Two analysts from DSCC will be speaking at the 36th electronic displays Conference (edC) in Nuremberg, Germany. Bob O'Brien, Co-Founder, Principal Analyst and CFO of DSCC, will be giving a Keynote presentation on June 22. Entitled ‘The Display Industry Post-Pandemic,’ his talk will describe the current status of the Crystal Cycle and the path going forward.

Bob O'Brien takes the lead role for DSCC in analysis of display materials, including glass and AMOLED materials, and covers developments in TV and other large-screen display applications.

“Because of its huge contribution to demand, TV drives the Crystal Cycle, which affects the whole display value chain,” he says. “Historically, panel maker profits are highly correlated to LCD TV panel prices, showing the dominant effect of the Crystal Cycle on the industry.”

Pandemic demand drove the biggest increase ever for LCD TV panel prices, but also the fastest price declines in history as LCD supply increased and demand declined. The pandemic surge in panel prices drove the first-ever increase in TV prices, as measured by the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), with TV price inflation peaking at 13.3%. Flat panel supply increased by 24% from Q1’20 to Q1’22 and while the demand peak in early 2021 was even higher, by this year that peak was long past and supply greatly exceeds demand. LCD TV panel prices have fallen to new all-time lows and are still declining.

As OLEDs gain share in the industry, some panel maker results are diverging based on the varying profitability of the OLED business. The keynote presentation will show that 2022 will be a challenging year for the flat panel display industry, but new technologies and new applications will continue to provide areas of profitability and growth.

On the second day of the event, DSCC's Director of Display Research Guillaume Chansin, will summarize key findings from DSCC's latest report on AR/VR displays. This presentation will address which display technology is likely to win in this space and will show forecasts for both VR and see-through AR.

Annual revenues for AR/VR displays will reach $7.2B in 2027, according to DSCC. This corresponds to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.8% for the AR/VR display market. MicroLED and OLED on Silicon (SiOLED) are expected to gain market share.

Co-located with the Embedded World exhibition, edC has become an established conference in Europe for promoting the dialogue and discussion between engineers, researchers, users, manufacturers and distributors in the field of electronic displays and systems equipped with displays. The event will take place at the NürnbergMesse on June 22^nd- 23^rd, and will welcome decision makers, engineers and industry professionals. To register, go to the electronic displays Conference website.