Samsung, the TV manufacturer

Samsung TV sets have been in production since 1972 - initially for the Korea's domestic market but, since 1977, also for international customers. In the times of CRT, the manufacturer produced tubes in its own factories. The best products from these facilities weren't all headed for a Samsung TV - rival companies such as Philips bought tubes from Samsung if necessary, even for their top models.

Along with Panasonic and LG, Samsung is one of the three remaining manufacturers that refuse to settle down on a single display technology - you can choose between LCD and plasma for your Samsung TV. The company produces its own plasma screens, as well as producing LCD screens in a joint factory with Sony. Samsung's focus, however, lies on LCD, whereas Panasonic uses plasma technology exclusively in screens of 42 inches or more.

Consumer electronics:
As well as a Samsung TV, you can buy all kinds of typical consumer-electronics devices from this Korean group, such as DVD or Blu-ray home-theater systems and players. You'll also find MP3 players in their product range, along with digital cameras and camcorders.

Other products:
Samsung has a significantly broader focus than other consumer-electronics producers: The Koreans build mobile phones, notebooks, computer monitors, memory chips, printers, and DVD burners - as well as the full range of household and kitchen appliances. Other parts of the business are even more varied: If you want to, you can even order a ship from a Samsung shipyard. The company is also active in the chemical industry, as well as in the business and services sector.

Corporate history:
Samsung put out its roots before the Second World War. On March 1, 1938, founder Byung-Chull Lee opened his own firm in the Korean city of Daegu. The company mainly exported dried fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing. Just a decade later, Samsung (which means "three stars" in Korean) was already operating its own mills and processing machines, as well as production and distribution companies.

The modern-day entity came into existence in 1951, and at the end of the Korean War in 1953, loans from the United States and state-aid programs fuelled the economy in South Korea. Samsung has been building TVs since 1972, washing machines since 1974, microwaves since 1979, and PCs since 1983. In 1994, Samsung Heavy Industries presented the first Korean electric car, the SEV-III. In 1996, the Korean group deviated from Intel's x86 architecture to produce "Alpha", the fastest computer processor of its time.

The year 2002 saw the manufacturer working on a 54-inch liquid-crystal display, and in 2005 Samsung presented the world's largest flexible LCD panel. In 2008, the company opened a Samsung TV factory in the Russian city of Kaluga.

Samsung is the fifth largest company in the world, employing around 250,000 people - 13,000 of whom work in research and development.

The following were involved in producing this article on Samsung and Samsung TVs:

Author(s): Karl-Gerhard Haas
Editor in Chief: Florian Friedrich
Photos: Manufacturers and AV T.O.P. Messtechnik GmbH
Last updated: September 2009