Full HD TV to account for 58% of overall 40" and larger TVs in 2010

Kim Kwang-Ju, vice president at Displaybank (CEO Peter Kwon), is scheduled to deliver a presentation on the future full HD TV market forecasts at the KDC 2006 conference this week. According to the data, full HD TVs (resolution: 1920x1080P) are likely to emerge as the mainstay in the large-format TV market, with the share up from 3.9% (0.5 million units) of overall 40-inch and larger LCD and PDP TVs (12.8 million units) this year to 11.8% by 2007 and 58% by 2010.

This upward trend in full HD share is attributed to setup of full HD environment as evidenced by introductions of a wide range of contents based on full HD, such as Blu-ray DVD, HD-DVD, PS3 and X-BOX360, as well as the TV broadcasting content. At the same time, the trend also reflects LCD and PDP panel manufacturers' mass production plan of full HD panels.

Sharp's 65-inch LCD TV, Pioneer's 58-inch and 50-inch PDP TVs have already hit the market in the format of full HD, while Panasonic and LG Electronics are allegedly planning to release 58-inch and 50-inch full HD TVs, respectively, in October this year.

Panel makers are pursuing strategies to migrate to the full HD segment in the 50-inch and larger LCD market. In an aspect of manufacturing costs, the price gap between HD and full HD LCDs is not very significant, while that between HD and full HD PDPs remains relatively severe. For this reason, they explain that PDPs are at a disadvantage due to restrictive response to the full HD TV market.

Notably, as the difference in full HD panel manufacturing costs between the two technologies can remain wider in the 40-inch range, LCD companies are quickly trying to move towards full HD in the 40-inch segment, while PDP manufacturers are delaying introduction of full HD to the 40-inch category or some have raised the possibility that they could not launch the models although development is available.

The full HD TV is a big trend leading the future large-format TV market, and stable supply of full HD panels and wide use of various contents are the first conditions to stir up demand in full swing. This is also accompanied by significant expansions in the business sector of related component and material makers and content providers.