OLED production costs for small-size OLED panels are decreasing but production costs for OLED TV panels are still high, analyst firm DisplaySearch says. It is between 8-10 times more expensive to produce OLED-TV panels compared to LCD TV panels. Samsung’s OLED TV is most expensive to manufacture.

OLED TV production costs are high
We have yet to see LG and Samsung’s OLED-TVs in the wild. Why? Because OLED is a relatively new technologies with a lot of production hurdles to overcome – and because OLED is still very expensive, DisplaySearch claims.


LG’s 55” OLED-TV is 8 times more expensive to produce than LCD

In an analysis, DisplaySearch has compared production costs of a 55-inch LCD panel, a 55-inch WOLED panel (similar to LG’s 55-inch OLED-TV) and a 55-inch RGB OLED panel (similar to Samsung’s 55-inch OLED-TV). The analysis shows that OLED TV production is 8 times more expensive than LCD when based on WOLED – whites OLED with color filters - and 10 times more expensive than RGB OLED – red, green, blue OLED pixels.


OLED TV panels are 8-10 times more expensive to produce than LCD, depending on the production method utilized

The high production costs are mainly a result of low yield (a high “throw out” ratio of produced panels) and high materials costs, DisplaySearch says. However, DisplaySearch also mentions that costs reductions for LCD panels have slowed and OLED production is still in its infancy. With new production methods OLED production costs are expected to decrease rapidly.


Samsung’s 55” OLED-TV is 10 times more expensive to produce than LCD

OLED panels today are either produced via LTPS (p-Si) or the more efficient oxide (such as IGZO) method. OLED panels can also be produced with inkjet printing technology or via LITI (laser). Small OLED panels for smartphones are approximately 1.3 times more expensive than LCD counterparts.

DisplaySearch still expects the OLED market to grow nearly tenfold from 2012 to 2016.

- Source: DisplaySearch