Due to strong demand for flat-panel television sets, Sony and Samsung Electronics plan to build one of the world’s most advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) panel production lines, they said Friday.The two companies will invest 1.8 trillion won (US$1.9 billion) in the new factory, which will be operated by S-LCD, their LCD manufacturing joint venture. S-LCD already operates a factory in Tangjeong, South Korea, and the new factory will be located alongside this existing plant.The joint investment will go toward machinery and other systems. Samsung will invest an additional 900 million won and construct the factory building itself.The factory will house a so-called eighth-generation (8G) line, which is one step more advanced than S-LCD’s existing line. An 8G line is capable of processing sheets of glass that measure 2 by 2.5 meters, from which eight 46-inch TV panels or six 50-inch TV panels can be produced. Current plans call for the factory to begin production in late 2007 at a capacity of 50,000 sheets of 8G glass per month. Sony and Samsung divide output from S-LCD equally and then use the screens in their own TVs or sell them to other manufacturers.Strong worldwide demand for LCD TVs is driving the companies to increase production. On Friday, Samsung increased its prediction of global demand for LCD TVs for this year to 48 million units, up 4 million from its previous forecast. Samsung sold 1.2 million LCD TVs in the second quarter of this year, four times what it sold in the same three-month period one year earlier. Friday’s deal cements a preliminary agreement reached between the two earlier this year.-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems, Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing feature 10 business intelligence certifications and certificates to advance your BI career From BI analysts and BI developers to BI architects and BI directors, business intelligence pros are in high demand. Here are the certifications and certificates that can give your career an edge. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 01, 2023 8 mins Certifications Business Intelligence IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe