Samsung warns: "if the shortage continues, we may be unable to make televisions"
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Loobyluggs
That may or may not be true for them, but, I do get the feeling they are just trying to get a marketing message out there by capitalising on existing news stories.
Kaarme
Are the different divisions within the Samsung conglomerate actually competing with totally outside, unrelated companies equally for Samsung's own services? Samsung itself is one of the cutting-edge chip manufacturers, so logic would dictate Samsung would make enough chips for Samsung and only then serve other customers, but I guess not. This article actually makes it sound like Samsung's TV factory buys its chips from Taiwan, not from Samsung's own foundries. I guess business is business, even within the family.
DarkQuark
A foreboding truth? Or a convenient way to take advantage of market volatility and consumer panic to raise the price of TVs which have been all but disposable (price wise) for years now?
moo100times
This.
It is absurd that Samsung cannot, and would not manufacture for their own products first. My only thought is whether they don't want to give the impression they are disproportionately favouring themselves with the current high demand.
ThEcLiT
Never ever believe this kind of shit. NEVER! Incoming price increases, including smartphones, soon or later.
AlmondMan
Maybe if we stopped putting CPUs and chips and stuff in to things that didn't need them, we'd stop having the issue.
Wanya
I wonder what is so hard to just produce for pre-orders + a little headroom and not waste rescources on not needed stuff which has to go on sale or even worse ends in a waste desposal
Ghosty
Tech is getting too complexed and expensive to make now it seems.
GSDragoon
Bring me back dumb TVs then.
schmidtbag
Have neither of you considered the consequences of not following through with contracts, especially when one of such companies is as large as Nvidia?
If going against contracts for your own self interest was so easily done, the would be no point in having a contract.
Mufflore
This, mostly ...
My TV has satellite and domestic TV tuners plus internet services to the extreme.
I dont use any of them, only HDMI in from my satellite tuner, AVR and PCs.
With good reason, I can record satellite with my external box with no issues. If the TV is being used to watch TV or use my PC, it wont record satellite any more. How stupid is that?
I say mostly because of how complex even the display sections are, their techs sometimes need direct proof of a problem via the internet (people dont make technical sense describing issues and first line tech support is so appalling they screw the problem up further).
So internet capability will never go away unless its built using proven older tech.
My Samsung Q9FN TV was a pile of w*nk when I first bought it, terrible movement glitches, HDR issues breaking the TVs brightness even on SDR ...
Now it is an incredibly good experience.
But without them being able to connect directly to the display and diagnose, it might not be so good and would have taken a lot longer to get there.
However, they werent able to take even a snapshot of whats fed to the screen at full res, let alone see video glitches live.
I suspect thats due to privacy issues, if they could manage that it would be a very serious problem.
Kaarme
It shouldn't be any problem. Samsung ought to know, more or less, how much capacity Samsung needs, and only sell the capacity that's left over. Of course it's possible Nvidia is paying majestically, so Samsung might reduce its own portion from the capacity and try to buy cheaper stuff from elsewhere. Maybe that's what happened. Although I'm not sure in this particular case a TV would actually need quite as cutting-edge process technology as an RTX video card for the main processor.
I also reckon Samsung would use any generic chips available in the market for a pittance as regular components in the TV. Possibly only the actual SoC is from Samsung itself. Who knows. I don't actually know if Samsung manufactures generic ICs, the kinds that cost only tens of cents or a buck if you visit an electronic component shop. However, I find it hard to believe the global chip shortage would refer to that sort of stuff.
Fox2232
Increasing prices? Good. Maybe people think twice before they buy new personal brainwashing machine.
schmidtbag
I don't see how it's realistically possible for Samsung to have known. The contracts would have been signed before this industry-wide shortage happened. I'm sure Samsung profits more from making Nvidia's chips too, and may continue to do so if contracts are renewed.
But yeah, perhaps a TV wouldn't require something so cutting-edge.
I also agree that it's unlikely generic ICs are the problem, especially considering that motherboards seem to have fewer and fewer of them every year. Everything is becoming SoC.
I_Eat_You_Alive
The problem with the chips shortage may not be with the lack of chips but a component or chemical in their manufacture.
TLD LARS
I just replaced the Capacitors in my Panasonic TV, they do not use there own Capacitors on a Panasonic marked board.
I replaced the Capacitors with Panasonic Capacitors, so it was possible for them to have used there own brand, but they choice not to, for some reason.
Same goes for the Samsung chips, if they can sell panels to other brands for more profit then building the TV themselves, they could choose to do so.
NCC1701D
Of the 3 Samsung Tv's I've owned, they've all had problems. Either died early or had mainboard issues. Not a brand I'm willing to consider for TV's any longer, especially for the price premiums they often charge. I'm sure the experience of others may contradict mine, but 3 strikes and you're out was more generous than I should have been.
I_Eat_You_Alive
Never owned a Samsung TV. Probably never will. I do have a Samsung CRT monitor from 1981 that still works (it is EGA). I buy Vizio and LG TVs; never had one fail yet.
moo100times
If Samsung haven't bothered to consider themselves first, failed to factor it in and then push back other agreements for no reason other than their failure to organise, then they deserve to be sued.
Certainly my experience is that exceptional circumstances allow for deviation from contracts provided you inform the parties involved and why. Citing large organisations and world governments requesting that certain manufacturing take higher priority for reasons beyond economic gain could be considered mitigating circumstances.
Kevin Mauro
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