LG encounters more OLED burn-in issues at SID tradeshow
LG Electronics’ OLED TV on display at a prestigious industry tradeshow had shown signs of prominent burn-in, ZDNet has learned. Read more: https://zd.net/2KDQtPi
LG Electronics has been ordered by the Australian Federal Court to pay AU$160,000 to two consumers for refusing to provide repairs, replacements, or refunds for faulty televisions.
Justice Middleton on Friday found that LG made misleading representations to two consumers who purchased faulty televisions, when it implied on phone calls that the consumers had no rights other than those under LG’s manufacturer’s warranties.
He said this was false, noting under the Australian consumer law, consumers that purchase faulty products are entitled to a repair, refund, or replacement when the manufacturer’s warranty does not apply or has come to an end.
“When consumers buy products, they come with a consumer guarantee under the Australian consumer law that they will be of acceptable quality. Manufacturer’s warranties exist in addition to the consumer guarantee rights,” ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said.
The televisions, purchased by the two consumers in 2013, developed a fault where the screens were solarised and a different colour — also known as burn-in — after less than a year of use, according to court documents.
The LG representatives at the time did not mention the Australian consumer law to the two consumers. Due to this, the court found that LG’s interactions with the two consumers were misleading as it was a short distance from effectively denying the existence of consumer guarantees altogether.
LG’s televisions have a long history of experiencing burn-in. The burn-in issue first occurred in 2015, in its home country of South Korea, when LG’s OLEDs installed at N Seoul Tower showed signs of burn-in.
See also: Fear and Trembling – LG Display faces the axe for OLED burn-in and market squeeze
The issue occurred again early last year, with LG’s then-months old 2018-model OLED TVs installed at Incheon International Airport showing signs of burn-in, forcing the company to replace them with LCD TVs. The company’s OLED TVs that were on display at SID Display Week 2018 also suffered from burn-in.
Then, a test of LG’s OLED offerings by TV review site Rtings, mimicking casual viewing patterns, also showed signs of burn-in after clocking-in 4,000 hours of display time. And in April, an LG OLED display that was being sold at a popular retailer in the US also showed similar signs.
With consistent burn-in issues and growing competition by Samsung’s QLED, MicroLED, and QD-OLED technologies, LG’s OLED TV growth has stalled dramatically in 2019.
According to IHS, LG sold 500,000 units of OLED TVs in the first half of 2017, an impressive increase of 97% from the year prior. In 2018, this rose even further to 1.06 million units, a rise of 112%. But for the first half of 2019, it expects sales of 1.27 million units, only a rise of 20%. In other words, its bullish streak has effectively stopped.
The company’s TV business, called Home Entertainment Company, saw revenue drop 4.5% to 3.67 trillion won during the most recent quarter. It also posted operating profits of 205.6 billion won, a near 50% drop from last year’s 407 billion won in the same period.
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