3 U.S. Firms May Team Up to Make Computer Screens
Several U.S. electronics companies are considering forming a cooperative venture to develop and produce advanced display screens for portable computers and, potentially, high-definition television sets.
The discussions, which reportedly include such giants as Sun Microsystems, Compaq Computer and Apple Computer, represent the most recent attempt by U.S. high-technology companies to band together to reduce their reliance on Japanese suppliers of key components needed in products ranging from new commercial computer systems to everyday home electronics.
The latest proposal centers on liquid crystal displays, a technology commonly used in wrist watches, radios and a variety of electronic gear, including the latest miniature television sets and most advanced laptop computers made in Japan.
Early plans call for the proposed cooperative to create “computer and other commercial products” from liquid crystal display research developed at the David Sarnoff Research Center, the Princeton, N.J., laboratory that pioneered the technology in 1968. Japanese companies have long since taken over development of the market, now running at $3.8 billion per year, and are the dominant suppliers of LCD screens.
Although such a venture could reduce dependence of U.S. companies on Japanese suppliers, participants in the talks labeled them “early stage” and cautioned that the proposed venture is still quite “tentative.” Those Japanese suppliers in many cases are direct rivals to U.S. computer firms in such emerging fields as high-definition television and portable computers.
News of the latest talks comes less than six weeks after seven U.S. computer companies were unable to win sufficient support from other high-tech firms to back a similar cooperative venture, called U.S. Memories, that would have produced key computer memory chips. That market is also dominated by the Japanese.
None of the U.S. companies reportedly interested in joining the display screen venture would comment on the discussions. However, representatives of the Sarnoff Center confirmed that talks are under way in the hopes of creating the cooperative by year-end. Sources familiar with the discussions said the venture could require $30 million to get off the ground and $100 million to begin full-scale production.
Liquid crystal displays are considered superior screens because they offer great clarity with low power. In addition, the screens, made by sandwiching liquid crystal between two sheets of glass that have been coated with transparent electrodes, are flat and lighter than the cathode ray tubes used in current television and computer models.
In addition to seeking an immediate commercial application for its liquid crystal display technology, the Sarnoff Center is pursuing two other independent research programs involving high-definition television and high definition computers.
The laboratory, once the research arm of RCA, is a partner with National Broadcasting Co., N. V. Phillips and Thompson Consumer Electronics in a project to develop standards for high-definition television transmission and reception in the United States. And, late last year, Sarnoff was teamed with Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments to develop a high-definition computer workstation by the Defense Department’s research and development office.
