2015 Sharp: Prototype Eye Candy
Monday, January 5, 2015 at 9:00AM Updated on January 11, 2015: added images and additional details
It wouldn't be CES without Sharp showing off some drool-worthy prototype LCDs, and its 2015 demonstrations on the show floor included what will likely become featured consumer products within the next few years.
Sharp 85" 8K LCD prototype
Sharp has had an 85" 8K LCD prototype on display at its CES booth for a few years now, but with 8K test broadcasts expected to begin in Japan next year, a 4x jump in resolution compared to today's 4K screens seems slightly more plausible. Note the window-like imagery made possible with a high resolution screen at this size.
With this year's 8K demo, the specs were a bit more detailed:
- 7680x4320 screen resolution
- 103.67 PPI
- 85% of Rec. 2020 gamut
- RGB LED backlight system
- 120Hz refresh rate
- 12-bit per pixel panel technology
Rec. 2020 is a relatively gigantic color space to cover using LCD technology. Current LCD designs have struggled to cover the much smaller HDTV color space (rec. 709), and approaching rec. 2020 coverage will require advanced backlight and color filter designs. This prototype panel claimed to cover 85% of the Rec. 2020 color gamut through the use of an RGB LED backlight similar to that featured in the Sony XBR8 television circa 2005.
Super Slim 4K UHD
Sharp is also demonstrating a prototype 70" 4K UHD LCD TV that has an overall depth of less than half an inch. The slim TV uses a new glass light plate to more evenly and efficiently distribute light across the LCD panel.
Sharp 120" 4K Ultra HD Commercial Display
Although positioned for commercial display use, Sharp's 120" 4K UHD LCD prototype highlights the company's ability to craft very large displays. This 120" LCD is the equivalent of four 60" 1080p screens tiled together.
- 3840x2160
- 36.72 PPI
- Direct LED backlight
- 8.7 feet x 4.9 feet active display area
- (2657.28mm x 1494.72mm)
Gen 10 glass
Sharp jointly manages Sakai Display Products (SDP) and its 10th generation LCD manufacturing facility in Sakai, Japan. The SDP facility can process LCD glass substrates as large as 123.23" x 113.39" (3130mm x 2880mm) dwarfing a king sized bed that averages 80" x 76".
SDP could in theory produce a 140" (~141" max) LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio from a single 10G substrate leaving some glass left over for carving out a few smaller sized screens. Safely transporting an LCD that size is another matter; hence the facility's shoreline location and tight on-site component manufacturing and integration.
Read more about the latest 2015 TVs and display technologies.
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