Why do LED display companies collectively bet on

With the development of display technology, the focus of LED screens has gradually shifted from brightness and color to operating efficiency and energy consumption management. In an ultra-high-definition display environment, the heat generated by high power consumption affects system stability and service life, and also restricts industrial upgrades. In addition, as the concept of energy conservation gradually becomes a consensus in the industry chain, more and more manufacturers are positioning "cold screen" as a core product label.

Dual resonance of policy orientation and technology iteration

The development of cold screen products is not only driven by the global "carbon neutrality" goal, but is also closely related to the increasingly stringent energy consumption regulations of display equipment in various countries. China, the European Union, the United States and other markets have successively introduced energy efficiency standards and energy-saving policies, setting forth requirements for the energy consumption of LED display products, accelerating the industry's upgrade to low power consumption and high efficiency.

Taking China as an example, the "Display Energy Efficiency Limits and Energy Efficiency Levels" (GB 21520-2023) will be officially implemented on June 1, 2024. It was the first national mandatory energy efficiency standard in the LED display industry at that time. The standard clearly stipulates that products that do not reach Level 3 energy efficiency shall not be sold on the market, and puts forward rigid technical requirements for energy-saving functions such as standby power consumption ≤0.5W.

In addition, the European Union and the United States markets continue to update energy-saving policies; Southeast Asian countries are accelerating the establishment of local energy efficiency thresholds and label certification systems due to pressure on power supply. The “Vision 2030” and “Saudi Green Initiative” in the Middle East promote the application of efficient and energy-saving products, making the region an important platform for green technology testing and promotion.

Driven by both policies and markets, the LED display industry is facing the coexistence of rapid growth in demand for high-resolution, large-size products and challenges in energy consumption and heat brought about by traditional high-power designs. In order to cope with this contradiction and take into account energy saving and display performance, "cold screen" has developed rapidly as a low-power solution and gradually become one of the important directions for upgrading LED display technology.

Collaboration of the LED industry chain to promote the development of cold screen products

Currently, domestic LED manufacturers are accelerating the layout of cold screen products, including Ledman Optoelectronics, Leyard, Unilumin Technology, Absen, BOE MLED Business, Shijue Guangxu, Xi'an Qingsong, Hikvision, Qianli Jucai, Inspur Intelligent Terminal, Xida Electronics and Alto Electronics and other display companies, which are promoting the application and promotion of low-power, high-efficiency products in the market.

From the perspective of product performance, the main features of the cold screen are low power consumption and low-temperature operation.

For example, the surface temperature of Ledman QS0.9 is about 29.5°C and the power consumption is only half of traditional products. The surface temperature of Leyard MG-2 COB is still lower than 30°C after two hours of continuous operation. The energy saving effect of Unilumin UMini5Pro is 55%. Hikvision MIP cold screen can reduce power consumption by 25% to 35%. Xi'an Qingsong's full-link energy saving solution can reduce it by about 50%.

Unilumin Technology UMini5Pro (Picture source: Unilumin Technology)

At the same time, some products still maintain high performance while ensuring low temperature and energy saving. For example, the Ledman QS0.9 can achieve 4K resolution on a 163-inch screen and support a 7680Hz refresh rate. The Leyard MG-2COB series has a 1500nit The high brightness and ultra-high contrast ratio of 30000:1 ensure the visual output effect. Alto Electronics ADS ultra-thin double-sided screen also supports 7680Hz refresh rate. Xida Electronics outdoor high-brightness cold screen advertising machine operates at low temperature at 4000cd/m2 brightness.

From the perspective of application scenarios, high-end indoors are still the mainstream, such as command centers and high-end theater scenes. Cold screens solve the problem of heat radiation when viewed at close range. At the same time, cold screen technology is also penetrating into all scenes.

For all-weather outdoor use, Xi'an Qingsong and Inspur Intelligent's solutions ensure operational stability in extreme exposure environments; the rental market emphasizes durability and convenient installation, and Absen products adopt a six-star protection design to adapt to frequent handling; for high-end home theaters, Ledman Optoelectronic cold screens can control heat when used at close range, providing solutions for small-pitch indoor displays.

From a technical perspective, companies currently usually achieve energy saving and low-temperature operation through a combination of technologies. Common solutions include the combination of algorithm or system-level optimization, flip-chip, COB/MiP packaging, common cathode drive architecture, and hardware architecture optimization.

• Algorithm or system-level optimization

In specific implementation, algorithm or system-level optimization is becoming an important entry point. Some display screen companies achieve collaborative improvements in energy efficiency and temperature control by optimizing driving strategies, power consumption allocation and screen performance.

For example, Ledman Optoelectronic Cold Screen Master QS0.9 is equipped with an AI low-power cold screen system. It uses Lingying AI low-power intelligent display technology, intelligent precise voltage control technology, and black-on-black direct display technology to reduce power consumption while maintaining display performance.

From a specific technical point of view, Lingying AI low-power smart display technology has the advantages of energy saving and image quality, with the best power consumption at the same resolution; smart ultra-high-precision voltage control technology accurately supplies RGB chips and transmits efficiently, reducing power consumption by 50% and cooling compared with traditional methods. The screen temperature during operation is 29.5°C (lower than human body temperature). The black-on-black lossless direct display technology ensures high surface blackness and contrast while achieving 100% light transmittance and reducing ineffective losses. In addition, Ledman Optoelectronics’ layout in technical directions such as COB, PSE and PM glass base also provides a technical foundation for the realization of this product.

Ledman Cold Screen Master QS0.9 (Photo source: Ledman Optoelectronics)

Other companies have also launched their own cold screen technology solutions.

For example, Unilumin Technology's Udesign SV adopts unique AI circuit optimization technology, BOE's MLED business BYH Pro P0.9 adopts low-power cold screen technology, Shijue Guangxu WT series products apply ColdLED cold screen energy-saving technology, and Qianli Jucai indoor COB energy-saving cold screen YK series adopts 36°C energy-saving cold screen technology.

• Hardware architecture optimization

At the hardware level, Leyard MG-2 COB cold screen series adopts full flip-chip and COB packaging, and is equipped with self-developed energy-saving constant current driver chip LYD23221, using a common cathode driver solution. The chip is developed based on the 55nm process technology, has 28-bit internal processing bits, supports 18-bit gray scale and 10-bit brightness adjustment, and achieves energy consumption control while improving the display.

From Leyard's technical configuration, it can be seen that the driver IC plays a key role in the cold screen solution.

From the perspective of power consumption composition, with the miniaturization of dot pitch, the pixel density per unit area increases exponentially. However, due to the improvement of the light efficiency of a single miniaturized LED and the reduction of operating current, the growth rate of the total power consumption of LED lamp beads has slowed down, and may even decrease. The total power consumption of the traditional 16-channel driver IC has increased sharply, becoming an energy efficiency bottleneck.

According to LED driver IC manufacturer Lingyang Huaxin, in some ultra-high-definition micro-pitch (such as below P0.7) products, under different brightness applications, the power consumption of the driver IC and related circuits may soar from the traditional 15-30% to 50% or even higher.

It can be seen that in the display system, the driver IC not only affects the brightness adjustment and grayscale performance, but also directly affects the temperature control, operational stability and service life of the screen. Therefore, the importance of energy saving and consumption reduction has gradually become prominent.

In the cold screen technology system, driver ICs that balance energy saving and performance usually adopt highly integrated designs and are combined with a common cathode driver architecture to reduce system power consumption and heat generation. In this technical direction, mainstream driver IC manufacturers have already launched their layout. Some examples are as follows:

Among them, the XM11206G launched by Sungyang Huaxin is aimed at small-pitch cold screen applications, and the black screen static power consumption is about 20% lower than the previous generation product; the XM10486G series is positioned in high-end markets such as virtual shooting, and has now entered Brompton's product list. The partners of this list include Sony, Unilumin Technology, Absen, Alto Electronics, AUO and other display manufacturers.

Macroblock Technology has also launched the common cathode LED driver chip MBI5756, which can help display manufacturers achieve low-power operation while optimizing screen temperature control and support energy-saving application requirements. The chip provides standard packaging forms such as GP and GFN, which helps shorten the development cycle of LED display manufacturers in the design and manufacturing process.

There are also driver IC manufacturers that are planning to improve product performance and energy efficiency. For example, Chitron North has launched the constant current LED driver chip ICND2167, which is designed for Mini/Micro LED small-pitch displays. It supports a 1920Hz first-level refresh rate, a maximum 15360Hz refresh rate and 18-bit grayscale output. It can improve picture performance while taking into account low-power operation.

In the packaging process, companies can improve energy efficiency through device structure and material optimization.

For example, Nationstar Optoelectronics launched the AS-0.9 (AM Drive) panel, which uses a self-developed AM drive MIP device and PM drive module combination solution to achieve flicker-free display and 16-bit color gradient, reducing power consumption by about 20% compared to conventional products.

MIP AS large screen (picture source: Nationstar Optoelectronics)

Kinglight Crystal Taiwan has launched two high-end fixed products, 2745 and 5040, which are adapted to the point pitch of P6-P8 or above. They can achieve high brightness of 10000nit and 20000nit while maintaining low power consumption to meet the display needs in outdoor strong light environments.

In addition, the control system is also an important link that affects the energy efficiency performance of the cold screen. As the core hub of the signal source and display terminal, the control system can further reduce the power consumption of the entire screen and improve temperature control through brightness adjustment, grayscale distribution and data transmission optimization. Currently, manufacturers such as Nova Nebula and Colorlight are focusing on collaborative optimization of energy saving and image quality.

For example, the Infinity solution launched by Nova Nebula is based on PWM and PAM hybrid drive technology and can be applied to improve the image quality of MLED displays. In terms of energy consumption, this solution combines the hybrid drive architecture and the energy-saving design of the drive chip, which can reduce power consumption by about 20%, thereby effectively controlling temperature rise and improving system operation reliability.

Colorlight launches U series full-stack AI display and control products. U20 Max supports 8K+5G+ optical port zero-delay transmission to reduce energy consumption; U9 Max has built-in Ascend AI computing power, intelligently optimizes image quality, identifies abnormal images, reduces power consumption and ensures information security.

Integrated development trend of cold screen technology

Cold screen products are becoming the focus of many manufacturers, and the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Judging from the current development trend, the following trends are expected to help LED displays penetrate into more application scenarios.

The first is "cold screen + Micro LED". Since Micro LED is sensitive to temperature control and power consumption, a stable operating environment is a prerequisite for its commercialization. At present, companies such as Ledman Optoelectronics and Leyard have launched Micro LED cold screen products. Cold screen technology makes it possible for Micro LED to expand into the home market, while also ensuring the long-term use of high-end display terminals.

The second is "cold screen + AI". The introduction of AI has gradually extended cold screen technology from solely relying on hardware structure optimization to algorithm and system-level collaborative optimization. At the application level, some manufacturers have tried to integrate AI capabilities with display systems. Take Ledman's new Micro LED giant curtain wall products LV135 Max (4K) and LV163 Max (4K) as an example. They adopt the "HD King Cold Screen Master" QS0.9, reduce power and heat loss, improve heat dissipation efficiency and achieve a high level of performance and temperature through technologies such as "AI low-power cold screen system". In addition, through integrated AI interaction and content generation capabilities, display content can be generated or adjusted through instructions, lowering the threshold for content production to a certain extent.

The third is "cold screen + transparent screen". In large commercial spaces and public scenes, the combination of cold screen technology and transparent screens can achieve continuous and clear visual display while ensuring low power consumption and temperature control. For example, Unilumin Technology’s MIP holographic invisible screen project at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center and the “Computing Power Corridor” project created in cooperation with Alibaba Cloud.

Summary

The development of cold screen technology reflects the industry's balance between high performance and low energy consumption. Its core involves chip packaging, driver architecture and algorithm optimization and other technical aspects. The application of this type of technology can reduce screen temperature rise, extend equipment life, and reduce operating energy consumption, allowing LED displays to gradually evolve from traditional hardware equipment to efficient and intelligent visual interaction terminals.

In the future, with the combination of cold screen technology and cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Micro LED and transparent display, LED display products are expected to reduce high temperature and high maintenance problems and achieve more stable long-term operation. Technological innovation not only improves product performance and commercial value, but also has a positive impact on the green and low-carbon development of the industry, providing basic conditions for the application expansion of ultra-high-definition displays.

Focusing on this trend, TrendForce plans to hold the 2026 New Display Industry Seminar (DTS 2026) from April 22 to 23. Among them, at the MLED new display special high-level conference on April 22, senior experts and top industry analysts will gather together. Ledman Optoelectronics will also give a keynote speech on "Cold Screen Era, the Future of LED Displays" to discuss technology and the future of the industry. All walks of life are sincerely invited to sign up to participate.