Sharp Shows Off 45-Inch LCD

Trying to get a jump over similarly-sized plasma displays, Sharp Electronics is previewing its largest LCD monitor yet, the 45-inch LC-M4500. The monitor is on display at InfoComm this week.

The monitor is a size upgrade over Sharp's earlier 37-inch models and can display true 1080 high-definition video signals in a full 1920-pixel by 1080-pixel format without scaling the image, says Bruce Pollack, associate marketing director at Sharp.

It is also the first 45-inch display launched by Sharp targeted at commercial establishments needing information display and digital signage applications, including retail outlets, restaurants, airports, and hotels, he says.

The monitor's 60,000-hour backlight life is double that of similarly-sized plasma displays, and once the backlight burns out, it can be replaced, unlike current plasma displays, Sharp claims.

The backlight of the LC-M4500 can run continuously for up to seven years, says Deanna Davis, a Sharp spokesperson. A replacement backlight itself costs a couple of hundred dollars, keeping the investment affordable, says Pollack.

Get Connected

The LC-M4500 has multiple connectivity options not usually found on displays targeted at homes, he says. Among the options is an RS-232C input-output interface that allows for remote access to the features built into the display from a PC. In addition to securing the display from being tampered with, an RS-232C loop-through module allows multiple monitors to connect to one PC through a single cable.

"Without loop-through you'd have to run a dedicated monitor to each computer," Pollack says. For multiple monitors displaying similar information, this could be a beneficial feature.

The monitor has five levels of tamper-proof capabilities built in, says Pollack. "Changes to the display depend upon how strict you want to be. In a commercial display area, you don't want people to make adjustments to the display," he says.

Sharp is also working with Calgary, Alberta-based Smart Technologies to add interactive capabilities to the 45-inch display.

The LC-M4500 has an 800:1 contrast ratio, a 15 millisecond refresh rate, and a 170-degree viewing angle. It also has analog, S-Video, Digital Video Input (DVI), and RGB 15-pin audio and video input and output options.

The display will become available worldwide in the first quarter of 2005. Though a price was not set for the product, Pollack estimates its list price to be around $11,000.

InfoComm is being held in Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center from June 5 through June 11.