Worldwide LCD TV Core Chip and Industry Development

Industry Intelligence Program

Semiconductor

Abstract The development pace of video processor is slowing down as the LCD TV (Liquid Crystal Display Television) industry approaches maturity. Therefore, the LCD TV core chip industry has been pinning high hopes on emerging LCD products such as smart TV and 4K2K TV. The rise of smart TV also has enticed other areas of chipmakers to set foot into this sector, leading to an increasingly intense competition. This report profiles the development of LCD TV core chip industry and examines its future trends from the product and industry perspectives.

by Cindy Gu

Document Code: SCRPT14012701 Publication Date: Janaury 2014 Check out MIC on the Internet! http://mic.iii.org.tw/english

SCRPT14012701 Worldwide LCD TV Core Chip and Industry Development ______i

Table of Contents

Page

1. Development of Worldwide LCD TV Core Chips ...... 1

1.1 4K2K TV Chip...... 1

1.1.1 Post Signal Processing IC Key Solution for 4K2K Panels ...... 1

1.1.2 Next Generation Image Processor with 4K2K Resolution and 60Hz Refresh Rate ...... 2

1.2 Application Processor ...... 2

1.2.1 ARM Leads Smart TV CPU and GPU Market ...... 2

1.2.2 CPU and GPU Advancing Towards High Performance Multi-core Development ...... 2

2. Development of Worldwide LCD TV Core Chip Industry ...... 3

2.1 Incumbents ...... 3

2.1.1 International and Japanese Makers Fading Out of the Market ...... 3

2.1.2 MStar and MediaTek Feel the Breeze from International Brands' Market Withdrawal ...... 4

2.2. Entrants ...... 4

2.2.1 Marvell and Qualcomm March into Smart TV Application IC Market with High-end Application Processor ...... 4

2.2.2. Challenges for Entrants ...... 5

MIC Perspective ...... 6

Appendix ...... 7

List of Figures

Page

Figure 1 General LCD TV Core Chip Architecture ...... 1

Figure 2 4K2K LCD TV Video Processor and Post Signal Processor Development Roadmap ...... 2

Figure 3 Mainstream Smart TV Application Processor Development Roadmap ...... 3

Figure 4 Worldwide LCD Video Processor Shipment Share by Solution Provider Tier, 2011 - 2013 ...... 4

List of Tables

Page

Table 1 Development of New LCD TV Core IC Solution Developers ...... 4

1. Development of Worldwide LCD TV Core Chips Looking at LCD TV core chip architecture, a video processer is responsible for video decoding, deinterlacing, and scaling the input video signals to make them easier to fit different panel resolutions. To configure the frame rate of panels to 120Hz or 240Hz, or to solve the residue images of LCD panels, a FRC (Frame Rate Converter) or ME/MC (Motion Estimation/Motion Compensation) IC will be incorporated into a video processer. To smarten up a LCD TV, an application processor is added. Core chips mentioned in this report consist of a video processor, RFC, ME/MC IC and application processor.

Inside a non smart TV, or LCD TV, the video processor is in charge of majority tasks so is also called SoC (System on Chip). In a smart TV, a video processor and an application processor are often integrated into a SoC. As LCD TVs in the market continue to inch up in sizes and LCD TVs with a 120Hz refresh rate are more commonly seen, an integrated SoC (System on Chip) that combines a RFC or ME/MC chip has been launched onto the market.

Figure 1 General LCD TV Core Chip Architecture

Note: HDMI is short for High Definition Multimedia Interface; PHY is short for Physical Layer; DRAM is short for Dynamic Random Access Memeory; CVBS is short for Composite Video Broadcast Signal; CPU (Central Processing Unit); GPU (Graphic Processing Unit); VGA is short for Video Graphic Array Source: MIC, January 2014

With all eyes now on 4K2K TV and smart TV, video processor and application processor have played a key role in the TV evolution and thus shall merit further observation.

1.1 4K2K TV Chip 1.1.1 Post Signal Processing IC Key Solution for 4K2K Panels

4K2K LCD TV Video Processor and Post Signal Processor Figure 2 Development Roadmap

Note 1: Development timelines of core chips are based on the shipment time of corresponding TV sets Note 2: FHD/60Hz indicates devices featuring FHD resolution and 60Hz refresh rate and 4k2k resolution and 30Hz refresh rate Source: MIC, January 2014

1.1.2 Next Generation Image Processor with 4K2K Resolution and 60Hz Refresh Rate

1.2 Application Processor 1.2.1 ARM Leads Smart TV CPU and GPU Market

1.2.2 CPU and GPU Advancing Towards High Performance Multi-core Development

Figure 3 Mainstream Smart TV Application Processor Development Roadmap

Note 1: Development timelines of core chips are based on the shipment time of corresponding TV sets Note 2: ARM architecture products are chosen as indicator due to widespread use of ARM IP on CPU and GPU of major application processor providers Source: MIC, January 2014

2. Development of Worldwide LCD TV Core Chip Industry

2.1 Incumbents 2.1.1 International and Japanese Makers Fading Out of the Market

Worldwide LCD Video Processor Shipment Share by Solution Figure 4 Provider Tier, 2011 - 2013

Note 1: TV brands' in-house IC solutions sold to others were also incorporated into the statistics Note 2: Application processor integrated video processors were also incorporated into the statistics Source: MIC, January 2014

2.1.2 MStar and MediaTek Feel the Breeze from International Brands' Market Withdrawal

2.2. Entrants 2.2.1 Marvell and Qualcomm March into Smart TV Application IC Market with High-end Application Processor

Table 1 Development of New LCD TV Core IC Solution Developers Existing Vendor Product Model Key Feature Major Client Domain • Marvell • Qualcomm • Amlogic • Source: respective companies, compiled by MIC, January 2014

2.2.2. Challenges for Entrants

MIC Perspective Rise of Smart TV and 4K2K TV to Buoy Global LCD TV Chip ASP

China Records World's Highest Smartphone TV and 4K2K TV Penetration

Some Brands Continue In-house Production of Chips and Some Fading Out

Appendix Glossary of Terms

BU Business Unit CPU Central Processing Unit CVBS Composite Video Broadcast Signal DAC Digital to Analog Converter DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory DVD Digital Video Disk FHD Full High Definition GPU Graphic Processing Unit HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface HEVC High Efficiency Video Coding IP Internet Protocol LCD TV Liquid Crystal Display Television MC Motion Compensation ME Motion Estimation Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline MIPS Stages OS Operating System PHY Physical Layer RFC Frame Rate Converter SoC System on Chip STB Set Top Box VGA Video Graphic Array

List of Companies

Amlogic Broadcom CooCaa TV Google Hisense Lenovo Letv.com LG Marvell MediaTek MStar Novatek Panasonic Philips Qualcomm Realtek Sigma Designs Skyworth Sony Toshiba Trident Xiaomi Zoran

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