Total TV shipments in 2010 will pass 242 million units, a remarkable 15% increase from an anemic 2% growth in 2009, according to the latest forecast report released by DisplaySearch.
The major display market research and consulting firm said that not only does the level of demand for LCD TVs look strong, rising 29% to 188 million units, but also both plasma and cathode-ray tube CRT TV technologies have a better outlook in 2010 than previously expected.
Within LCD TV, the trend towards increased LED backlight usage is one of the most intently watched areas as an acute supply-chain shortage keeps the LED market segment from growing more quickly in 2010, although cold cathode fluorescent lamps CCFL models seem well supplied.
LCD continues to be the dominant TV technology worldwide, achieving more than 50% shipment share in nearly all regions, with Asia Pacific crossing 50% at the end of 2010.
China continues to be a hot LCD TV growth market in 2010 due to expanding government stimulus programs and increased urbanization, with 35% year-on-year YoY growth in 2010, down from 119% YoY growth in 2009.
2010 LED Backlit LCD TV shipments are expected to reach 37 million units, DisplaySearch said. The LCD TV shipment outlook has been increased to 188 million units in 2010, driven in part by the rapid expansion of LED-backlit models. DisplaySearch estimates that 3.6 million LED-backlit LCD TVs were shipped worldwide in 2009, with more than half of that coming in the fourth quarter of 2009. In 2010, companies throughout the supply chain are gearing up for a more aggressive rollout of LED models, but are constrained by component supply.
DisplaySearch expects LED-backlit LCDs to account for about 20% of all LCD TVs shipped in 2010. About 9 in 10 LED-backlit LCD TVs shipped this year would use an edge-type backlight, with the remainder using some form of full array.
