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Sharp will begin selling high-definition TVs with 65-inch LCD screens internationally before the end of the year, the company says. They are the biggest-screen LCD TVs yet announced, according to Sharp.
The LC-65GE1 Aquos TV measures 65 inches across the diagonal and can display an HD picture with 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels of resolution. The screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, a brightness of 450 candela per square meter, and a viewing angle of 170 degrees, the company says.
It will go on sale in Japan from August 1 with a suggested retail price of $15,560. Pricing and availability for international markets haven't been decided yet, says Takashi Okuda, corporate director of Sharp's audio-visual systems group.
On top of their size and price, the 65-inch TVs will not be easy to come by. Sharp will make about 300 units per month for the domestic market and between 1000 and 2000 per month for the international market, Okuda says.
The largest LCD TV on sale currently is a 46-inch model by Samsung Electronics.
Thin Is In
In 2005, sales of LCD TVs will overtake those of CRT TVs in Japan for the first time, Okuda says, quoting Sharp's internal estimates. The company wants to capitalize on the boom by expanding its lineup and selling more models with bigger screens, he says. Most LCD TVs sold by Sharp are in the 30-inch range, Okuda says.
Sharp also announced seven LCD TVs that will go sale in Japan in July and August, and says it intends to put a line of LCD TVs with screen sizes in the 50-inch to 59-inch range on sale in Japan and internationally within the year. They include a 45-inch HD TV with a suggested retail price of $6440 that will go on sale in Japan August 10.
Accompanying this are 37-inch and 32-inch models, together with one 26-inch and one 22-inch model. None of these models have 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels of resolution. The 45-inch and the smaller models will go on sale internationally before April, the company says. Overseas prices were not disclosed.
All the new models announced Friday use a new backlight technology that allows the TVs to show more natural shades of red, according to Sharp.
Sharp was the biggest shipper of LCD TVs of all sizes last year, with a quarter of the global market and a 41 percent share of the Japanese market, according to U.S. market research firm DisplaySearch.
