In the second quarter of 2014, the combined shipment volume of 4K2K panels witnessed a whopping 178.8% sequential growth and topped nearly 4.4 million units in one single quarter. 4K2K panels' share reached about 7% of total LCD TV panel market.

It is forecast therefore that in the fourth quarter of 2014, over 6 million 4K2K panels will be shipped worldwide, taking up around 10% of the total LCD TV panel market.

4K2K panels will take up around 7.2% of total LCD TV panels shipped in 2014, much higher than 1.3% in 2013.

"Thanks to relatively short base period in 2013 and more panel makers jumping into 4K2K panel bandwagon, more 4K2K panels across a wide range of screen sizes are available in 2014," said Chen. This has helped push overall 4K2K panel shipments in 2014 thus far.

RGBW 4K2K Panels Growing in Importance

As for RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White) 4K2K panels, those developed by Korean makers were shipped mainly to Chinese LCD TV brands in the second quarter of 2014.

By closing in the price gap between 4K2K panels and FHD (Full High Definition) panels, which are normally 1.15- to 1.2-fold more expensive, Korean makers hope to lure more Chinese TV brands to use their RGBW 4K2K panels.

In 2014, MIC estimates that over 1 million RGBW 4K2K TV panels will be shipped, to make up 8% of total 4K2K panel shipments.

Figure 1