OLED Hurting in the Economic Downturn

That large, affordable OLED TV you wanted was already a way off but with the global economy in the shape it's in, that way just got a fair bit longer.

Factories that currently produce flat panel televisions need heavy retooling to produce OLED TVs. The materials that work best for screen backing in an LCD do not work well for current OLED technology so one of two things has to happen. OLED can either be made to work with the amorphous silicon backing that LCD televisions use or factories need to be retooled to use the polysilicon backing that works best with OLED.

Either of these options will require a significant investment by the manufacturers producing OLEDs. Getting larger OLED screens working on amorphous silicon would take a heavy research and development investment but would allow the OLEDs to be produced in existing facilities. This is also a gamble as getting OLED to work on existing screen backings could either not work or end up being prohibitively expensive.

Retooling a facility is the other path but this requires significant spending in new equipment and training. It also reduces the production of whatever that factory was producing previously.

In the current economy manufacturers are wary of making investments in new areas or in taking gambles that may not pay off. The technology of OLED isn't going anywhere but seeing a 32" OLED in your living room any time soon may be a casualty of the economic downturn.