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Sharp's next-gen concept displays and 60-inch ICC 4K LCD (eyes-on)
The majority of Sharp's area on the CES show floor is taken up by its 2013 consumer AQUOS range, but hidden in dark corners are tech demos, concept panels, and ridiculously priced displays. One demonstration set is split into two sections, comparing the company's next-gen Quattron yellow sub-pixel technology with the current generation. Did the color's look great? For sure. Did it look like the current-gen Quattron had been made intentionally low quality? Definitely. The two-faced demo TV also had the glare-reducing Moth-Eye technology on board, as did a 70-inch UHDTV concept model which a Sharp rep called "just an exercise in engineering." It wasn't exactly gasp-inducing, but the anti-reflective tech was certainly working. Finally, hidden behind a curtain and crammed into a small pitch-black room (literally) were a bunch of Sharp's "Integrated Cognitive Creation" (ICC) 60-inch 4K LCDs. The hook of the ICC PURIOS is that it upscales 1080p to 4K, and will do so for only $25,000 - $30,000 when it launches in the US this summer. We couldn't really tell the difference between the HD and 4K pictures, but maybe we should've brought a microscope for a more thorough analysis.%Gallery-175387% %Gallery-175385%
Sharp Elite LED LCD TV hands-on (video)
Earlier today, Sharp and Pioneer re-launched the Elite brand, with its Pro-60X5FD and Pro-70X5FD LED LCD TVs. Both models cater to the high-end home entertainment crowd, with pricing set at $6,000 and $8,500, for the 60-inch and 70-inch sets, respectively. We had a chance to take a look at the larger model at an event in New York City this morning, and were certainly impressed with its high contrast and excellent deep black levels. Set against a black wall, it was nearly impossible to distinguish a black image from the TV's brushed aluminum bezel or the wall behind it when viewed in a pitch-black room. Plasma TVs, such as Pioneer's discontinued Kuro, have been able to achieve deep black levels for years, but LCD TVs like the Elite we saw today historically suffer from light bleeding, which causes black images to appear gray. The Elite TV also includes built-in speakers, which sounded fine in a noisy room, but considering that you'll be spending north of $6,000 for the smaller set, we imagine you'll be pairing either model with some external speakers as well. Internet connectivity alone certainly isn't going to motivate anyone to spend this much to outfit their home theater with a high-end set, but streaming is important nonetheless, so we were happy to see that Sharp included a somewhat diverse offering of services. The TVs ship with apps for Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, YouTube, along with Facebook and Twitter -- there's also a dedicated Netflix button on the remote, letting you access the movie streaming service without clicking through several menu levels. Overall, we were impressed with the Elite during today's brief demonstration, but we'll need to wait for the full review before we can determine whether Sharp can justify those sky-high price tags.%Gallery-129950%
Sharp and Pioneer resurrect Elite with line of LED LCD TVs, pricing starts at $6,000
Remember Pioneer's Kuro brand of HDTVs? The high-end plasma line became the benchmark for the home theater market, leaving a rather large void in the hearts of the HD obsessive after it kicked the bucket two years ago. Now, Sharp and Pioneer are bringing back some of the technology used in that line, while leaving the Kuro name to rest in peace. The Elite branding will remain, however, with the new line of LED LCD TVs. Available in 60-inch and 70-inch flavors, the new Elites will only be available through high-end retailers, and will be priced at $6,000 and $8,500, respectively. The Pro-60X5FD will ship in the US next week, and the Pro-70X5FD will hit stores later this month. Among the sets' features, Sharp promises excellent contrast ratios, high color fidelity, and very low black levels, thanks to zone-based local dimming. The company claims a frame rate of "about 720hz," thanks to 240Hz quadrupling and scanning backlight technology. The TVs also include Sharp's quad-pixel technology, complementing the typical RGB pixel arrangement with a fourth, yellow sub-pixel. This sounds similar to the company's Quattron technology, though Sharp doesn't appear to be using that name with its new Elite line. There's also 3D functionality, and Internet connectivity, with pre-loaded Netflix, Vudu, and social media apps. The TVs also include Elite Advantage Live, for real-time remote technical support. We're at the Elite event in New York City, so stay tuned for more details and a full hands-on later this morning.
Sharp plunges headfirst into 3D market with LV-series Quattron TVs, Blu-ray DVRs
Looks like Sharp's keeping its word -- next month, the fourth-largest LCD TV maker will launch a slate of new 3D TVs in Japan, just as planned. Based on the same Sharp Quattron quad-pixel technology that made George Takei's jaw drop, the new LV-series of AQUOS panels will come in 40-, 46-, 52- and 60-inch sizes when they debut July 30th, and feature 1080p resolution, UV²A panels and a high-speed signaling technology named FRED that Sharp says increases brightness and reduces crosstalk. More interesting are the AN-3DG10 glasses that come with them, which reportedly allow each individual viewer decide whether to view content in 2D or 3D -- we're guessing by tweaking the glasses to show either the left or right image to both eyes simultaneously, instead of flipping back and forth. Of course, you'll also need something to watch, and thus Sharp will also release a pair of Blu-ray DVR units, the BD-HDW700 and BD-HDW70, which record two simultaneous Japanese television programs onto terabyte-sized hard drives when they're not sending Blu-ray 3D content to the aforementioned displays. While mum's the word on pricing, Impress Watch believes the TVs will start around ¥280,000 (around $3,067) and top out at a cool ¥600,000 ($6,581) for that 60-incher, and says that US and European variants are expected later this year. While you wait, why not take a deep dive into the details -- you'll find an entire brochure's worth at our source links.
Sharp's 46-inch Quattron LE821E HDTV and its integrated Freeview HD DVR make reviewers gush
Now this is more like it. Instead of chewing on another underwhelming 3D display, the Tech Radar crew have pulled in one of Sharp's hot new Quattron sets -- distinguishable, if you look really really closely, by the addition of yellow to the standard RGB colors in each pixel -- and their experience has certainly been something to write about. Describing the LE821E's color response as "utterly spectacular," they go on to praise the LCD's improved brightness thanks to the yellow sub-pixel's higher transparency, confident upscaling of standard def pictures to Full HD resolution, and "inspired onscreen menus." Counteracting the good stuff were mildly disappointing black levels and a £2,000 ($3,053) price for the 46-inch model. Sure it's steep, but with Freeview HD and an 8GB HDD built into the box, we can think of a few ways to justify the expense. As ever, the source link will give you the unabridged verdict, so read on. [Thanks, David]
