Funai Becomes 4th Japanese Brand to Sell OLED TVs
May 20, 2017
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Japanese electronics maker Funai will partner with electronics retailer Yamada Denki to sell 4K OLED televisions as early as 2018 in preparation for rising demand before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Details have not yet been released, but the OLED models are expected to be competitively priced, like their LCD counterparts that go on sale in June. This year is being called the first of the OLED era. Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba have also announced new models with OLED displays, but since LG Display is the sole supplier of OLED TV panels, these companies are distinguishing their products with other features like image processing and acoustics. Sony's OLED TV will feature a display that also serves as the speaker. Panasonic will use technology developed during the plasma TV era to improve image quality, and acoustics from its Technics brand to improve sound quality. Toshiba will use artificial intelligence in image processing. As the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 approach, demand is expected to rise, and another boost is predicted from consumers replacing the TVs they bought in 2009, when the Japanese government sponsored a program to spur appliance consumption. Panasonic will release a 65-inch version -- some are predicting that the technology will become more popular. Last year Funai reached an exclusive sales deal for LCD TVs with Yamada, the first entry into the Japanese television market in some time for the electronics maker. Yamada wanted to respond to customer demand for LCD models. The products are expected to bear the Funai brand name. 
 
 

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