Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission has continued to promote the “old-for-new” initiative, which has further benefited the development of Mini LED TVs. Despite underperforming in the broader television market during the first half of 2024, Mini LED backlit TVs have seen substantial growth, building on the momentum from 2023.
How fast is the growth of Mini LED TVs? Are there underlying concerns behind this rapid expansion? To gain a deeper understanding of the current state of Mini LED backlit TVs, an industry organization recently interviewed Zheng Junjie, Chairman of HYASIC.
HYASIC’s First-Half Revenue Surpasses Last Year’s Total
Q: This year, Mini LED backlit TVs have continued to grow. From HYASIC’s perspective, how rapid was the market expansion in the first half of the year?
HYASIC: The growth of Mini LED TVs has exceeded earlier expectations. From HYASIC’s standpoint, our sales revenue for the first half of this year has already surpassed the total for the entire last year, with shipments of driver chips exceeding 100 million units per month. Across the industry, during the 618 shopping festival, Mini LED TVs accounted for nearly 20% of total TV sales and over 30% of the sales revenue.
Three key factors contributed to this growth: First, Mini LED backlighting offers energy efficiency advantages. The recent intensification of the “old-for-new” initiative, which ultimately aims at energy conservation and emission reduction, has highlighted the energy-saving advantages of AM-driven Mini LED technology, aligning with the dual-carbon goals.
Second, there’s a significant improvement in picture quality. When consumers compare Mini LED TVs with traditional backlit TVs side by side, the difference is striking, and the enhanced visual experience drives consumer demand. Third, Mini LED backlighting technology has become more accessible to the market. The number of backlight zones in Mini LED TVs now ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands, offering consumers a broad selection. The expansion of sales has also led to a decrease in prices, which in turn has spurred further sales growth. The result is the rapid development of Mini LED TVs, a collective achievement of the entire industry.
Q: HYASIC has always been at the forefront of AM driving technology. What is the current state of AM driving technology?
HYASIC: Initially, we focused AM driving on high-end products with many backlight zones, and the TV market followed this trend, starting with high-end products and gradually expanding to the entire product range. This process has naturally led to technological evolution and optimization. For instance, the concept of SOC direct drive eliminates the need for the BCON (MCU) in conventional Mini LED backlighting, integrating the AM Mini LED backlight algorithm into the SOC. This innovation significantly reduces the technical barriers to adopting AM driving technology, making it accessible for products with hundreds to thousands of backlight zones. It simplifies the solution while also lowering costs.
In July of this year, Mini LED TVs with SOC direct drive began mass production. This is a natural progression in the industry. In just a few years, AM driving technology has become perfectly compatible with TVs of various sizes, ranging from thousands to hundreds of backlight zones. We are eagerly anticipating new features and technologies that can further enhance LCD display performance and viewing experiences.
Concerns Arising from Sharp Price Drops and Market Saturation
Q: How do you expect the market to develop in the second half of the year? What are your views on the future of Mini LED?
HYASIC: We optimistically project that Mini LED TV sales in 2024 will double from 2023 levels, reaching over 8% market share. However, rapid market growth also carries risks. When the market performs well, it can lead to overconfidence, prompting more companies to invest in new product development or focus on price competition to gain an edge. At this point, it’s crucial to remain rational and continually reflect on what actions are necessary for the sustainable development of the entire supply chain.
HYASIC continues to demonstrate the correctness of the AM driving technology path. We began developing AM Mini LED driving solutions in 2018, and by 2021, the year Mini LED entered mass production, the first AM Mini LED TVs were launched in 2022. Although the feedback has been positive, it’s only been a few years, which isn’t a long enough period to establish long-term reliability. Therefore, AM-driven products cannot afford to face reliability issues at this stage. As the number of backlight zones increases, the number of driver chips required per TV also rises, necessitating continuous efforts to ensure basic system reliability. This cautious approach extends throughout the entire supply chain.
For instance, the AM Mini LED driving solution imposes higher requirements on the manufacturing process of the lamp board components compared to traditional LED and Mini LED backlighting. Traditional lamp board manufacturing might only involve LED testing and conventional SMT processes, whereas Mini LED backlighting often requires COB processes and CSP package IC mounting, presenting numerous technical and process challenges that the industry is still working to overcome. Although aluminum substrates with single-sided wiring and mounting have developed alongside Mini LED TVs due to their cost and heat dissipation advantages, much of the reliability work remains to be validated and researched.
If the industry shifts to a price-driven competition model at this time, especially irrational competition below cost, it will inevitably impact product reliability. This concern extends beyond just the driver chips; the Mini LED backlighting supply chain is extensive, encompassing LED chips, packaging, PCB lamp boards, driver chips, connectors, adhesives, testing, and more. A failure at any point in the chain can have serious repercussions for the product, brand, and even the entire industry.
Additionally, AM driving technology must continue to evolve. Without a doubt, Mini LED AM driving technology is now one of the most critical components of LCD displays. It must advance to further the overall development of LED display functionality and performance, maximizing LCD’s competitive edge and longevity in the display field.
We’ve also observed that some segments of the Mini LED supply chain have experienced price drops of up to 40% annually. Under such steep declines, businesses struggle to maintain operations, let alone gradually optimize product performance over the long term. Therefore, I hope that all segments of the supply chain can achieve gradual cost reductions through technological advancements and efficiency improvements, enabling the industry to reach a sustainable dynamic balance.
Q: This year, many industries have made international expansion a major strategic goal. In the Mini LED backlight market, how do you think companies should approach overseas expansion?
HYASIC: On the end-user market side, domestic TV shipments are declining, but international TV shipments have seen a rebound this year due to events like the Olympics and the European Championship. All terminal manufacturers are actively expanding into overseas markets. For HYASIC, we hope to demonstrate the advantages of AM technology in product value as we enter international markets. Overseas expansion demands higher product quality and reliability, and the costs of after-sales service and traceability are also higher.
Moreover, HYASIC believes that international expansion requires a deep understanding of industry competition and global industry structures. As a pioneer of AM Mini LED TVs, HYASIC is challenging the dominance of OLED technology in TVs and displays. Mini LED backlit TVs destined for overseas markets must rival OLED in picture quality while being more affordable. Finally, there’s the issue of patents. Exporting Mini LED backlit TVs will inevitably impact the market share of OLED TV companies, potentially prompting some international brands to leverage patents to curb the growth of Mini LED TVs. Domestic companies need to be well-prepared for this possibility, as it has been a challenge faced by multiple industries entering international markets.
Conclusion
While the Mini LED backlit TV market has continued the rapid growth observed in 2023 into the first half of 2024, HYASIC also sees potential concerns behind this swift expansion. The healthy development of Mini LED backlit TVs requires the concerted efforts of multiple industry segments to achieve sustainable, balanced growth.
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