LG Display this month started production at its 8.5th Generation OLED manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China. When fully ramped, total capacity of the factory will be 90,000 substrates per month. The plant will produce 55, 65, and 77-inch high-resolution panels for televisions. In fact, LG’s goal is to make 10 million large size OLED panels per year by 2022, which means to more than double its current output.

The new 8.5G OLED panel plant is a nine-level building above the ground that occupies a 74,000 m² piece of land and provides 427,000 m² of floor space. Initial capacity of the manufacturing facility will be 60,000 2200×2500 mm substrates per month, which will be expanded to 90,000 sheets per month by 2021. The factory will be operated by LG Display High-Tech China, a joint venture between LG Display and Guangzhou Development District, in which the former holds a 70% stake (with ~$2,150 billion in capital).

Facing cut-throat competition from various makers of liquid crystal displays, LG Display recently set a strategic goal to significantly expand production of large OLED panels in a bid to serve more lucrative and growing market segments. LGD says that it sold 2.9 million huge OLED panels in 2018 and expects to sell 3.8 million large panels this year, which will turn this business to profitability. Citing market researchers, the manufacturer says that demand for OLED TVs and panels is growing and to that end, it makes a great sense to invest in OLED plants.

Right now, LG makes 70,000 8.5G OLED substrates at its plant near Paju, South Korea. The company is building a 10.5th Generation OLED plant near Paju that will produce 45,000 of 2940×3370 mm substrates per month when it is ready in 2022. Combined, LGD will manufacture 160,000 8.5G OLED substrates and 45,000 10.5G OLED sheets a month in 2022. The company hopes that its expanded manufacturing capacity will enable it to make 10 million of large OLED panels per year by 2022.

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Source: LG Display

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  • imaheadcase - Saturday, August 31, 2019 - link

    That is a lot of TV. I own 2 x 55 LG OLED TV myself, the 55inch ones go on sale every christmas and its the strangest thing because unlike normal electronics they hardly go down in price. $1500 TV i bought almost 2 years ago is selling maybe $100 less than when i got it. lol

    I think really the only thing better on the newer ones is "HDR" and 120Hz panels? I assume the software is about the same, which is to say its pretty great. The magic remote is nice as well. Haven't researched the upgrades lately to see.

    I'm guessing with this plant the costs will eventually make my TV see price drop though.
  • surt - Saturday, August 31, 2019 - link

    Displays are in for a slowdown as they approach the limits of our eyes. 5 years from now 8k, 240hz, 2nd-gen HDR displays will pretty much deliver what our eyes can absorb.
  • crimsonson - Saturday, August 31, 2019 - link

    I doubt it. Rec.2020 is not even the full human spectrum and most TV now can barely reach 80%.

    HDR has better chance but 1000 nite sustain 100% is still extremely difficult with one or 2 exception. Then again 1000 nuts 100% is a rarely necessary. But there are provisions for 2000, 4000 and even 10k nits.

    Dunno if 5 years is enough to reach 2000 100%.

    Resolution wise 4K is good enough considering viewing distance and screen size. You would need to be watching a 42” tv from >3ft away to see the difference from 4K to 8k
  • Kevin G - Saturday, August 31, 2019 - link

    Beyond 2000 sustained nits is verging on too bright for a display. I've seen some medical reference displays capable and the joke of nerds getting tans from bright displays feels like it could be true with those.

    As for migration to 8K, I could use it. I have three 27" 4K displays in a PLP setup that are about 24" away. So for computer monitors at least, 8K has clear benefits.
  • nathanddrews - Sunday, September 1, 2019 - link

    Spreadsheets for days.
  • a5cent - Sunday, September 1, 2019 - link

    Not sure what "sustained" brightness is. If a measuring device would measure 2000 nits across the entire display for more than a fraction of a second, then yes, that would be completely ridiculous.

    2000 nits for localized peak brightness is completely reasonable however. On a sunny day, the reflections of light off a lake can reach 10'000 nits.
  • althaz - Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - link

    Yes, but you can't look at that without sunglasses.
  • Santoval - Sunday, September 1, 2019 - link

    "Beyond 2000 sustained nits is verging on too bright for a display".
    Not in a sunlit or otherwise (artificially) bright room. It's indeed blinding bright in a dark room though.
  • 0ldman79 - Sunday, September 1, 2019 - link

    We need color and motion improvements, but honestly the difference between 1080p and 4K are limited, particularly if you're rendering a game at 4K and displaying at 1080p, looks amazing, occasionally better than native 4K.

    I'm all for better colors and framerates tho. 8K is just increasing processing requirements for little gain. Most people's eyesight is not as good as mine corrected and I can't see a lot of difference between 1080p and 4K, much less 8K.

    I guess the higher resolution does give you more pixels to allow for the use of the higher color range tho.
  • lilkwarrior - Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - link

    Downsampling 4K to 1080p is definitely not better than native 4K. You're bringing up what sounds to me a DPI issue that's more about what resolution you're rendering vs. your screen size.

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