CE Daily
March 3, 2006
Growing to 25%-30% in 2007
1080p TVs to Account For 10%-15% of Set Sales This Year, Pixelworks Says
TVs with 1080p resolution will account for 10%-15% of flat-panel and microdisplay rear-projection set sales this year, growing to 25%-30% in 2007, Pixelworks CEO Allen Alley told a Wedbush Morgan investor conference in N.Y.C.
Among suppliers leading the push to expand sales of 1080p TVs are Samsung, Sony and Texas Instruments. Retailers are following suit by incorporating 1080p functionality more and more into their sales pitches, Alley said. While TI for many years downplayed the need for 1080p-capable TVs because of a lack of content, it shifted in 2004 to aggressively push 1080p as the first sets entered the market. TVs with 1080p resolution represented only about 4% of set sales in 2004, Alley said.
“The manufacturers are becoming very focused on 1080p and the channel is pushing it,” Alley said. Pixelworks has secured design wins in 40 TVs with 1080p and has a 30% share of the market in that resolution, Alley said. But Toshiba Vp Scott Ramirez, typifying manufacturer executives we polled, said Alley’s estimates apply only to rear-projection TVs, among which microdisplays have a strong foothold, and not flat-panel displays. “I really think that can only apply to rear projection because most of flat-panel displays are 720p,” Ramirez said.
The key to Pixelworks’ 1080p strategy will likely be its “Pearl” ImageProcessor ICs, which combine an internal HDMI receiver with 5th-generation 12-bit video decoder and 10-bit ADC. The Pearl processor, which will target top tier brands, will likely be priced around $10 in volume when it ships 2nd half, company officials said. Pixelworks also will ship its Opal-2 chip, a video designed for the European market.
Meanwhile, Alley forecast worldwide front projector sales of 4.9-5.1 million units this year, depending on whether the expected arrival of $499 models translates into strong sales. The $499 projectors, which have been demonstrated by InFocus, will likely be built around a series of platforms targeting specific applications such as gaming, Pixelworks CFO Michael Yonker said. Pixelworks has struggled with its front projector business in recent years, having seen it drop to less than 50% of the company’s total annual revenue from 67% in 2000, company officials said.
Worldwide flat-panel TV sales are expected to increase to 50 million sets this year from 29 million last year, growing to more than 100 million by 2008, Genesis Microchip CFO Michael Healy told the conference. Genesis is banking on design wins with Samsung and Sony for its Oak multifunction monitor and Cortez FLI8532 single-chip LCD TV controllers, respectively.
The FLI8532 controller, which featured an integrated 3D video decoder, Faroudja DCDi Cinema video format conversion and noise reduction, was designed into Sony Bravia 40W and 32W LCD TVs, Healy said. Genesis expects to have a 10% share of Sony’s LCD TV monitors this year, he said. The Bravia 40W and 32W sets are devoid of NTSC or ATSC tuners, he said, enabling them to hit lower prices, such as $2,800 in the case of the 40W. Sony officials weren’t available for comment at our deadline Thurs. “Essentially what Sony is saying is, ‘Why do consumers need a tuner in the TV when they may already have one in a set-top box?’” Healy said. “We believe that it is a very sound strategy and we’re going to take advantage of it.”
Several companies will likely introduce monitor products this year to hit lower prices, said industry executives we canvassed. Under the FCC’s DTV tuner mandate, all 25" and larger TVs shipped with built-in NTSC tuning also must have ATSC tuners. Tunerless monitors thereby are outside the scope of the FCC requirement. Toshiba introduced such a line in rear projection TV last year and will likely continue with the strategy this year, Ramirez said. “I don’t know that the trend will be widespread, but it will exist in the marketplace,” Ramirez said. “Our industry has a history of having steps between products.”
Genesis’ design win with Samsung for its Oak controller covered 26W, 32W and 40W LCD TVs sold in Europe, Healy said. It expects to have a 15-20% share of Samsung’s LCD TV business this year, he said. Genesis showed the Cortez Advanced FLI8538 single-chip enhanced LCD TV controller at CES. The 10-bit controller can power displays with resolutions up to 1080p and combines picture-in-picture with a video decoder containing a 3D comb filter. The FLI8548 Cortez Plus controller also features a video decoder with a 3D comb filter, but adds HDMI functionality.
March 3, 2006
Growing to 25%-30% in 2007
1080p TVs to Account For 10%-15% of Set Sales This Year, Pixelworks Says
TVs with 1080p resolution will account for 10%-15% of flat-panel and microdisplay rear-projection set sales this year, growing to 25%-30% in 2007, Pixelworks CEO Allen Alley told a Wedbush Morgan investor conference in N.Y.C.
Among suppliers leading the push to expand sales of 1080p TVs are Samsung, Sony and Texas Instruments. Retailers are following suit by incorporating 1080p functionality more and more into their sales pitches, Alley said. While TI for many years downplayed the need for 1080p-capable TVs because of a lack of content, it shifted in 2004 to aggressively push 1080p as the first sets entered the market. TVs with 1080p resolution represented only about 4% of set sales in 2004, Alley said.
“The manufacturers are becoming very focused on 1080p and the channel is pushing it,” Alley said. Pixelworks has secured design wins in 40 TVs with 1080p and has a 30% share of the market in that resolution, Alley said. But Toshiba Vp Scott Ramirez, typifying manufacturer executives we polled, said Alley’s estimates apply only to rear-projection TVs, among which microdisplays have a strong foothold, and not flat-panel displays. “I really think that can only apply to rear projection because most of flat-panel displays are 720p,” Ramirez said.
The key to Pixelworks’ 1080p strategy will likely be its “Pearl” ImageProcessor ICs, which combine an internal HDMI receiver with 5th-generation 12-bit video decoder and 10-bit ADC. The Pearl processor, which will target top tier brands, will likely be priced around $10 in volume when it ships 2nd half, company officials said. Pixelworks also will ship its Opal-2 chip, a video designed for the European market.
Meanwhile, Alley forecast worldwide front projector sales of 4.9-5.1 million units this year, depending on whether the expected arrival of $499 models translates into strong sales. The $499 projectors, which have been demonstrated by InFocus, will likely be built around a series of platforms targeting specific applications such as gaming, Pixelworks CFO Michael Yonker said. Pixelworks has struggled with its front projector business in recent years, having seen it drop to less than 50% of the company’s total annual revenue from 67% in 2000, company officials said.
Worldwide flat-panel TV sales are expected to increase to 50 million sets this year from 29 million last year, growing to more than 100 million by 2008, Genesis Microchip CFO Michael Healy told the conference. Genesis is banking on design wins with Samsung and Sony for its Oak multifunction monitor and Cortez FLI8532 single-chip LCD TV controllers, respectively.
The FLI8532 controller, which featured an integrated 3D video decoder, Faroudja DCDi Cinema video format conversion and noise reduction, was designed into Sony Bravia 40W and 32W LCD TVs, Healy said. Genesis expects to have a 10% share of Sony’s LCD TV monitors this year, he said. The Bravia 40W and 32W sets are devoid of NTSC or ATSC tuners, he said, enabling them to hit lower prices, such as $2,800 in the case of the 40W. Sony officials weren’t available for comment at our deadline Thurs. “Essentially what Sony is saying is, ‘Why do consumers need a tuner in the TV when they may already have one in a set-top box?’” Healy said. “We believe that it is a very sound strategy and we’re going to take advantage of it.”
Several companies will likely introduce monitor products this year to hit lower prices, said industry executives we canvassed. Under the FCC’s DTV tuner mandate, all 25" and larger TVs shipped with built-in NTSC tuning also must have ATSC tuners. Tunerless monitors thereby are outside the scope of the FCC requirement. Toshiba introduced such a line in rear projection TV last year and will likely continue with the strategy this year, Ramirez said. “I don’t know that the trend will be widespread, but it will exist in the marketplace,” Ramirez said. “Our industry has a history of having steps between products.”
Genesis’ design win with Samsung for its Oak controller covered 26W, 32W and 40W LCD TVs sold in Europe, Healy said. It expects to have a 15-20% share of Samsung’s LCD TV business this year, he said. Genesis showed the Cortez Advanced FLI8538 single-chip enhanced LCD TV controller at CES. The 10-bit controller can power displays with resolutions up to 1080p and combines picture-in-picture with a video decoder containing a 3D comb filter. The FLI8548 Cortez Plus controller also features a video decoder with a 3D comb filter, but adds HDMI functionality.