boy, let me introduce you to a new standard in HD television called Ultra High Definition Television or UHDTV.
Similar to HDTV, which comes in two primary flavours (720 and 1080), UHDTV comes in two flavours called 4K and 8K. The primary advantage of UHDTV over HDTV is increased pixel resolution – more pixels typically means a more lifelike, more immersive and ultimately more enjoyable viewing experience.
How much more resolution does UHDTV offer compared to HDTV? In the case of 8K, more than 32 times the resolution of 720p (the standard resolution of most cable and satellite providers today). Think of going from a VGA 640 by 480 pixel digital camera of 15 years ago to a 10 megapixel digital camera today and you get a sense of how much more information is captured in an 8K video image.
To better understand UHDTV, let’s review the pixel resolution of three most common digital video formats, now called ATSC standards, developed in the early 1990s by a consortium of electronics and telecommunications companies.
The first is standard definition digital television, which is what you see when you tune to satellite TV or digital cable station. Broadcast in a 16:9 aspect ratio, the video image consists of 720 pixels across and 480 pixels down. Multiply that out and it means that 337,920 pixels – just over a third of one megapixel – is lit up on your screen.
The second and most common HD format is 720p. Today, most cable and satellite providers broadcast in 720p format which displays 1280 by 720 pixels for a total of 921,600 pixels on screen. That works out to just under one megapixel of information.
The final type is 1080 which comes in two variants, 1080i and 1080p. A Blu-ray player pumps out 1920 x 1080p video and delivers 2,073,600 pixels or just over two megapixels of information to your television screen.
In summary, SD delivers a third of a megapixel to your screen at any one time, 720p delivers about one megapixel of information while 1080p tops out at just over 2 megapixels.
UHDTV specs approved on August 23, 2012 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines two formats, 4K and 8K. UHDTV 4K has 3840 by 2160 pixels of resolution which works out to 8,294,400 pixels, exactly four times the resolution of 1080p HDTV. UHDTV 8K delivers 7680 by 4320 pixels onscreen totalling more than 32 megapixels of resolution.
In summary a 4K digital image will have 24 times the number of pixels on screen as a SD signal and nine times the number of pixels as the common 720p signal broadcast by most television stations today. In addition to the vast increase in resolution, the Japanese have been calling on the ITU to include a new audio format that calls for up to 22.2 channels of discrete audio! So when can consumers expect these new UHDTVs?
While the spec was only recently approved, consumer electronics companies have already jumped on the bandwagon.
Beating its competitors to the punch, LG Electronics says it plans to roll out an 84-inch 4K TV in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America in September. The cost? Just over $22,000. While that may seem like a ridiculous sum of money, remember that the first generation of 42-inch plasma televisions sold in North America cost close to $40,000. In addition, Sony last week announced plans to sell the 84 inch XBR-84X900 4K UHDTV in North America beginning in December. Toshiba, which is calling its 4K sets Quad Full HD, is set to begin selling 4K sets in the first half of 2013.
No firm has announced plans for an 8K set.
Is UHDTV the future of HDTV?
The transition from analog to digital television began almost twenty years ago and continues today. After almost of two decades, the bulk of North American television viewing is still in standard definition with the complete transition to HDTV still years away.
UHDTV is another quantum leap which would require cable companies, satellite TV companies, television stations and consumers to invest billions of dollars in new equipment without any commensurate increase in revenues.
While UHDTV can deliver a superior video image, the benefits are only discernible when you play UHDTV source material (not available today) and on flat panels over 80 inches in size (not practical in the vast majority of homes).
In conclusion, UHDTV is a decade or two ahead of its time and not something consumers need think about anytime soon.

LG's new 27" Smart TV - would you want one

See the article below on a newly launched 27" TV meant for dorm room , bedroom and such. Is this something you would buy? Would really like to hear some feedback. Size / Features? Thought of where you would use it, would you use it? Is it well ahead of it's time in regards to IPTV and content and streaming and gaming? All concerns in my mind - let me know what you think.

JZ

LG Unveils Personal Smart TV, Game Portal

LG's 27-inch 2792 Personal Smart TV, which is being shown this week at IFA in Berlin, features Cinema 3D and a host of smart TV functions including connection to a new 3D Game Portal.

Berlin – LG Electronics unveiled at IFA 2012 here a personal smart TV with IPS LCD technology that incorporates LG’s smart-TV functionality, Cinema 3D and Cinema Screen design.

Model TM2792 is a 27-inch LED IPS LCD TV that’s well-positioned for bedrooms and dorms, with a host of interactive and connected features. The company described its cosmetics as “the perfect complement for a sleek, modern interior.”

Also at the German technology fair, LG said it will launch globally later this year a smart-TV game portal called Game World, which will provide downloadable casual 3D games that can be played on devices using LG’s Cinema 3D smart-TV technology.

The portal is said to provide “a user-friendly way to search, purchase and play game apps — in both 2D and 3D — through an intuitive interface. Many of the games can be played with LG’s Magic Remote or with any third-party game pad.”

Game World will be launched globally in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, the TM2792 will be released into the European markets later this month, but the company did not disclose pricing or U.S. plans. The personal TV set includes LG’s Cinema Screen narrow-bezel design.

“The TM2792 is an exceptional TV, offering an engaging, cinema-quality viewing experience that allows users to immerse themselves in a vast and customizable world of content,” said J.J. Lee, LG home entertainment IT business unit head and executive VP. “Our top-of-the-line personal smart TV takes entertainment to the next level, whether it’s watching a video recorded on a smartphone, a favorite classic movie or anything else in between.”

The unit’s SmartShare technology is a gateway to external devices on the Home Dashboard that allows users to browse and share files with laptops, smartphones and external hard drives.

Also included for screen sharing is Silicon Image’s Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), which works with HDMI and Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi) systems. With MHL, users can display photos and play games from their smartphone on the personal smart TV while the phone is charging.

WiDi makes wireless screen sharing with laptops more convenient than ever and with DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct, content stored on smart devices can easily be accessed and shared.

Other features include LG’s motion- and wheel-controlled Magic Remote and Home Dashboard menu system.

Access to video-on-demand (VOD) content is also provided with 3D World, Game World, LG Smart World (LG Apps) and the Social Center.

The screen is based on in-plane switching (IPS) technology, offering high-resolution images at wide viewing angles without inducing eye fatigue.

The TM2792 includes LG’s Cinema 3D technology for viewing 3D images with battery-free glasses, like those used in movie theaters.

3D Sound Zooming enhances the 3D experience by simulating the movement of sound in correlation to the movement of images on the screen.

LG ships $20,000 Television - global economy must be great

Flying in the face of the global economy, LG launches a $20,000 television in Korea.

4K is officially here in the 84" listed in the article below - now don't everyone run out and buy one today, I mean, it is only $20,000.

JZ

LG Launches 84-inch 4K LCD TV In Korea

 

Seoul, South Korea – LG Electronics made good on one of its new TV technology promises from January CES by officially putting its 84-inch “Ultra Definition (UD)” 3D LCD TV on sale in the Korean Market Wednesday.
LG said “the world’s first 84-inch UD” flat-panel TV – which it is reportedly expected to sell for around $20,000 – produces a whopping (3,840-by-2,160 pixels, or so-called 4K resolution) and introduces a number of new smart features with the aim of providing greater convenience and simpler interaction.
LG said distribution of the set will roll-out in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America starting in September, and it will be a center point of the LG booth at the upcoming IFA show in Berlin, Germany.
“The 4K display market is still in its infancy but it was important for LG to claim a stake in this space,” stated Havis Kwon, LGE Home Entertainment president and CEO, “LG’s UD 3D TV represents a whole new level of home viewing experience because it offers every advanced technology we currently have to offer.”
LG said the set produces up to four times the resolution of today’s FullHD 1080p displays, in part, through the use of an advanced Triple XD Engine and Resolution Upscaler Plus technology that allows images from external sources such as hard drives and user-generated content websites to be rendered in higher detail.
Naturally, the set also includes LG’s Cinema 3D (Film Pattern Retarder) technology that uses inexpensive passive 3D glasses, like those used in movie theaters.
LG said the UD technology enables an even more immersive 3D viewing experience through the use of 3D Depth Control that allows viewers to fine-tune the “distance” between near and far objects on the screen for a custom 3D experience.
A 3D-Sound Zooming feature then analyzes the on-screen objects to generate sound according to their location and movement.
LG includes its new Magic Remote that allows intuitive access and navigation of the set’s Home Dashboard.
The company’s Smart TV ecosystem now includes approximately 1,400 apps and access to an ever-expanding community of premium content services such as 3D World that provides a wide array of movies and games.
The set will also access content from compatible portable devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets and flash memory drives using Smart Share Plus.
LG includes an imbedded 2D to 3D conversion engine to expand the availability of 3D content. It also allows two viewers to see different images when simultaneously viewing from the left and right side angles of the screen, for “Dual Play” head-to-head video game play on one screen.
Other features of the set include a 2.2 Speaker System with two 10-watt speakers and two 15-watt woofers, which reinforce the sound.
LG also showed its 55-inch AMOLED FullHD 1080p TV at CES last January. Although that set has been showcased in the other parts of the world, the company still has not announced U.S. marketing plans.

Apple TV becoming Cable TV - New Patent approved

Apple has run into the wall of providing content for Televisions. Turns out it is much different game then what they pulled off with the Music Industry.

Can't beat them - Join Them.

Be interesting to see how Apple serves as a content provider and has to go toe to toe with the cable industry and satellite industry.

JZ

Apple gets a patent for an Apple TV cable box

Apple TV users will be able to watch programing like Letterman and HBO, and record shows, according to the patent.

by Donna Tam

August 14, 2012 11:04 AM PDT 

(Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

Apple TV will upgrade to live TV, complete with regular and cable channels, and recording abilities, if Apple acts on a patent it was granted today.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent that allows for a video device display that would have an onscreen menu that pops up over the display while video is playing, and lets the user to essentially change the channel.

The patent application, originally filed Oct. 12, 2006, has mock ups of screenshots with various TV programing, including CBS, ABC, FOX, and HBO. There are several screenshots depicting a Letterman segment and other popular shows. Another screenshot shows a list of recorded shows. The patent applications also has images of search and browse functions, so it seems like the new features will be fully integrated with the old system.

If Apple comes through on these designs, this could really boost the functionality -- and popularity -- ofApple TV, which has been limited by a dearth of native channels. It's greatest asset has been with connecting Apple devices for those who own many of them, but for everyone else, there has always been other choices to go to for TV programing.

Television - Can 4K help the industry stop losing money?

Unlike Analog to Digital, just at the same time as Flat Panel technology was launching - 4K and OLED will not enjoy this same opportunity. No one is telling you your current set is no good. The difference in the picture unless you finally have room for over 100 inch screen in your home is not going to be the difference you saw with Analog to High Definition. Same issue with OLED being a little more thinner than current Flat Panel, and not much of a savings boost from LED to OLED just as LED is not much of a savings over LCD as we see now.

How does this save the industry from giving away TVs below the cost to develop and sell this technology? I don't see an answer here, just more of the same.

JZ

• August 14, 2012, 10:42 PM

’4K’ Video: A Hope for Japan’s Electronics Makers?

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By Daisuke Wakabayashi

Associated Press

Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer showed off the company’s new 4K home projector during the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas earlier this year.

These are dark days for the electronics industry in Japan. Sony Corp. is working to regain its mojo (and profitability after four straight years in the red), while Sharp, which once ruled Japan’s television market, is now facing a cash crunch that has raised questions about its long-term future.
The opportunities to script a comeback also appear grim. Smartphones are dominated by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., the tablet market is ruled by Apple, and the television sector is a dog-fight that leaves nearly everyone awash in losses. So where can Japan Inc. turn to for a hope for brighter days?
One possibility is “4K” technology. The “4K” name refers to the number of horizontal pixels, about 4,000, in the image, which is four-times the resolution of today’s high-definition video. Projectors using 4K technology are already used in many movie theaters, allowing super-sharp images even on a massive screen.
Sony is a leader in 4K technology. It produces everything from the image sensors used in cameras that capture the ultra-high resolution videos to the 4K projectors that display the images. A Sony F65, the world’s first commercial camera that can take 4K video, is being used for the filming of “After Earth,” an upcoming science-fiction movie featuring Will Smith. It will be distributed by – yes you guessed it – Sony.
The company’s executives have said it is currently developing a 4K television although it will not be the first to market with one. Toshiba Corp. uses a 4K display in a glasses-free 3-D television it released last year, but the 55-inch model sells for about 780,000 yen, or about $10,000, in Tokyo.
Similar to how high-definition video helped to spur a new round of television sales, Sony and others are hoping that 4K may provide consumers with new incentive to upgrade their TVs.
Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai has said one of his areas of focus will be to find ways to adapt the company’s most expensive technologies geared for business customers for consumer applications. This also means finding ways to reduce the price of the new technology to a level palatable to the mass market. Mr. Hirai has pointed to 4K as a prime example of his efforts.
Japan’s technology firms have tried this before. In 2010, Sony, Panasonic and others aggressively promoted 3-D displays with the hopes of revitalizing the television market. Even with the growing availability of 3-D movies, the technology received a lukewarm response from consumers. The lack of 3-D content and the need to wear special glasses stunted the growth potential of 3-D. While 4K will not require special glasses, it may need to overcome the same shortage of content problem as 3-D.
Corrections & Amplifications: The “4K” name refers to the number of horizontal pixels, about 4,000, in the image. An earlier version of this article did not clarify that the figure referred to the number of horizontal pixels.

Sharp Televisions - the future is in question

Not looking good for a large competitor in the CE industry. Gives a good insight to the challenges faced by all in the Consumer Electronics Industry. They have more than most with little else to fall back on while key categories are challenged.

JZ

Hopes dim for Sharp amid Japan's TV industry sunset

 

A salesperson walks among Sharp Corp's Aquos liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions displayed at an electronic store in Tokyo in this June 8, 2012 file photograph.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai/Files

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO | Fri Aug 3, 2012 6:56am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sharp Corp shares tumbled nearly 30 percent to their lowest closing level since 1976 on Friday as investors questioned whether Japan's last major maker of television panels will survive the sunset of the country's TV industry.

A day after the century-old company warned of an operating loss of 100 billion yen ($1.28 billion) for this fiscal year, Moody's and Standard & Poor's cut their credit ratings and rival Fitch warned that Sharp could lose investment-grade status unless a planned restructuring succeeds.

Sharp's mounting losses, a symptom of Japanese TV makers' increasing uncompetitiveness against rivals from South Korea and elsewhere, leave it scrambling for a fresh cash injection.

Analysts say its future may hinge on whether Hon Hai Precision Industries, the flagship of Taiwan's Foxconn

"Sharp has been helped by Hon Hai, they may need more help," said Yuuki Sakurai, CEO of Fukoku Capital Management, the asset management unit of Japan's Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance. "Japan's TV makers are just relying on their past legacies. As long as they depend on TV they will face tough competition."

Revealing expectations for an operating loss this business year of 100 billion yen and announcing 5,000 job cuts, its first in six decades, the maker of Aquos TVs on Thursday insisted it retained the backing of its main banks, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Investors were unconvinced and dumped the stock, which slid 28 percent on Friday to 192 yen, its lowest level in 36 years and cutting the company's market capitalization by more than $1 billion to $2.72 billion.

SHARE COLLAPSE

Sharp, which got its start 100 years ago making mechanical ever-sharp pencils from which it derived its name, declined to comment on the share collapse.

Adding to Sharp's woe and handicapping its ability to raise fresh funds, Moody's Investors Service on Friday cut the company's short-term debt rating from Prime-2 to Prime-3, the lowest investment grade.

Moody's cited "concern that the company's operating performance and additional restructuring costs will continue to pressure its cash flow downwards, thereby increasing its dependence on external sources for liquidity".

Those external sources so far include Hon Hai, which in March agreed to buy into the ailing TV maker.

S&P's decision to cut its rating came after the Japanese company on Thursday expanded its annual net loss forecast to 250 billion yen from 30 billion yen.

The net loss of 138 billion yen in the three months ended June 30 has already taken a big chunk out of Sharp's capital. Its shareholders' equity ratio slumped to 18.7 percent from 23.9 percent at the end of March, falling below the 20 percent threshold generally considered to be healthy.

"With Sharp's losses growing to this level, there's barely going to be any net capital left," said Makoto Kikuchi, CEO of Myojo Asset Management in Tokyo.

WANING DEMAND

Like rivals Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp, Sharp has been hammered by waning global TV demand and aggressive overseas competitors led by Samsung Electronics that are grabbing a bigger slice of a shrinking pie. Sony's stock fell 7 percent on Friday to 897 yen, its lowest since 1980, while Panasonic was off 3.8 percent.

Combined, the three Japanese TV makers this business year expect to sell around 10 million fewer TVs than they did the previous year.

While Sony has movie studios, an insurance business and a gaming unit, and Panasonic builds batteries and automotive devices that can offset TV losses, Sharp, which invented transistor calculators and pioneered LCD TVs, has fewer options to retool.

Underlining a looming cash crunch, Sharp's credit default swap spreads - the cost of insuring its debt against default - have been widening since February, with the 5-year contract currently at an all-time high of 833.3/1000.

In the past month the CDS curve has shown a dramatic inversion, which means it is now more expensive to buy insurance against default for shorter maturities than longer maturities.

Such an inversion is usually seen in small, fragile companies. (for CDS graphics, click on r.reuters.com/sys79s and link.reuters.com/xys79s)

"The availability and cost of credit will be affected if lenders continue to be concerned about the company's prospects," Fitch said in a report Friday.

Sharp's next financing hurdle is a 200 billion yen convertible bond that matures in September next year. It was issued in October 2006 when the stock was trading above 2,000 yen at a conversion price of 2,531 yen.

"They'll get support from the banks and get through their immediate funding concerns... but they're going to have to do some equity financing to strengthen their capital base," Myojo's Kikuchi said.

HON HAI HELP?

One option for Sharp could be to seek more investment from fellow Apple Inc supplier Hon Hai.

In March it agreed to buy a 46.48 percent stake in Sharp's LCD plant in Sakai in western Japan. Much of the company's losses stem from the underutilized facility.

Hon Hai also agreed to purchase new Sharp shares worth 66.9 billion yen, giving it an 11 percent stake in the Japanese company. Hon Hai has yet to stump up the money for that deal, in which it agreed to pay 550 yen for each new share.

Speculation has swirled that the Taiwanese company may renegotiate given the fall in Sharp's share price, and it said in a statement on Friday that Sharp had agreed it did not need to honor the deal.

"Due to the volatility of Sharp Corporation's share price, Sharp Corporation agrees our company does not need to honor the share purchase agreement signed on March 27, but Sharp Corporation will still reserve the right for our company to purchase the same percentage of shares," Hon Hai's statement said.

Sharp's president, Takashi Okuda, had said on Thursday that Hon Hai would honor the deal at the agreed price.

In June, when Sharp's shares were trading above 400 yen, Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou told an annual general meeting the firm was in talks with Sharp about increasing its stake. Local media later reported that Hon Hai hoped to seek a board membership in Sharp.

Although saddle with ballooning losses, Sharp remains an attractive partner for Hon Hai because of its research into new technologies such as next generation ultra thin high definition screens and advanced manufacturing processes it has honed at Sakai, the world's most advanced LCD plant.

Sharp, however, may not be easy to woo despite its ballooning losses. Okuda told his company's shareholders at their annual gathering in June that there would be no more capital coming from Hon Hai and that there was no plan to invite Gou or any of his executives to join Sharp's board.

(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai, Mari Saito and Dominic Lau in Tokyo, Clare Jim in Taipei and Umesh Desai of IFR in Hong Kong; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Alex Richardson)

Samsung Profit Rises 48%

Samsung reports profit - due to Televisions, haha, only kidding. Smartphones drive 2/3rds of the results. Though Display Division did run a profit and not a loss.

JZ

SEOUL—Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday that its second-quarter profit jumped 48% to another company record as it increased smartphone sales and experienced cyclical recoveries in its chip and display component businesses.

The launch of a new, high-end smartphone helped its telecom division continue to have the most impact on Samsung's overall results. The unit accounted for nearly two-thirds of the operating profit for the world's biggest technology manufacturer by sales.

LG Display posts a loss

Samsung just announced a small profit for the quarter in their display division. LG not able to turn to a profit yet. More sales doesn't mean more money in the bank. CE industry has to stop driving sales at a loss.

JZ

LG Display Reports Higher Sales, Loss

TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 7/26/2012

Seoul, Korea - LG Display reported higher revenue and a loss during the second quarter.

Revenue was 6.91 trillion won, up from the prior year's 6.04 trillion won. LG Display reported a net loss of 112 billion won, compared with profits of 21 billion won in the prior year's second quarter.

LG Display blamed the loss on slow second-quarter demand for TVs and the price fixing case in the U.S. last year that, accounting for the three defendants, was up to $380 million in penalties.

Samsung release new Development Kit

I continue to review and wonder how the customer experience will be. Having the ability to control the TV by Voice or Motion commands is nice. Trying to get ahead of Apple is nice. Reality is that we don't have an Apple TV, and we won't enjoy a Voice or Motion Command TV because the TV manufacturer does not control the content on the TV. Majority of us use the remote and displays from the Cable or Satellite provider. So unless you are one of the few that get over the air signals, telling your TV what to do, doesn't do much. How often (if ever) do we go into the menu and settings for the TV. Also there are VERY few people that go into the IPTV modes and menus, and again, there still is control of that content issue in that area if you are using any outside source to drive the content.

Would you take the time to develop for this?

JZ

Samsung Electronics Released New TV Application Development Tool

Samsung Electronics unveiled Software Development Kit (SDK) 3.5, which is a TV application with improved voice and motion recognition and smart phone-based interworking.
Specifically, the new SDK provides an enhanced Smart Interaction function so that developers can work on TV applications using the voice and hand gestures with greater convenience.

At the same time, it guarantees a better interworking between smart TVs and mobile devices and allows the developers to make use of various functions such as inter-device control and smart streaming of video files. The company added that an application letting multiple users enjoy the same game on TV can be developed.
The 3.5 version also provides the IDE, or Integrated Development Environment, to help the development of application by supporting the most universal programs.

Date: July 10^th, 2012

Source: ETNews

Samsung and LG continue to fight over AMOLED screen technology

I just hope they keep fighting and keep distracted from real business!!! ;-)

Just some wishful thinking on my part!!!!

JZ

Samsung, LG still in battle over theft of AMOLED technology

Tech giants Samsung and LG Display have again clashed over Samsung’s claim that its rival stole its key technologies used in manufacturing large AMOLED screens.

While Samsung Display strongly requested that its competitor offer an official apology and warned it will proceed with all legal methods for counteraction, LG denied its allegations, stating that it is not responsible for any of the claims.

Both parties held press conferences Monday, a day after it was reported that 11 people, including a former Samsung Mobile Display executive, Samsung researchers, LG Display and its affiliate employees were charged by the Suwon Prosecutors’ Office without detention on Sunday.

The case was first raised by Samsung Display ― which was then Samsung Mobile Display ― in April with the company saying that LG stole its key technologies related to AMOLED by attempting to hire its former executive surnamed Cho.

Cho, who took home data involving Samsung’s small mask scanning technology and the details of AMOLED display production processes, was given a consulting position at an LG affiliate to fulfill his two-year job transfer period from Samsung to LG Display.

The executive is accused of delivering the technology information, taken from his former Samsung colleagues, to LG Display seven times through e-mails and text messages since May of last year.

“We will make firm counteractions regarding the issue with a civil suit, which includes damage compensation, being the action most likely to follow,” said Samsung Display executive Shim Jae-boo.

He also said that LG Display was responsible not only for stealing its key technology but also for improperly recruiting its workforce.

“We confirmed that the former Samsung executive surnamed Cho received up to 190 million won after giving way the key data,” he said.

LG Display, however, argued against Samsung’s statement, further elaborating that it did not get the data from that executive.

“The prosecutors have not arrested the former Samsung executive because the technology theft has not been proved but it seems they are looking into whether there were any leaks of Samsung’s business secrets,” according to LG Display executive Lee Bang-soo.

Lee said the firm plans on hiring Cho, the former Samsung executive, once his alleged charges are all dismissed.

“Considering the fact that none of the LG officials involved in the matter were charged, we could come to a conclusion that it was not such a significant case and that Samsung Display has exaggerated the meaning, scale and seriousness of it,” he said.

“LG and Samsung have grown into global business groups through competition in the field of electronics and this should have a focus on technology development rather than a fight staged just to drag each other down.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldm.com)

OLED Televisions and Price

There is some honest talk out there about how long it will take to reduce price on the new OLED Televisions that have been shown at CES and beyond. One interesting thing that no one is talking about, how do I connect all my current devices to this TV? You notice that nice pole that has been below every display of an OLED? This obviously won't be the way you connect in your house, and there is a standard question that has yet to be discussed. Where does a standard power cord come from. Is it HDMI , if so, where will the ports be connected. If it is a separate box, how does that work. Ah it looks so beautiful, but many simple questions need to be answered. They are now focused on price, but the bigger issue may be the reality of how our homes are, and the inability to have this set work the way we see it at the show in our homes. (sounds like 3DTV a bit eh?)

JZ

Want affordable OLED TVs? Don't hold your breath, Panasonic says

Speaking to reporters today, Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga says OLEDs won't match LCDs on price anytime soon.

by Don Reisinger

June 28, 2012 7:01 AM PDT

An LG OLED TV. Panasonic hopes to enter the OLED market somewhere down the road.

(Credit: LG)

The beauty of slender OLED televisions might be enticing, but their price tags aren't. And according to Panasonic, that will continue to be the case for the time being.
Company President Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters in Tokyo today, according to Reuters, which was in attendance, that he does not believe OLED pricing will match LCD televisions "for a considerable time." According to Reuters, he didn't provide a road map on when the televisions might come down to a far more affordable level.
OLED televisions have become the most sought-after sets in the marketplace. The devices are ultrathin and deliver a level of image quality not yet seen in the marketplace. The issue is, some of the latest OLEDs are priced at around $10,000. The typical LCD can be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars and can rise into the thousands, depending on its size and features.
Panasonic, which is in the midst of a reorganization designed to improve its many businesses, including televisions, earlier this week announced a partnership with Sony. The deal will see the companies jointly develop OLED panels with help from their respective technologies. The companies say that the partnership will reduce the total cost of production, potentially making OLED panels more affordable to vendors. That savings could then be passed on to customers.
New television technologies are typically quite costly in the beginning, but quickly come down in price. OLEDs are just the latest to follow that path. When they'll hit more consumer-friendly levels, however, remains to be seen.