news archive
LCD-TV
Sales Defy Seasonal Slowdown
El Segundo,
California, June 23 - The LCD-TV market is so hot that sales
actually rose in Q1 '04 compared to Q4 '03, defying the
seasonal sales slowdown that televisions typically suffer at
the start of each year.
In the first
quarter, total worldwide shipments of TV sets totaled 38.5
million units, 12 percent lower than in the previous
quarter, according to iSuppli/Stanford Resources. This is
the perennial pattern in the television market, with sales
peaking during the fourth quarter holiday season and then
cooling markedly during the start of the following year.
Slowing sales of CRT, plasma. and projection televisions all
contributed to the anticipated decline. But LCD-TV shipments
in the first quarter of 2004 grew to 1.6 million units, up
31 percent from 1.3 million in the fourth quarter. LCD-TV
revenue reached $2.7 billion, rising 27 percent compared to
the prior quarter.
A strong push
by suppliers is helping LCD-TVs gain visibility as well as
consumer acceptance and prime retail shelf space. Demand for
LCD-TVs is expected to accelerate dramatically in 2004 and
beyond because of the start of full-scale production of sets
measuring 30 inches or more at new production facilities.
Sales in the
first quarter were propelled by declines in product pricing
as the TVs became available in greater numbers and as OEMs
gave price breaks and discounts to attract consumers to
LCD-TV technology. Quarter-on-quarter unit shipments and
revenues for LCD-TVs will grow throughout 2004, iSuppli/Stanford
Resources predicts.
Information: www.isuppli.com.
Hunet
Licenses Field-Sequential Color IP to Motorola
Tokyo, June
14 - Hunet Inc. has announced the conclusion of a license
agreement with Motorola, Inc., U.S.A., for the purpose of
licensing patents owned by Hunet and relating to
field-sequential color liquid-crystal display (FS-LCD)
technology. Motorola shall pay Hunet royalties corresponding
to the number of units sold that incorporate the technology.
The license
agreement covers United States Patent No. 6,424,329,
"System for driving a nematic liquid crystal," and
other patents, both registered and pending. These patents
are different from the patents licensed to Samsung SDI in
2002. Those patents features gradation control through
digital driving technology, while the patents licensed to
Motorola enable high-speed driving of liquid crystals by
cyclically applying a constant voltage. By virtue of the
patents, it is possible to realize FS-LCDs and to remarkably
improve the quality of moving images on LCD, said Masaya
Okita, Hunet's Officer in Charge of IP. "Motorola will
market cell phones featuring displays using our technology
around the world," he added.
Information: Masaya
Okita. Email: okita@HunetLCD.co.jp,
www.HunetLCD.co.jp.
Silverstein
Wins ISCC Macbeth Color Science Award; First to be Honored
for Work in Displays
Reston,
Virginia, June 10 - The Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC)
announced that it honored Dr. Louis D. Silverstein with the
presentation of the Macbeth Award during its Annual Meeting
held in Gaithersburg, Maryland earlier this year.
Silverstein, founder and Chief Scientist of VCD Sciences,
Inc. in Scottsdale, Arizona, was recognized for his
contributions to color rendering through liquid-crystal
technology in electronic displays and image capture devices.
VCD Sciences, Inc. is a scientific research and consulting
firm with project specialization in the areas of applied
vision, color science, and display technology.
Silverstein
is the author of over 120 journal articles, book chapters,
technical papers, and technical reports. Among his 30
patents are several recent innovations in liquid-crystal
displays and liquid-crystal-based image-capture devices. He
is a Fellow of the Society for Information Display (SID) and
has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of the
Society for Information Display. He has served on the
editorial board of the journal Human Factors, and currently
serves on the editorial boards of the journals Color
Research and Application and Displays. He serves on the U.S.
National Committee of the C.I.E. and had served on the U. S.
National Academy of Sciences Committee on Vision. In
addition to being a Fellow of the SID, he is a member of the
Human Factors Society, the Optical Society of America (OSA),
and the Society of Imaging Science and Technology
(IS&T). Silverstein was awarded the Alexander C.
Williams Award of the Human Factors Society in 1983 for his
work on the advanced cockpit color CRT display systems for
the Boeing 757/767 aircraft, and the Honeywell Corporate
Technical Achievement Award in 1989 for the development of
visual simulation methods for color liquid-crystal displays.
The Macbeth
Award was established in 1970 in memory of Norman Macbeth.
It is presented biannually to a member, or former member, of
the ISCC for recent important contributions in the field of
color.
Information: Robert T.
Marcus, ISCC Publicity Chairman. Email: rmarcus@datacolor.com.
Large-Area
LCDs Hit Record Revenues of $9.2 Billion in Q1 '04
Austin,
Texas, June 7 - Revenues for 10-inch-and-larger TFT-LCDs
rose 14 percent quarter-over-quarter (Q/Q) and a record 116
percent year-over-year (Y/Y) in Q1 '04 to establish a new
quarterly high of $9.2 billion, DisplaySearch announced
today. The figures were reported in the company's latest Quarterly
Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report. Growth exceeded
expectations. In addition, ASPs were 1 percent higher than
projected at $286, the highest value since Q1 '01, as larger
and more expensive panels gained share and shortages
continued, resulting in price increases at certain sizes.
Unit shipments rose 7 percent Q/Q to 32.1 million, 6 percent
(1.8 million units) higher than predicted. Quarterly TFT-LCD
supplier profits exceeded $2 billion for the first
time.
In Q1'04,
shipments of modules for LCD monitors rose 15 percent Q/Q
and 55 percent Y/Y to a record high 17.5 million units and a
55 percent share of total Q1 '04 large-area shipments, up
from 51 percent. Revenues were up 98 percent Y/Y with ASPs
up 28 percent Y/Y.
Notebook PC
module shipments fell more slowly than anticipated,
declining 5 percent Q/Q. The decline occurred as the market
adjusts to excessive panel shipments and channel inventory
growth in the previous quarter. On a Y/Y basis, shipments
were still up a robust 50 percent to 11.3M units. The
notebook share of total large-area shipments fell from 40
percent to 35 percent, the lowest value to date. Notebook
panel revenues were up 103% Y/Y with ASPs rising 35%. XGA
panels with a 15-inch diagonal remained the most popular
panel, with a 34 percent share.
LCD-TV module
shipments grew significantly faster than expected, up 14
percent Q/Q vs. a projected 2 percent decline, as the result
of a 26 percent increase in March after weak performance in
January and February. Inventory concerns were eliminated by
the end of the quarter and shipments continued to rise in
April. On a Y/Y basis, shipments were up 228 percent to
2.35M units. LCD-TV modules reached 7 percent and 13 percent
of large-area units and revenues, respectively, in Q1 '04,
up from 4 percent and 6 percent in Q1'03.
Samsung
overtook LG.Philips LCD to become Number 1 in large-area TFT-LCD
shipments on an area and a unit basis in Q1 '04 for the
first time since Q3 '02, and led the LCD monitor module
market for the first time since Q4 '01. It continued to hold
the leadership position in notebooks. LG.Philips LCD fell to
Number 2 in unit shipments because of a lack of increase in
capacity. LG.P LCD's 6th gen fab is now expected to begin to
ramp in Q3 '04. AU Optronics (AUO) remained the Number 3
supplier with a 13.2 percent share, up from 12.2 percent.,
DisplaySearch said.
Information: www.displaysearch.com.
Korea's
Annual IMID Conference Moves Toward Globalization; To Be
Held Jointly with SID's Asia Display
Seattle,
Washington, May 26 (Business Wire) - Samsung Electronics Co.
reported that successful discussions took place today
between Sang Wan Lee, president of Samsung's LCD Business,
and officials representing leading worldwide display
organizations that could result in significant expansion of
the annual International Meeting on Information Display (IMID)
conference and exhibition held annually in Korea. The
officials met during the Society of Information Display
(SID) Symposium currently taking place in Seattle.
These
high-level discussions included Shigeo Mikoshiba, SID's
president, and Sang Wan Lee, chairman of the Korean
Information Display Society (KIDS), which co-hosts IMID with
SID this year. Also involved were several top SID officials:
former president Allan Kmetz and vice president Makoto
Maeda.
In addition,
key members of the Korean Information Display Society
participated: Yong Bae Kim, former president; Ki Woong
Hwang, executive vice president; and Sung Tae Shin, vice
president.
The meeting
was a prelude to a likely expansion in the scope of IMID,
highlighted by its emergence as a global event for the
display industry. This year's IMID event will take place in
Daegu, Korea, August 23-27, and will be held jointly with
SID's Asia Display conference. Demonstrating IMID's
increased focus on science and technology, the number of
research papers presented at the next event will double to
120 papers.
While the SID
Symposium, held in the United States each year, will remain
one of the world's largest display conferences, the
emergence of Korea as the global leader in the production of
displays was a key factor in today's discussions regarding
expansion of IMID. Among the topics covered in the
high-level meeting was boosting the involvement of SID in
IMID to help the event become larger and attract global
participation.
Information: www.sid.org,
www.k-ids.or.kr.
Taiwan To
Open LCD-TV Industrial Park In 2005
Taipei,
Taiwan and Santa Clara, California, May 24 - Taiwan's first
LCD-TV industrial park is expected to begin operations in
the first quarter of 2005, according to a recent statement
from the Tainan county government. The county government
plans to sell plots in the 247-hectare area near the Tainan
Science Park (TSP) through open bidding before the end of
April, with results announced in May.
Chi Mei
Optoelectronics (CMO) and HannStar Display are both planning
to build seventh-generation (7G) TFT-LCD plants in the
nearby TSP as demand for flat panels soars.
In the first
quarter of 2004, Taiwanese LCD-TV shipment volume hit a new
high of 400,000 units, just short of the 410,000 units
shipped for full year 2003, according to the Market
Intelligence Center (MIC). Meanwhile global shipments are
expected to jump to 8.34 million units in 2004, up 40
percent from 2003's 3.3 million. Demand from Taiwan is being
driven predominantly by large orders from Dell, HP, Sony,
and Panasonic, industry watchers said. Taiwan is also seeing
a rise in own-brand makers, including BenQ, Sampo, and Teco.
To support
this massive growth, international equipment and materials
suppliers have been quick to invest in Taiwan. Corning Inc.
recently said it plans to build a second factory in Taiwan
to manufacture glass used in liquid-crystal display panels
to keep up with demand from Taiwan LCD makers. In February
2004, Corning said it was investing USD 600 million over the
next two years to boost production of the ultra-thin glass
at its plants in Tainan and Shizuoka, Japan. Corning said it
expects LCD glass volume to grow 30 percent to 50 percent a
year over the next several years.
UNAXIS, a
Swiss supplier, recently decided to invest USD 30.3 million
to build a factory and research center in Taiwan to supply
panel equipment and technology. The investment would be the
largest ever in Taiwan by a Swiss manufacturer, with the new
factory and research center expected to be located at the
Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park.
"I do
believe more foreign suppliers such as materials and
equipment makers from the US and Japan, and chemical
suppliers from these areas, will come to Taiwan, as it has
become the world's top FPD supplier," said C.E. Wang,
President, DisplaySearch Taiwan. "The Taiwan
government's policy to attract foreign material and
equipment makers participation in Taiwan is also a key
driver to the industries success here," he said.
Information:
Sabrina Kor, Taiwan Trade Center in San Francisco. Tel:
(408) 988-5018, ext. 202, email: sabrina.kor@taiwantradesf.org.
