I always enjoyr reading blog posts by David Hsieh at Omdia. A recent one says that the competition among TV display makers is intensifying, particularly in shipment area and technological advancements. A critical aspect of this competition is the wide-viewing angle technology in LCD TV displays. Unlike OLED TVs, which do not require wide-viewing angle technology due to their lack of liquid crystal and molecule alignment, LCD TVs rely heavily on this feature to enhance viewer experience.
In 2023, BOE emerged as the leader in the TV display market, holding a 25.3% share by shipment area, a slight increase from 24.9% in 2022. TCL CSOT followed with a 22.5% share, while HKC Display secured 14.2%. Other manufacturers like Innolux, Sharp, CHOT, and AUO each had shares below 10%. The combined market share of the top Chinese panel makers—BOE, TCL CSOT, HKC Display, and CHOT—was 68.5%, underscoring their dominance in the industry.
The shipment area shares for OLED TV displays from Samsung Display and LG Display declined by 0.7% and 2.5% in 2023, respectively. Samsung Display’s QD OLED TV display shipment area share was 0.6% in 2022, while LG Display’s WOLED TV display shipment area share was 3.6%. Both companies are currently grappling with the decision to further invest in OLED TV panel production, faced with challenges in capacity and the production of larger-sized products, alongside strong competition from LCD technology.
BOE’s ADS technology, which has been leading the industry for years, recently saw an upgrade to ADS Pro. This enhanced version boasts features such as lower power consumption, touch panel integration without image distortion, high resolution, high refresh rate, and a wider color gamut, solidifying BOE’s position at the forefront of the TV display market.
Wide Viewing Angle Technology
In the competitive landscape of TV display technology, two primary types of wide-viewing angle technology for LCD TVs are vertical alignment (VA) and in-plane switching (IPS). Each technology has its own variations, developed by different manufacturers, and comes with specific advantages and disadvantages.
Vertical Alignment (VA) Technology: VA technology is known for its better liquid crystal response time and higher contrast ratio compared to IPS technology. There are several types of VA technology, each with unique features:
- Patterned Vertical Alignment (PVA): Developed by Samsung Display, PVA technology focuses on providing improved contrast and viewing angles by using patterned electrodes to control the alignment of liquid crystals more precisely.
- Wide Horizontal Viewing Angle (WHVA): Created by TCL CSOT, WHVA technology aims to enhance the horizontal viewing angles of LCD displays while maintaining good contrast and color accuracy.
- Advanced Super View (ASV): Developed by Sharp, ASV technology offers better viewing angles and contrast, making it suitable for high-quality displays.
- Horizontal Viewing Angle (HVA): Produced by HKC Display, HVA technology focuses on improving the horizontal viewing angles of LCD panels.
In-Plane Switching (IPS) Technology: IPS technology is considered superior to VA technology in terms of providing a wide-viewing angle with minimal color shift. It ensures consistent and accurate color reproduction across different viewing angles. There are notable variations of IPS technology:
- Fringe Field Switching (FFS): Developed by LG Display, FFS technology is a variation of IPS that improves the viewing angles and color accuracy by optimizing the electric field distribution within the liquid crystal layer.
- Advanced Display System (ADS): Developed and owned by BOE, ADS technology enhances the viewing experience by providing wide-viewing angles and maintaining color accuracy. Recently, BOE has upgraded this technology to ADS Pro, which includes features such as lower power consumption, touch panel integration without image distortion, high resolution, high refresh rate, and a wider color gamut.
