July 18, 2007
Inside sources say that a 52” full-HD LCD HDTV from Vizio is expected to be available in North America next month August for $2,200.
LG.Philips LCD will provide the panels for the new Vizio 52” full-HD LCD HDTV, which will first be available in Costco, sources have said.
Taiwan-based Amtran Technology, the major manufacturer of Vizio-brand LCD TVs, said the company plans to launch a 40” full HD LCD TV by the end of the year using panels adopting from S-LCD, a joint venture between Sony and Samsung Electronics, added the sources.
Vizio began shipping full HD 42” and 47” LCD TVs in the market during the first half of 2007, so with the introduction of 40” TVs, Vizio aims to increase its market share in the 40/42” LCD TV combined segments.
Amtram shipped 990,000 flat panel TVs in the first half of this year and the company expects shipments will continue growing to 1.5 million units in the second half, said the company. Revenues from the company will peak in the fourth quarter with overall sales to hit $60 billion for the full year of 2007, Amtran estimates. Amtran is the second largest shareholder of US-based Vizio, holding about 24% of the company.
April 9, 2007
Research firm Displaybank indicates that 42″ LCD HDTV panels are approaching, in terms of shipments, its rival 40″ LVD HDTV rival. Of the worldwide panel shipments for February, 42″ panels contributed 330,000 units, while 40-inch panels topped 353,000 units.
As previously reported by Hidefster, Samsung’s seventh-generation (7G) line, which is capable of cutting eight 40″ panels from a 7G glass substrate, came on line from the first quarter of 2005 and has led the 40″ segment for the large TV market. LG.Philips LCD, on the other hand, began producing 42″ panels at its 7.5G line in the first quarter of 2006. Since the end of last year, however, with LG.Philips LCD’s yields stabilized and AU Optronics (AUO) putting its 7.5G line into operations, shipments for 42″ panels have continued to surge.
Shipments of 40″ panels almost doubled in February on year, while 42″ panel shipments skyrocketed nearly seven times for the period. At the moment, LG.Philips LCD, AUO, Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), and Sharp are manufacturing 42″ panels in bulk, while Samsung Electronics and AUO are participating in mass production of 40″ panels.
Over-42″ LCD panel shipments, on the other hand, hit nearly 270,000 units in February, continuing on a steady upward curve. Displaybank expects that the penetration rate of 40+” panels in TV shipments jumped from 7.8% - 20.9% in February 2007 over a year and is predicted to surpass 30% by the end of 2007.
March 22, 2007
To compete against plasma display suppliers in the large-size HDTV market, big-time LCD panel makers like Samsung Electronics, LG.Philips LCD, AU Optronics, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics are pushing 50″-class panels this year, industry sources say.
Next month, LG.Philips LCD will unveil its first 52″ full HD panel, which will have a dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000:1 and response time of 5ms. LG.Philips LCD has already started shipping 55″ TV panels in small volumes.
Samsung plans to introduce two new 52″ LCD TV panels in the second quarter, both of which will feature a contrast ratio of 2,000:1, compared to the previous1,200:1. In the third quarter, the company will also launch 57″ panels with a response time of 6ms and contrast ratio of 2,000:1. In addition, Samsung will also unveil 70″ and 82″ panels later this year, the sources added; a seventh-generation (7G) substrate can be cut into three 52″ panels or two 70″ panels.
AUO will introduce 65″ TV panel this year (as early as the third quarter) and may very likely roll out 52″ panels to meet demand in the second half of 2007.
Chi Mei will launch a 56″ quad full HD (QFHD) panel (3,840 × 2,160) and will add two new 52″ TV panels this year, the sources noted.
Nevertheless, insiders maintain that plasma display panels will still dominate the 50″ class flat-panel TV market in the near term thanks to its pricing advantage. According to research firm DisplaySearch, the sales volume for 50″ class LCDs will only account for 1% of total LCD TV shipments in 2007.
