In recent years, as LED display products have continued to develop towards higher pixel density and smaller pixel pitch, COB has become the technological revolution direction for small-pitch LED displays.
With COB technology and products already occupying a dominant position in the industry, the industry is also paying close attention to the future development opportunities of COB. What is the market prospect for COB display products in LED displays below P1.0? Faced with the rising COB technology, how should companies seize this opportunity? In which areas can they make early investments?
In view of this, Digital Audio-Visual Engineering Network organized a micro-interview on the theme of "Development Prospects of COB Technology and Products," inviting display manufacturers in the industry such as Unilumin Technology, Xida Electronics, Zhongqi Optoelectronics, Lianjian Optoelectronics, Lanpu Technology, and Hikvision to discuss the above questions.
How do you view the market prospect of COB display products in LED displays below P1.0? Unilumin Technology: SMD packaged LED displays typically have a pixel pitch of P1.2 or higher. Its development is mainly limited by the inability to achieve a pixel pitch below 1.0, which prevents further improvement in screen resolution. COB-packaged displays can achieve even smaller pixel pitches. For example, Unilumin's Mini and Micro series products use COB packaging, and the technology is mature, with virtually no lamp dropouts, significantly improving overall resolution and image clarity.
Currently, Mini LED displays using COB packaging technology are gradually gaining traction. In recent years, indoor small-pitch LED projects have seen widespread application, and large-size standardized display devices such as LED all-in-one machines and LED TVs are experiencing strong growth. Micro LED, another emerging display technology using COB packaging, is also about to enter mass production. With the global economic recovery, the market for COB-related technologies may see even greater development opportunities.
Due to the high barriers to entry in COB packaging production processes, its widespread application across China is not yet widespread, so the future market prospects are promising. Micro-pitch LED displays offer higher resolution, allowing for closer viewing distances. Future cost reductions are expected to open up the all-in-one machine market and the consumer market. In summary, COB displays will gradually become the center of the LED display industry and represent the future of small-pitch LED displays—an irreversible trend. Xida Electronics: Industry Development Trends: The era of high-definition has arrived, but LED direct-view high-definition display terminals are still in their infancy. Under the guidance of national green development and low-carbon emission reduction policies, against the backdrop of government restrictions on the construction of new office spaces, and with government fiscal constraints following three years of the pandemic, achieving lower-cost, green, ultra-high-definition displays within limited spaces is a core user demand and will inevitably become a future development trend.
Technological Development Trends: Flip-chip COB is the optimal technical route for LED products with a pitch of P1.0 or less. It not only possesses the superior image quality of LED display technology but also meets key user concerns such as safety, energy saving, environmental protection, high definition, health, and reliability, achieving a perfect balance of ultra-high definition, high reliability, strong protection, and ultra-comfort.
The flip-chip COB field has become a new investment direction in the capital market. The intervention of capital will inevitably accelerate the development and iterative upgrade of flip-chip COB technology, and significantly shorten the evolutionary cycle of the four industrial stages of flip-chip COB technology productization, product marketization, market scaling, and large-scale industrialization.
Market Outlook: As LED display products continue to evolve towards higher pixel densities, COB will inevitably become the direction of technological transformation for small-pitch LED displays. Due to the increasing demand from professional market customers and their trend towards high-end products, the demand for high-definition, large-screen, and seamless displays in emergency command, operation scheduling, intelligent monitoring, smart cities, and big data centers will continue to drive the expansion of COB micro-pitch displays into high-end professional applications, becoming the main driving force for the growth of the LED display application market below P1.0 and accelerating the continuous increase in market penetration.
Simultaneously, the gradual maturation of COB micro-pitch technology and the improvement in overlay yield have also led to cost optimization. With the decrease in costs, the commercial display market is constantly expanding into new application scenarios, rapidly forming a scale and bringing broad market space, becoming a new growth point for small-pitch LED displays. As the trend of larger TV screens continues to advance, the gradual maturation of flip-chip COB manufacturing technology and the continuous optimization of prices have made widespread adoption in the high-end home market possible. In the future, it will replace LCD and OLED technologies in the home market, further opening up the growth space for COB displays below P1.0 and filling the market gap for large-size high-end home displays.
Zhongqi Optoelectronics: In terms of cost, COB costs below P1.0 will continue to decline, eventually falling below SMD costs. In terms of applications, COB displays will increasingly converge towards the standardized 4K market, such as 4K screens for home theaters, hence the increasing prevalence of P0.6 and P0.7 displays. Compared to the existing market for traditional LED commercial displays, the future of COB below P1.0 lies in the incremental market of home theaters. Lianjian Optoelectronics: As a crucial technology for Micro LED products, COB, especially flip-chip COB packaging technology, excels in superior display quality, stability, reliability, and low carbon footprint.
The market demand for displays below P1.0 has shifted from a downward trend to becoming a mainstream product. Among various COB technologies, displays below P1.0 offer advantages in display quality, performance indicators, cost, and supply chain, making them a future mainstream product. Lanpu Technology: The mainstream technologies for LED displays below P1.0 currently include SMD, IMD, COB, and MIP, with IMD and COB currently holding the largest market share.
Compared to IMD, COB technology offers greater stability in product protection and reliability, and its surface light source provides a more uniform and smoother display. With the increasing maturity of COB technology and continuous improvement in product yield, its advantages are expected to become more pronounced in the future, making it the mainstream choice for displays below P1.0.
Hikvision: Optimistic about the market prospects for COB display products below P1.0. Historically, COB displays have a higher penetration rate in the P1.0 market, with P0.9 COB displays currently accounting for over 30%, showing significant application growth, primarily in command centers and high-end conference rooms. As COB technology matures and costs are optimized, combined with the advantages of COB surface light source display (smoothness, moisture resistance, and impact resistance), its penetration into SMD products will further expand.