Samsung's Blu-ray and LCD TV plans disclosed

David Steel, marketing vice president of Samsung's Digital Media
Business, addresses Blu-ray, future products, and whether
the company is ditching plasmas in favour of LCDs.
Early last week, we had an opportunity to catch up with David G. Steel,marketing vice president of Samsung's Digital Media Business. The first non-Korean to hold a top echelon position at the chaebol, Steel had dropped by Singapore for the company's Tech Forum 2006. A full-day seminar held at The Oriental hotel, top minds from its electronics and telecommunications divisions were flown in to present on various hot developments in their respective fields.

The diversified topics ranged from high-speed mobile WiMAX to Samsung's LCD technology, as well as its vision of the digital TV market in terms of growth, competition and potential. With up to 50 percent of the company's 2006 revenue generated from its TV business and a multi-billion-dollar investment at stake, we asked this affable Briton just what's in the pipeline for one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics colossals.

Q: The current trend in home entertainment is heading toward high-definition video and audio. How long will these developments reach critical mass in Asia, and what, in Samsung's opinion, will be the next big push beyond HD? Take 3D visual.

Steel: There are several key elements required for mass HD adaptation: HDTV availability, recorded content such as Blu-ray software, HD broadcasts, government regulations and, most importantly, hi-def gaming. These are gradually falling into place for Asia and we believe that 2010 will be the year when HD reaches mainstream. In fact, we will be seeing tremendous growth next year with growing hardware affordability and content availability.

It is too early to single out any particular innovation. Take higher-definition, alternative visual technologies such as OLED or even flexible displays. Though we forecast nothing drastic occuring in this space for the next couple of years, home networking could probably be the next area to watch. It's all about sharing content and integration of various entertainment boxes to take home a more seamless user experience.

Samsung earlier announced its plan to roll out a universal player which plays back both Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Why was the development shelved despite a very positive initial response from consumers, particularly from the deep-pocket enthusiast market?

This is a common misunderstanding. We haven't announced plans to release a universal Blu-ray and HD-DVD player. What we have said is that such a product is quite possible and poses no technical difficulty in manufacturing. In addition, we don't think that's the route to take because we believe a single standard for the market is the best course of action. It eliminates potential multiple format confusion for the consumers and overlapping content inventory in the retail channels.

We look at Blu-ray as the best format with its high storage capacity and inbuilt flexibility. It is supported by many of the major consumer electronics and PC manufacturers, as well as endorsements from over 80 percent of the Hollywood studios. This is one standard which almost everyone has agreed to, with products readily available on shelves in selected markets.
Many vendors are holding back their Blu-ray and HD-DVD products in Asia,citing a lack of software as a key consideration. Is anyone in the hardware industry negotiating with the studios to remedy the situation? Or are there any profound reasons behind the delay?

Samsung has no intention to hold back its Blu-ray products and is collaborating with the local studios for launches on a county-by-country basis. This is bearing in mind that it takes time for hardware fine-tuning and localisation such as relevant language support and regional coding allocation.

It also makes more sense to launch the software and hardware in countries where HD is better understood and appreciated. This, unfortunately, is not the case in most parts of Asia considering the HD awareness, maturity of the consumer market and HDTV's penetration rate. Just imagine the negative experience if one were to hook up a Blu-ray player on an old CRT TV.

Philips is pushing hard for the users' experience with its unique Ambilight technology, while Pioneer is offering professional calibration for its plasma TVs. Does Samsung have a unique proposition for its flat panels which is a key differentiator from the crowd?

Based on our global customer survey, picture quality comes out top as the single-most important purchase consideration. Besides leveraging on Digital Natural Image engine which is our core picture-enhancement technology, we have invested heavily in improving performance and are currently at the head of the pack. We are the first in the world to introduce LED backlighting for enhanced colour reproduction, 120Hz scanning on LCD TVs for smoother motion, and special anti-reflection filters on plasma TVs for better contrast.

The second element of differentiation is design. We believe as digital products become more and more widespread, design will take on a far more important role in the future. Things will get slimmer, sleeker, and smaller than ever. That's why we are putting a strong emphasis in this area with our pool of 650 designers and design centers spread throughout the globe in major countries such as Japan and the US. The R7 LCD TV is an example of our innovative design which is very well-received worldwide.

Samsung is nowadays releasing a lot more LCD TVs than its plasma counterparts. In the last three months, we have seen the F7, N7 and S7-series LCDs compared with a single P7-series plasma. Is this an indication of a shift in focus toward LCD technology for your flat panels?

Not at all. This is just a reality of the current strong market demand for LCD TVs, which more than quadrupled its plasma counterparts in shipping volume. This comes as no surprise considering the LCD advantage in offering a wider range of screen sizes, particular the smaller panels for bedrooms. The demographic variation also has a hand in the fluctuating trend, with consumers from different countries favoring a specific technology due to different exposures, among others.

That said, Samsung is very much committed to all competing visual technologies, be it LCD, plasma, DLP or even the legacy CRT. As long as there is market demand for the products, Samsung will have the relevant solutions for its customers.