LCD TV market begins to bounce back, Toshiba pledges to develop OLED

The LCD TV market is showing signs of recovery. According to trade analysts at WitsView, global panel shipments in February bounced back after a poor December and January, although year-on-year the market is still down. The news will come as a relief to major panel makers looking for a return to stability, after months of commercial turmoil.  For the consumer, this could signal an end to the kind of panic discounting seen recently on the high-street.

WitsView says it expects panel shipments to reach 75.66 million units in the quarter. Spokesperson Lilia Huang says the company expects panel shipments to increase to 91.46 million units in the second quarter.

In related news, Toshiba has confirmed that it will acquire all of Panasonic's shares in the joint venture operation it has run to develop and produce LCD and OLED TVs. The share transfer will take place on April 28, at which point the Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Company changes its name to Toshiba Mobile Display Co Ltd.  Toshiba says that it will seek to establish OLED with the new company ‘in the medium- to long-term.’