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LG Display, the world’s second-biggest flat-panel display maker, is betting big on large-scale OLED television panels, brushing aside industry scepticism about the chances of the technology displacing mainstream liquid crystal display.
全球第二大平板显示器制造商乐金显示(LG Display)正在向大尺寸有机发光二极管(OLED)电视平板显示器投入重注。至于业界对这种技术能否代替主流液晶显示(LCD)技术的怀疑，该公司毫不在意。
OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, panels use ultra-thin, lighter technology to produce higher picture quality and lower power consumption than LCD screens. They feature on Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
与LCD屏幕相比，OLED面板使用更轻的超薄技术，生成图像的画质更高，耗电量更低。三星电子(Samsung Electronics)的Galaxy智能手机和平板电脑上就采用了这种面板。
LG aims to steal a march in the potentially lucrative market on crosstown South Korean rival and world leader Samsung Display, which is instead focusing on improving LCD panels for ultra high-definition TVs.
LG此举的目的是在这个可能带来丰厚盈利的市场上抢占先机，超过同城的韩国对手、全球业界领袖三星显示(Samsung Display)。后者的战略与LG不同，他们把主要精力放在了改善LCD面板以适应超高清电视的需要上。
The diverging strategies reflect the mixed views about the future of OLED technology, long touted by industry watchers as a potential game-changer for the $94bn global TV industry but which remains clouded by doubts about its commercial value because of high production costs and technological challenges.
两种截然不同的战略表明，人们对OLED技术的未来的看法可谓喜忧参半。长期以来，业内观察家对OLED技术大加赞扬，称这种技术可能会改变940亿美元规模的全球电视制造业。然而，这种预期由于人们对其商业价值的疑虑而一直不甚明朗，原因是这种技术生产成本过高，技术上也面临诸多挑战。
Behind LG’s aggressive investment to expand OLED production capacity lies the belief that demand for OLED TVs will take off once they are more affordable.
促使LG以激进投资方式扩大OLED产能的，是这样一种信念：只要OLED电视机成本再降一些，它们就会蓬勃发展起来。
“LCD has no future. The Chinese can make even ultra high-definition TVs at lower costs,” says Oh Chang-ho, senior vice-president of LG’s OLED TV development division. “We cannot win this price war. For survival, we have to make products that they cannot make.”
LG OLED电视研发部门资深副总裁吴昌镐(Oh Chang-ho，音译)表示：“LCD毫无前途。中国人能以更低的成本制造超高清电视。这种价格战我们是打不赢的。为了生存，我们必须生产他们制造不了的产品。”
Sony launched the world’s first commercial OLED TV in 2007 but the Japanese company was surpassed by Korean rivals. However, mass producing large OLED TVs is difficult and more costly. Samsung and LG rolled out 55-inch full-HD (high definition) curved OLED TVs last year but the hefty price tag – roughly $15,000 – deterred consumers.
2007年，索尼(Sony)曾推出全球首款商业级OLED电视，但是这家日本企业很快就被韩国对手超过。不过，OLED电视的大规模生产十分困难，成本也更高。三星和LG去年曾推出55英寸的全高清曲面OLED电视，不过大约1.5万美元的高昂标价吓住了消费者。
LG reckons it is finally in a position to cut costs, thanks to breakthroughs to boost production efficiency and resolve colour distortions. It plans to introduce curved ultra high-definition OLED TVs as large as 77 inches this year.
LG判断，由于在提高生产效率和解决色彩失真方面取得的突破，该公司最终走到了降低生产成本这一步。今年，该公司计划推出尺寸高达77英寸的超高清OLED电视。
The company is convinced OLED can breathe new life into consumer demand because the technology, best suited for flexible display, allows TVs to be made in all sorts of shapes. OLED panels are easier to bend than LCDs because they work without a backlight.
LG确信OLED会为消费者需求注入新的活力，因为这种最适合软性显示器的技术令电视能做成各种形状。OLED显示面板比LCD更易于弯曲，原因是这种面板工作时不需要背光源。
LG has recently developed an 18-inch rollable OLED panel as well as the same-size transparent OLED panel and is confident that it can develop an UltraHD flexible and transparent OLED panel of more than 60 inches by 2017.
LG最近开发了一种18英寸的可滚动OLED面板，以及一种同样尺寸的透明OLED面板。该公司对于在2017年前开发一种尺寸超过60英寸、柔性透明超高清OLED显示面板信心十足。
But LG is in the minority with its confidence in the budding technology. Its rivals remain sidelined by concerns that OLED may go the way of plasma – once promising technology that has been expensive to develop and ultimately not widely adopted.
不过，LG对于这种初创技术的信心在业内并不多见。它的对手依然对此采取观望态度，因为他们担心OLED可能会走上等离子体显示技术的老路——这种技术曾经很有前途，却由于其开发过于昂贵而最终没有得到广泛应用。
Samsung Display has opted to push the technological boundaries of LCD panels with high-margin ultra high-definition TVs capable of displaying four times the resolution of existing HD TVs.
目前，为扩大产量降低成本，LG还在努力将更多OLED显示面板销售给欧洲和日本的电视机生产商，以及中国的创维(Skyworth)、康佳(Konka)和长虹(Changhong)。该公司把目标对准了中国日益富裕的中产阶级，它认为中国市场是它成功的关键。
It has decided to produce small OLED panels instead of large ones at its new South Korean plant coming on stream next year. Sony and Panasonic have both pulled out of the market, abandoning their OLED TV joint venture in December. Cracking the cost formula for large OLED TVs remains the key challenge. LG says its production efficiency ratio for large panels has reached 70-80 per cent, versus more than 95 per cent for LCD panels.
许多分析师对此却不够乐观。虽然他们也希望三星最终能加入与LG的竞争——就算仅仅是为了避免落后也行，但他们同时也警告说OLED不太可能在短期内取代LCD。
