Global shipments of ultra-high-definition LCD TV panels nearly doubled last month from June, with Innolux Corp (群創光電) grabbing more than 70 percent of the market, NPD DisplaySearch said yesterday.
Shipments of ultra-high-definition, or 4K2K, TV panels soared 94 percent to 260,300 units last month from 134,000 units in June, driven primarily by demand from China, the US market researcher said in a report.
That brought total shipments of 4K2K TV panels to 810,000 units in the first seven months of the year, and could reach 1 million units by the end of next month, it said.
“Almost all major panel makers have shipped [4K2K] panels. More panel companies are set to join the 4K2K LCD TV panel battle to vie for a share,” NPD DisplaySearch said.
“Demand from TV brands will surge again for the October holiday shopping season [in China], bringing the shipment of 4K2K TV sets and panel to a peak,” it added.
Innolux accounted for 73 percent of the market last month, while AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) ranked second with 12 percent, the report showed. Chinese panel maker China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co (華星光電) took the third spot.
Miaoli-based Innolux is the first panel maker to roll out 4K2K TV panels early this year in an effort to compete with South Korean rivals LG Display Co and Samsung Electronics Co, which were originally focused on developing new-generation OLED panels.
Samsung and LG Display soon followed suit in manufacturing 4K2K TV panels.
Innolux supplies a wide range of 4K2K TV panels — primarily 40-inch and 50-inch screens to Chinese TV brands such as Skyworth (創惟), Hisense (海信) and Konka (康家).
The Taiwanese company expects 4K2K TV panels to account for 5 percent to 10 percent of its TV panel shipments this quarter, up from 5 percent last quarter.
“We have strong confidence that 4K2K [TV panels] will become the mainstream,” Innolux president Wang Jyh-chau (王志超) told investors early this month.
Innolux plans to showcase a series of new 3D 4K2K TV panels during the Touch Taiwan display show next week.
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