LED-backlit LCD-TV shipments to rise nearly by factor of eight in 2010

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Light Emitting Diode (LED)-backlit Liquid Crystal Display-Televisions (LCD-TVs) will gain considerable momentum in 2010 and beyond because of the increasing commitments from various parts of the TV supply chain, consumer demand and a higher focus on green technologies, according to iSuppli Corp.

iSuppli forecasts that global shipments LED-backlit LCD-TV 40-inches and larger in size will expand to 112.1 million units by 2013, rising at a whopping CAGR of 405 percent from a mere 34,000 units in 2008. In 2010 alone, shipments of LED-backlit LCD TVs 40-inches in size and larger will rise by a factor of nearly eight, reaching 18.8 million units, up from 2.5 million in 2009.

By 2013, 83.2 percent of 40-inch and larger LCD TVs shipped will use LED backlights, up from just 0.1 percent in 2008 and 6 percent in 2009.

The figure presents iSuppli’s forecast for 40-inch and larger LCD-TV unit shipments by backlight type, both CCFL and LED, for the period of 2009 through 2013.

“Panel makers have been investing heavily in LED chipset makers or have been developing their own internal technologies in order to take advantage of what they believe LED-backlit LCD-TVs bring to the table: differentiation, innovation, low power consumption and, of course, the potential to reap the benefits of higher revenue,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli.

“Obviously for brands, LED backlighting represents a huge opportunity in a market segment already brimming with potential. LEDs also help to differentiate products from others on store shelves. This will be even more important as the LCD-TV market begins to saturate and the replacement cycle occurring in the United States and elsewhere nears its conclusion.”

Consumer demand and acceptance
Beyond differentiation and environmental considerations, perhaps the greatest driving force for LED backlit LCD-TVs is coming from the consumer. Consumers are attracted to LED-backlit LCD-TVs by attributes, including thinner form factors, improved picture quality, including better color saturation and power savings and other green attributes.

Light emitting challenges
While the benefits of LED-backlit LCD-TVs are apparent, the challenges are as well. The cost of LED backlights remains too high for mass consumer adoption at this point. The TV sets that utilize LEDs now are priced far more than standard CCFL-based LCD-TVs.

Other challenges include an inadequate component supply, a fragmented supply chain, short LED lifetimes and thermal issues.

Gone green
However, LEDs have an ace in the hole: Increasingly stringent government policies are forcing television manufacturers to shift their backlighting to environmentally friendly technologies that consume less electricity, especially at the larger TV sizes where power is a major concern.