Sharp enters the 2.1 channel sound bar market with the announcement of the new HT-SB300 and HT-SB200 sound bars. Each of these units feature a left and right speaker as well as a built-in subwoofer. You can place the speakers below a TV set thanks to the included mounting plates and adjustable feet.

Other features include:

• 34 watts of power
• High Definition Sound Standard (HDSS) sound technology and SRS WOW HD Sound
• Adjustable Bass, Treble, and Sub-level options for a unique surround sound effect without rear channel speakers

The HT-SB300 adds digital audio decoding for DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Pro logic II as well as Dolby Virtual Speaker which simulates 5.1 channel surround sound.

Both sound bars feature dual audio inputs, right and left RCA jacks, a 3.5 mm sub mini jack, and a slim remote control. The HT-SB300 adds a subwoofer output jack into the mix.

The HT-SB300 will be coming out in April for a price of $299.99 while the HT-SB200 will be available this month for $249.99.

Technorati Tags: Sharp, 2.1 channel sound bar, HT-SB200, HT-SB300

Sharp announced a new line of AQUOS HDTV sets at CES 2009 called the AQUOS E Series. The E series is made up of E77U models and E67U models – each of which have a variety of display sizes. The E77U models include the 65 inch (64 33/64” diagonal) LC-65E77U, 52 inch (52 1/32” diagonal) LC-52E77U, 46 inch (45 63/64”diagonal) LC-46E77U, and 40-inch (40” diagonal) LC-40E77U. The E67U models include the 40 inch (40” diagonal) LC-40E67U  and 32-inch (31
35/64” diagonal) LC-32E67U.

Before we get into the specs, here are the pictures.

LC-65E77U:

LC-52E77U:

LC-46E77U:

LC-40E77U:

LC-40E67U:

LC-32E67U:

You’ll find the following common features across all the AQUOS E series displays:

• Advanced Super View (ASV) Superlucent Panel for “dramatically bright and crisp picture with reduced haze and reflectivity”
• New design with color accents at the bottom of the frame
• New convenient swivel stand

Features of the E77U series include:

• Fine Motion Enhanced Technology for 120Hz Frame Rate Conversion
• 4ms response time
• 10 bit ASV Superlucent panel
• 10 bit processing engine
• Full 1080p picture
• Spectral Contrast Engine XD (Extreme Dark)
• Optical Picture Control (OPC) automatically adjusts luminance to room brightness and lighting conditions
• Brightness Preservation picture processing for energy efficient displays
• Black cabinet with soft champagne gold hue
• Five HDMI 1.3 ports
• Two component video inputs – 1080p compatible

Features of the E67U series include:

• ASV Superlucent panel technology
• Four HDMI with 24p input capability
• Two component video inputs with 1080p support
• Energy saving features with Sharp Optical Picture Control (like the E77U series)
• New design with subtle copper hue at the bottom of the cabinet and swivel
• LC-32E67U comes with advanced gaming features such as Vyper Drive circuit to reduce lag time between game console input and TV display

And now – the pricing and availability
For the E77U series:

• LC-65E77U will be available in June for a price of $4,499.99
• LC-52E77U will be available in February for a price of $2,399.99
• LC-46E77U will be available in February for a price of $2,099.99
• LC-40E77U will be available in March for a price of $1,399.99

For the E67U series:

• LC-40E67U will be available in March for a price of $1,199.99
• LC-32E67U will be available in February for a price of $899.99

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS E Series, E77U, E67U, CES 2009

Sharp introduced their first AQUOS LCD TV series with built-in Blu-ray Disc Players at CES 2009. Featuring a full lineup of display sizes, the new lineup includes the 52-inch class (52-1/32” diagonal) LC-52BD80U, 46-inch class (45-63/64” diagonal) LC-46BD80U, 42-inch class (42-1/64” diagonal) LC-42BD80U, 37-inch class (37” diagonal) LC-37BD60U and 32-inch class (31-35/64” diagonal) LC-32BD60U.

Here are pictures of the new models.

LC-52BD80U:

LC-46BD80U:

LC-42BD80U:

LC-37BD60U:

LC-32BD60U:

Common features of these new combo units include:

• Single step operation turns on TV and activates play with Blu-ray disc is inserted
• Advanced Super View (ASV) Superlucent panel for bright/crisp pictures with reduced reflection
• AQUOS Pure Mode for optimized viewing of Blu-ray titles
• AQUOS Blue design – subtle blue accent on the bottom of the frame and swivel stand
• Models LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U and LC-42BD80U feature Fine Motion Enhanced Technology for 120Hz frame rate conversion, 10 bit panel for Deep Color compatibility, and “dejudder” technology for smooth reproduction of film content
• Fast pixel response times
• Spectral Contrast Engine provides deep blacks and high contrast ratios
• 176 degree viewing angles
• LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U and LC-42BD80U have four HDMI inputs
• LC-37BD60U and LC-32BD60U have three HDI inputs

The LC-52BD80U and LC-46BD80U will be available in February. The LC-42BD80U, LC-37BD60U, LC-32BD60U will be available in January.

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS, LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U, LC-42BD80U, LC-37BD60U, LC-32BD60U, CES 2009

Our attention now shifts to Sharp’s latest Blu-ray products announced at CES 2009.

First up, we have the Sharp AQUOS BD-HP50U Blu-ray Disc Player. This is a fairly standard player with features such as full HD 1080p playback, support for BD-ROM Profile 1.1, HDMI 1.3 output, and support for the latest advanced lossless surround-sound formats.

Here’s a quick rundown of specs for the BD-HP50U:

• Built-in RS-232C port allows external control systems to manage the player
• IR input allows the unit to be controlled wirelessly through a remote sensor – allows the player to be hidden away
• Supports BD-ROM Profile 1.1
• HDMI 1.3 output including support for x.v.Color
• Lip Sync – automatically adjusts audio and video signal processing times to eliminate lip sync errors
• Support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, Dolby Digital Plus
• Quick Start loads a movie in less than 10 seconds
• JPEG viewing
• Supports 1080p/24p output
• Compatible with BD-ROM/RE/R, DVD Video, DVD-RW/R, DVD+RW/R and audio CDs

The AQUOS BD-HP50U is available now for $449.99.

Next up, Sharp introduces two new third generation Blu-ray players. First, there’s the AQUOS BD-HP22U. Features of this full HD 1080p player include:

• Supports BD-ROM Profile 2.0 (BD-Live)
• Ethernet jack
• Advanced audio decoding including support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus
• AQUOS Pure Mode
• Lower power consumption in both Power On Mode and in standard mode (19 watts power consumption)
• HDMI 1.3  with x.v.Color
• 1080p/24p playback
• Sharp Quick Start feature
• Includes 2GB of memory
• JPEG viewer
• Available in May for $299.99

Finally, we have the AQUOS BD-HP16U which features:

• Advanced audio decoding including support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus
• AQUOS Pure Mode
• Lower power consumption in both Power On Mode and in standard mode (19 watts power consumption)
• HDMI 1.3  with x.v.Color
• 1080p/24p playback
• Sharp Quick Start feature
• JPEG viewer
• Available in March for $279.99

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS BD-HP16U, AQUOS BD-HP22U, AQUOS BD-HP50U, Blu-ray player, CES 2009

If you’re living in New York City or you happen to be passing through NYC this month, make sure to drop by the Grand Central Terminal to check out the new Sharp AQUOS Experience. The Experience, located on the bridge between the main concourse and Vanderbilt Hall, stands 26 feet high and consists of 43 Sharp AQUOS LCD TVs in a variety of sizes ranging from 19 inches to 52 inches.

As part of the Sharp AQUOS Experience, Sharp will be making a donation to the HOPE Program – “a charity that equips its participants with the skills they need to find, keep, and advance in jobs. With Sharp’s donation, The HOPE Program will be able to launch the “Green Collar Project,” a new program to help people find green collar jobs in an environmental field. This will not only allow participants to become economically self sufficient, but will also help preserve the environment.”

Two kiosks flank the AQUOS Experience where consumers can enter a sweepstakes to win one of the 43 TVs from the tower. In addition, Sharp will donate $1 to the HOPE program for every individual who enters the sweepstakes – up to $100,000 total donation and a minimum of $50,000.

Let’s hope security is tight around those displays!

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS Experience, The HOPE Program, Grand Central Terminal

In the “interesting but not surprising” category, the Department of Justice announced today that LG Display Co, Sharp, and Chunghwa Picture Tubes have agreed to plead guilty on criminal charges that they participated in LCD price fixing conspiracy and will pay a total of $585 million in fines. The three companies were accused of collaborating together to set prices for TFT LCD panels from 2001 till 2006 – many of which were then sold to hardware companies such as Apple, and Dell. Here’s how the fines broke down:

LG Display agreed to pay $400 million dollars; Sharp agreed to pay $120 million dollars, and Chunghwa agreed to pay $65 million dollars in fines.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sharp, LG Display, Chunghwa, LCD price fixing

Sharp introduced two new professional LCD displays today – the PN-S525 and PN-S655. The PN-S525, an upgrade to the PN-525U is designed for extended use in either portrait or landscape mode while the PN-S655, an upgrade to the PN-G655U, is designed for extended use only in landscape mode.

Here’s what you need to know about each professional LCD display.

The PN-S525 (PN-S525U) features the following:

• 52 inch panel
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Sharp Advanced Super View (ASV)/Black TFT panel
• 1800:1 contrast ratio
• 6ms response time
• 176 degree viewing angle
• Analog RGB, S-Video, Composite Video, DVI-D, Component Video, and RS-232C inputs
• 450 cd/m2 brightness
• Two 7 watt speakers
• PN-S525 features an HDMI and RJ-45 connector
• Black bezel, rugged rear metal enclosure and removable front bezel open frame design

The PN-S655 features the following:

• 65 inch panel
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 2000:1 contrast ratio
• Dual Fine Engine (DFE) technology
• Analog and digital inputs including DVI-D, HDMI, and PC
• HDMI and RJ-45 input
• ASV / Black TFT panel
• less than 6ms response time
• 420 cd/m2 brightness
• 176 degree viewing angle

The Sharp PN-S525 is available now for $4550. The PN-S655 is available for $10795.

Technorati Tags: Sharp, PN-S525, PN-S655

If you want arguably the very best display found on a mobile handset, then you’ll need to head to Japan to check out the new Sharp Aquos Fulltouch 931SH. Available through Softbank, the 931SH has a whopping 3.8 inch touch-screen display with an amazing 1024 x 480 resolution. That’s JUST SHY of a netbook display folks! Imagine watching videos or movies on that display!

Other features of the Fulltouch 931SH  include the following:

• 3G network support
• 5.2 megapixel camera with image stabilizer technology
• 1seg TV tuner
• Web browser
• Bluetooth with A2DP profile
• Media Player
• Built-in accelerometer
• microSD slot

Simply gorgeous.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sharp Aquos Fulltouch 931SH

Sharp showed off their new high end AQUOS LCD – the XS1 series – at Ceatec. Available in 65 inches and 52 inches, the AQUOS XS1 features the following specs:

• Contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1
• 450cd/m2 brightness
• Thickness of 2.8 cm at the thinnest point
• Digital/Analog TV tuner

To help keep things slim, Sharp moved the TV tuner and various connection options to an external device. Sharp also collaborated with Pioneer to develop the integrated speaker system which consists of a tweeter, two mid-range speakers, and a sub-woofer. The set also comes with a Bluetooth-enabled remote control with a touch-screen display.

Sounds sweet right? Most definitely but it’ll cost ya! The 65 inch model will go for $12,500 while the 52 inch model will go for $9500. Both models will be hitting Japanese stores on October 15th.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sharp AQUOS XS1, LCD HDTV

Sharp has announced three new models to their large-screen SB series of LCD HDTV sets. The new SB models are LC-52SB55U, LC-46SB54U and LC-42SB45U which cover 52 inch, 46 inch, and 42 inch screen size class units (actual diagonal sizes are 52 1/32″, 45 63/64 and 42 1/64″ respectively).

All three new displays feature:

• Full HD (1920 x 1080)
• Glossy piano-black bezels
• 6ms pixel response times
• Wide viewing angles
• Built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners
• Four HDMI connectors on the LC-52SB55U, two connectors on the LC-46SB54U and three on the LC-42SB45U
• Two HD component terminals
• Dedicated PC input

As for pricing and availability:

• The LC-52SB55U is available now for an MSRP of $2,299.99
• The LC-46SB54U is available now for an MSRP of $1,699.99
• The LC-42SB45U will be available in September for an MSRP of $1,399.99

Technorati Tags: Sharp, LC-52SB55U, LC-46SB54U, LC-42SB45U, HDTV