HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), the nation's fourth-largest producer of TFT-LCD panels, plans to make 23-inch screens for LCD televisions by the end of the year, executives from the company said yesterday.
"We intend to market them in Japan and urban areas around the world, like New York City," said Irine Chen (
Chen said the company developed the larger screen in part to improve process technology. The new screens are made with technology licensed from Japanese powerhouse Hitachi, and the technology is also being used in HannStar's 15-inch and 18-inch LCD panels.
Chen said the resolution is far better for screens made using Hitachi's "Super-IPS" technology -- so good that HannStar supplies screens of this kind for the popular iMac made by Apple Computer Inc.
The technology involves keeping the liquid crystals inside the panels moving at all times to improve the way it looks. That also ensures that the resolution is not lost as people view the screen from different angles.
In September, HannStar will begin selling 15-inch screens back to Hitachi, said Sam Huang (
Taiwanese TFT-LCD panel makers need to improve the quality of their screens in order to attract high-end customers, according to Debbie Wu, an LCD industry analyst at Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Co (
Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), the second-largest notebook computer maker in Taiwan and a producer of flat-panel computer displays, uses HannStar panels for its low-end models. For higher quality displays and larger screen sizes Compal uses Japanese-made panels.
"We have to pay US$20 or US$30 per panel more for the Japanese panels, but the resolution is far better," said a marketing executive from Compal, who asked not to be named.
Compal buys from Hitachi and Fujitsu, two of Japan's top TFT-LCD panel makers.
Taiwan is projected to become the world's largest producer of TFT-LCD panels by the end of this year with 65 percent of the global market, according to Market Intelligence Center (MIC).
The group predicts that Taiwan's total LCD monitor output will grow more than 88 percent this year, from 9 million units last year to roughly 17 million units this year as desktop PC users worldwide opt for sleek LCD displays over traditional CRT monitors.
Next year, MIC believes production will top 30.34 million panels, for growth of 79 percent.
At least five companies in Taiwan plan to build advanced TFT-LCD manufacturing plants, all projected to begin mass production by the end of next year.
The so-called "fifth generation" plants, or 5G, make larger slices of glass from which more TFT-LCD panels can be cut than plants in use today.
"[HannStar's] new plant won't be ready until late next year, the third quarter or fourth quarter. They just started building the plant," Yuanta's Wu said.
Wu predicted that LCD TVs will become a mainstream product only after 5G plants reach mass production levels, as higher volumes will drive down the price per panel.
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