October 2, 2007 – Global revenues for semiconductors used in LCD TVs should nearly quadruple from now to 2011, due to multiple factors led by a migration to digital TV sources, and availability of displays with better formfactors at a much cheaper price, according to new data from iSuppli Corp.
Worldwide sales of chips used in LCD-TVs is projected to surge to $7.4 billion (>84% of all DTV chips), from just $2.0B in 2006 (~54%), the firm notes. Shipments are expected to take off at an even faster pace: 178M units in 2011 vs. 43M in 2006 (410%), accounting for 77.4% of all DTV shipments vs. 55.5% in 2006.
The firm notes that LCD-TVs represent the clear growth driver for semiconductors used in TVs. Overall global shipments of chips for digital TV (including LCDs, plasma, CRTs, and rear -projection) will rise to 230M units by 2011, just under 300% total growth.
Falling prices for flat-panel TVs are at the top of the list of factors driving demand for DTV; flat-panel shipments will account for >50% of all TVs in 2008, iSuppli says. Other factors include more attractive formfactors (LCD and plasma sets), and a mandated switch from analog to digital TV signals in many countries over the next several years.
The need to integrate more functions into DTV display processors will offset falling ASPs for chips used in DTVs, the firm notes. As a result, semiconductor revenue for the A/V boards used in those TV sets will grow at a 19.4% CAGR clip to $8.8B in 2011.
Several trends are creating a need for increasingly complex video algorithms, and the chips needed to process them, the firm notes. Faster response times (refresh rates doubling to 120GHz frequency) is seen as the way to fix jerky motions in fast-moving objects (“film judder”), along with motion estimation/compensation techniques. Also, some premium TVs now sport full high-definition (TrueHD) panels with 1080 progressive scan pixel format — Sony and Samsung have 40-in. and larger panels, with Sharp not far behind with a 37-in. version. These panels have twice the number of pixels (1920 x 1080 = 2 million pixels) as mainstream resolution panels (1366 x 768).
Global LCD digital television semiconductor revenues
……………………………2006……….2007……….2008……….2009……….2010……….2011
US $M………………..1966……….3373……….4340……….5440……….6550……….7386
% growth……………………………..71.6%………28.7%…….25.3%……..20.4%…….12.8%
Source: iSuppli Corp.