Sharp Touts QuadPixel Expanded Color TV Strategy at CES
LAS VEGAS -- While most of the pre-CES TV buzz centered around 3D, Sharp came to CES promoting an expanded color strategy called QuadPixel and a new 68-inch screen size. The company’s new line of Ultra Brilliant Edge-lit Aquos TVs adds yellow to the RGB color filter, resulting in colors never seen before in the industry, Sharp President Mikio Katayama told journalists at a news conference here Wednesday.
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The proprietary four-primary-color technology -- yellow, red, green and blue -- enables more than a trillion colors to be displayed on screen, resulting in more vivid golds, yellows and blues. Consumers will most readily see the results in golden yellow hues -- such as the color of brass musical instruments -- that have been difficult to represent accurately with RGB filters.
QuadPixel technology will debut in Sharp’s flagship LE920 series LED LCD TVs, which also packs other firsts for the company including 240Hz technology and the industry’s first 68-inch TV. The line includes 52- and 60-inch models as well. Bob Scaglione, senior vice president and general manager of Sharp Electronics, said the recent opening of Sharp’s 10G LCD factory in Sakai City, Japan, has allowed manufacturing efficiencies in larger screen sizes, and allows the company to respond to customer requests for larger TVs.
QuadPixel technology is also built into the LE820/810 series of TVs, including 60-, 52-, 46- and 40-inch screen sizes. Additional features of both lines include a USB media player, 4 HDMI inputs, a 1080p component video input, RS-232 port for the custom installation channel, PC input and Ethernet jack. The 920 series is due in May, led by the 68- inch model at $6,499. The 810/820 series TVs will ship in March at suggested retail prices ranging from $1,799 for the 40-inch model to $3,999 for the 60-inch LC-60LE820UN.
Sharp also launched the LC-60E88UN, a 60-inch LCD TV with a 240Hz panel, 4 HDMI inputs and Instaport Quick Switching, which reduces the delay that occurs when switching between HDMI sources. The LC-60E88UN will ship next month. No pricing was available.
At the forefront of Internet TV two years ago with Aquos Net, the company also said it has partnered with Vudu for that company’s new Vudu Apps cloud-based Internet TV platform, which is launching at CES with more than 100 channels. Sharp is also adding Netflix and Twitter for Aquos Net to its content menu. Netflix capability is also part of 2 new high-end Blu- ray players. The reference model BD-HP70U comes wireless-ready with a second USB port that can accommodate a wireless dongle. Additional features include Deep Color, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and 24 fps output over HDMI. The $499 player, due out in Q2, is being positioned as a high-performance audio/video player with a high-grade power supply and capacitors, gold-plated terminals, center-loading disc player and a reinforced cabinet design that reduces vibration that can lead to errors in laser tracking.
Half of Sharp’s 2010 LCD TVs will be LED-based, according to Scaglione, including smaller models with edge- lit designs in 19-, 22- and 32-inch screen sizes. The top 2 models are 1080p resolution; the 19-inch model is 720p. Prices haven’t been set. The 22- and 19-inch models are due in May, and the 32-inch TV ships in June.
On the audio side, Sharp unveiled a 1,020-watt home theater-in-a-box system built around a Blu-ray player, soundbar and iPod dock. The 5.1-channel BD-MPC41 gives consumers an integrated, space-saving solution with a sound bar that holds left, center and right speakers. The HTiB includes Audyssey Sound DSP, Dynamic EQ, Bass XT and Dynamic Volume and adds Netflix compatibility via the Ethernet port. List price is $749 with Q2 availability.