IHS Sees 4K Panel Revenue Doubling in 2015 as Technology Extends Beyond LCD TVs

Revenue from sales of 4K panels is expected to nearly double from $9.2 billion in 2014 to $18 billion this year and will reach $52 billion by 2020 as new display process technologies improve yield rate and shrink costs, said IHS in a report. Ultra HD LCD TVs have led the applications of 4K displays, and will be 17 percent of all LCD TV sales this year, after contributing $8.8 billion to overall 4K panel revenue in 2014, said IHS. But 4K resolution will arrive in all major display applications this year, including smartphones, tablets, PC monitors, OLED displays, notebook PCs and digital signage, said IHS, with smartphones and OLED TVs showing strongest growth. As advances occur in panels' fine-pitch pixel designs and brightness, 4K displays will become more affordable for mobile devices, said IHS. Sharp and JDI have recently shown 4K smartphone panels, and 4K tablet PC displays using IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) and LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon processes) are also in panel makers’ plans, it said. And panel makers will increasingly use sub-pixel rendering (SPR) technology -- used in commercial production of AMOLED and LCD displays -- to enhance 4K pixel design in their displays, it said. The main benefits of SPR include fewer sub-pixels, higher transmission and lower power consumption, said analyst David Hsieh, saying SPR “is an important element in the growth of the 4K display market.”