Live coverage from Sharp's CES press conference
12:01pm It's live and were waiting for things to get started, this was the first press conference where RSVP was a must, so haha to all those suckers who were denied. After barly getting in the last one we got here early and have a front row seat and lunch to boot. If only we actually had time to eat it.
They are announced that they are planning on starting at 10 after 12.
12:10pm Mister Fujimoto kicks off the show.
Sharp plans to surpass 42 million units worldwide thanks to lower prices and the fact that consumers appreciate the advantages of LCD over other technologies.
He reconfirms the high demand for Sharp LCD's.
Shar Kameyama Plant No. 2 the only 8th Generation LCD plant, the result was super sized LCD's which allowed them to hold the market share in the 42" and up LCD market.
Sharp announces 108" LCD, which is the world's Largest!
Everyone goes crazy snapping pictures of the awesome set with the two females standing by. The TV has a beautiful piano black finish and looks like it weights a ton.
This is the first LCD that is larger than a Plasma, which they claim makes it the best technology.
Far higher resolution than Plasma's and comparable contrast and colors.
12:16pm They are really trying to sell the fact that LCD is better than plasma.
By march of 2008 the Kameyama Plant No. 2 will be at full capacity and production 90 sheets a month.
12:18pm Mark Troetti the president of Sharp Marketing of America, enters the stage.
He shows the same Display Search slides and talks about the great demand for HD and specifically LCD.
They plan to continue to be the leader in LCD and HDTV in the US, they tell us why, but it is just marketing speak.
Part of their marketing plan is with 3M and they are entering into Nascar sponsorship. They will have a Nascar simulator at their Booth to test our driving skills.
Bob Scagione the Senior Vice President of Sharp Marketing of USA.
They are introducing the new LCD lineup the D92-Series with the 8th gen panels.
42", 46" and 52"
15,000:1 Dynamic Contrast and 4ms 120hz, HDMI, 1080p, DVI-i)
They will also LC64-D92 available in march at 64".
The D82 Series
D43 will be the new 720P from 26" to 52".
Now shipping through June with Dual HDMI and 6,000:1 Dynamic Contrast.
They now offer 4 LCD's in the 46" and 52" and Display search believe LCD will outplace Plasma in these sizes this year.
12:28pm Announces new Gamer series GP1U series will be shipping in march in 32" and 37" screen sizes with Vyper Drive which redues Lag and sub outputs.
12:29Pm
Sharps new TV's includes features like PLC DLNA for acess to the internet and transferring shows around your network.
Sharp will be showing their Triple-View LCD so you can see three images on the same LCD. As well as their ultra High contrast ratio TV's.
Sharp Audio
i-Elegance Series iPod docks available in Black and White and will be shipping in the Spring.
Sharp Blu-ray Player.
Will ship in 2nd Quarter MSRP: $1,199.99, NO other details.
XV-Z3100 and DT-510 are also new and be available in February.
12:32 Bob finishes up and start taking questions.
What is the production schedule for 2006.
Do you use LED backlighting.
The device will be out this year and none of their LCD's use a LED backlight.
Why did you use PLC and who makes it.
They think it is better and it is associate with Home Plug.
What version of HDMI does the Blu-ray player support.
We are planning on 1.3, but not finally yet.
Both Gaming models are 1080p.
There are no official pricing, but will be comparable to current models.
The network enabled TV's have not been completed yet, but a few that will work is from Yahoo and Flickr.
It will also work with Intel Viv equiepted PC's.
Nothing is final yet, they are looking for feedback during the show.
Sharp will compete with the less expensive LCD's with higher quality items and they believe the success of their products speaks for the desire for customers to own better displays.
The PLC adapters can transmit two 1080 signals simultaneously.
