With 3D TVs, Sony sees big breakthroughs

With 3D TVs, Sony sees big breakthroughs

Toshifumi Okuda, the head of Sony Corporation’s TV division, poses with its Internet TV at the firm’s booth in this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas, the United States. / Courtesy of Sony Korea Japanese TV titan expects early recovery By Kim Yoo-chul, Kim Tong-hyung SEOUL/LAS VEGAS ― After years of losses, Sony Corporation is looking to achieve a turnaround through finding fresh revenue streams in its flagship television segment, a top company executive said. Based on the firm belief that three-dimensional (3D) TVs will expand from theaters to living rooms, the world’s No. 3 maker of flat-screen TV sets is poised to channel more resources to the emerging technology. ``Sony’s television business is striving to chalk up recovery in profitability as early as possible. Toward that end, 3D TVs are critical,’’ Toshifumi Okuda, the head of Sony’s TV division, told The Korea Times in a recent interview. Okuda, who has led Sony’s liquid crystal display (LCD) TV business since last May, said that the Tokyo-headquartered outfit will seek to achieve aggressive sales targets for this year. Okuda’s division, which has play the role of Sony’s cash cow, has yet to set up sales goals for the fiscal year 2011 ― from this April through next March. Over the ongoing fiscal year through 2011, Sony is projected to sell around 2.5 million 3D TV sets, which will amount to 10 percent of Okuda’s division’s objective of 25 million including non-3D TVs. ``We expect the global market for 3D televisions will expand during the next fiscal year. With 3D televisions, Sony is aiming to become the leader in flat-screen televisions in many countries,’’ he said. Sony has bet on 3D TV via not only expanding its product lineups but also developing more 3D-specific content for the stable proliferation of the new technology across the world. Asked about Sony’s ventures in Internet TV, which are underway in a partnership with the world’s foremost search engine operator Google, the executive sounded quite upbeat. ``Since last October, a mounting number of consumers have come up with favorable reviews of our Internet TV services. We expect more sales of Internet TVs,’’ he said. Sony is the first major global player that has adopted Google’s Web-enabled TV platform, which is popular because it allows TV viewers to search for videos available on the Internet. Regarding the woes on the weak prices of flat-panel displays including 3D TVs, Okuda said that Sony would stick to its premium strategy _ people will be ready to open their wallets for top-quality Sony products. The global consumer-electronics industry tends to involve notoriously competitive situations. Topping other products off, the TV segment suffers the worst. It is not rare for TV prices to fall 20 percent during a single year since the industry’s supply outstrips demand. Overly ambitious sales goals of firms end up causing inventory buildup, which generate oversupply. In this climate, razor-thin bottom lines evaporate when sales show slight signs of stagnating or when component prices rise more than originally projected. Sony vowed to rack up a turnaround in the television business in the fiscal year 2010, which wraps up in this March; but a vast majority of observers seemingly regard it this as a tall task. It has been widely expected that the Japanese behemoth may fail to attain its target of selling 25 million televisions over fiscal 2010. Okuda did not elaborate on the issue. Glasses-free 3D TV? At this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), television behemoths presented what path they will follow with regard to 3D glasses. Sony unveiled several prototype glasses-free 3D organic light emitting diode (OLED) televisions while its Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics bank on glasses-powered solutions. Okuda admitted that Sony is developing glasses-free 3D TVs as a next-generation technology, although he said the firm’s standard has yet to be fixed. Viewers of 3D content have to experience the hassle of wearing glasses, which experts contend is one of the barriers to prevent the brisk growth of 3D TVs. It remains to be seen whether 3D technology will eventually evolve with or without glasses ― there are already glasses-free options available. Viewers are asked to stand at designated places to feel the 3D effect. But the image quality is sub-par compared to the glasses-based alternative. This has prompted Samsung and LG to focus on 3D TVs with spectacles. Okuda went on to say that Sony will use active-shutter glass technology, which is also braced for by Samsung in churning 3D TVs. But he declined to comment whether it will use 3D panels of LG Display. ``For the time being, panels that use active-shutter glass technology is a fit for our products,’’ he said. The comment drew attention because it came on the heels of the news that Samsung’s fiercest panel rival LG Display has resumed its business partnership with Sony, which maintained an alliance with Samsung for as long as seven years in LCDs. Samsung and LG Display have a stiff competition in ``3D screen technology.’’ The former’s active-shutter technology is dubbed to have advantages in providing clearer images, while LG’s recently developed technology can feature much lighter glasses and eliminate crosstalk and flicker inherent in shutter glasses 3D displays. Expanding business horizon In order to drive further growth in its TV segment, Sony has reduced its number of hardware and software platforms. Okuda said his company is seeing a better chance to diversify its business down the road, while adding that its activities will not be undermined by the recent frenzy for gadgets such as tablets or smartphones. ``Sony doesn’t think tablet PCs and smartphones will divert demand for televisions as consumers care more about content. Hardware is not everything. As we have good hardware, we will concentrate more on software,’’ he said. At the CES, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said realizing convergence of Internet connectivity and television is another key part of the company’s strategy The CEO also added Sony is expanding the revenue-earning potential of its devices by offering a competitive commercial content delivery channel and other related services over the Internet, rather than just selling hardware.

yckim@koreatimes.co.krthkim@koreatimes.co.kr