Screen Sleuth » Sharp

Pioneer Again: Disguised as a Sharp?

Derek — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 02:09:43 +0000

It seems coming back from the dead is pretty popular these days, and Pioneer is doing a reappearance once again – but as Sharp rebadged HDTV units, if reports are to be believed. We were quite sad when Pioneer closed their Kuro brand, but good news could be coming. More here:

It was a dark day when Pioneer announced its mighty Kuro HDTVs would be no more, but the Pioneer Elite brand still has significant cachet and will return in 2011 on new high end TVs. The bad news? They will be LCDs, not plasmas, manufactured by its partner Sharp, a not entirely surprising move since this was actually the original plan for the Kuro brand back in 2008. Apparently both see potential as Sharp will gain access to higher-end AV salesrooms and integrators for its products, while Pioneer will have TVs to match its continuing Pioneer Elite Blu-ray player and receiver lines. Despite an impressive local dimming demo at CES we’re still not sure Sharp can create enough new pixels to replace what we once had, but we should find out for sure when the new models arrive the end of the year.

We’re unsure if Sharp can make a TV like Pioneer could, but seeing is believing. We’ll report if the Sharp models are up to snuff.

Long Time Missing: HDTV Deals for a Tuesday

Derek — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:59:48 +0000

It’s been ages since we did our deals segment, so we’ll give you an extra dose of savings on HDTV goodness. Here we go:

B&H Photo Video – It’s a fact: smaller HDTV sizes are as cheap as they’ve ever been, and the Viewsonic VT2430 24” 1080p Widescreen LCD for $229.00 with free shipping is proof of that fact. Nice deal on a pretty nice unit.

Dell Home – Dell has good deals at times, such as this Sharp AQUOS LC-55LE620UT 55” LED LCD HDTV for $1799.99 – $600 instant discount from our link = $1199.99 with free shipping too. Tough to beat that, from what we’ve seen.

Walmart – Now it isn’t a top name, but the deal is exceptional: a Hannspree ST42DMSB 42″ 1080p 120Hz LCD for $449 – with free shipping? Crazy talk.

Thanks for joining us on this jumbo sized edition of deals, and have an HD day.

3D Goes 4D: Sharp releases Quattron HDTVs to the US

Derek — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:29:52 +0000

It appears Sharp is still busily engineering in their labs, and marketing directly to the states for the first time in awhile: they’re announcing the soon-to-be-released line of Quattron 3D HDTV models to the US. See more about their engineering feats here:

Sharp made US 3D fans very happy today by announcing the immediate availability of its new 52 and 60-inch AQUOS Quattron 3D TVs at CEDIA. The LED backlight side-mount scanning LE925 series starts at $4199 with the bigger brother going for $5299, feature two pairs of 3D glasses bundled in, a dynamic contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1 and IP control plus RS-232 for home automation fans. The Ethernet port or optional WiFi adapter can also be used to stream Netflix, VUDU or a variety of other over the top video services. What’s interesting is that Sharp is claiming its 4th color (yellow) Quattron technology offers a brighter image which can overcome the dimming, that 3D glasses are known for. Also, a first is that the 3D glasses can convert the 3D signal to 2D for that one 3D hatter in your party (not to be confused with the TV’s ability to convert 2D material to 3D).

We love the fancy new tech, hopefully it does well enough to be emulated in some form by other companies.

More IFA News: Sharp releases a gaggle of new LCD TVs

Derek — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:40:29 +0000

What is a gaggle exactly? A lot, we guess…anyway, IFA brought more nice new announcements as Sharp stepped forward with a slew of new Quattron HDTVs to be coming to an electronics store near you in the near future. We always love covering new stuff, so here’s the scoop via Engadget:

Just in case those George Takei commercials didn’t clue you in that Sharp was serious about Quattron, the company has announced four new TV lines at IFA sporting yellow as a fourth subpixel color. At the top of the list, the Quattron 3D-enabled LE925 line will be available in 60-inch or 46-inch sizes and feature Sharp’s proprietary high-speed FRED LCD signal processing technology along with side-mounted scanning LED backlighting — which like the LV Series — is touted to produce 1.8x better brightness than competing sets and reduce 3D crosstalk. Aquos Net+ connectivity is thrown in too, along with 2D-to-3D conversion, a digital triple tuner and 8GB of built-in flash memory for timeshift recording. Playing second fiddle to this overachiever are the 2D-only LE924E, LE824E and LE814E series, which will also feature Aquos Net+.

As with most products at this show, exact prices and release timeframes aren’t available. But this line promises some of the best specs on any recent HDTV releases.

Titans Clash: 3D version of Blu-Ray included in Japan with Sharp HDTVs

Derek — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:46:27 +0000

Critically speaking, Clash of the Titans didn’t do that great, including its blah 3D conversion, seemingly done last minute to cash in on the 3D craze in theaters at the time. But Sharp apparently thinks the 3D HD Blu-Ray version is worth including with their HDTVs in Japan. Witness this Engadget blurb:

Sharp is promoting the movie alongside the 3D editions of its Quattron LCD HDTVs and, assuming our understanding of machine translated Japanese is correct, will be tossing in a copy gratis with purchases. At least in Japan, the 2D version of the blu-ray will be released august 25, with the 3D & 2D combo pack arriving October 6.

We think bundling Blu-ray with purchases is a good idea, we just aren’t sure bundling this particular one is a good idea. But at least Sharp is getting on the ball with some cool promotional ideas, which we always like seeing.

Thursday’s HDTV Deals

Derek — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:45:10 +0000

Here is our list of fine HDTV deals for this equally fine Thursday:

Walmart has a killer deal on the LG 47LD450 47″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV for $788 with free shipping too. Use the ‘Add to cart’ to see the price. For any LG, especially this size, this is a can’t miss deal. It just shows how far prices can still fall on bigger units.

TigerDirect.com – A very nice deal on a highly-regarded Sharp AQUOS LC-32LE700UN 32” 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $599.99 = $594.99 – with free shipping as well? Amazing indeed. This one has got raves for its picture quality.

How can you resist either of those? Both are some of the better deals we’ve ever seen on the web.

Going 3D Crazy: Sharp dives into HDTV 3D market

Derek — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:18:21 +0000

It appears Sharp is convinced that 3D HDTV is here to stay, because they’re set to launch of whole bunch of HDTV 3D displays in the near future. See this report courtesy of Engadget:

Next month, the fourth-largest LCD TV maker will launch a slate of new 3D TVs in Japan, just as planned. Based on the same Sharp Quattron quad-pixel technology that made George Takei’s jaw drop, the new LV-series of AQUOS panels will come in 40-, 46-, 52- and 60-inch sizes when they debut July 30th, and feature 1080p resolution, UV²A panels and a high-speed signaling technology named FRED that Sharp says increases brightness and reduces crosstalk.

Pricing has been a bit of a mystery so far, but rumors have these starting around the $3,000 US mark or so, topping at around $6K for the 60″ model. These same rumors indicate that they will cross over into other waters (US, Europe) quite soon as well, possibly by the end of the year.

Sharp Thought: DivX playback a big new feature of Quattron line of HDTVs

Derek — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:50:11 +0000

Apparently there was still a HDTV or two with no DivX stamp, but that should be mostly worked out now after a new deal with Sharp reached recently. The newer line of HDTVs by Sharp should be something to look out for. Good thing to put this factory to use.

The new AQUOS LE820 LCD line — incorporating the (according to published previews) amazing Quattron quad-pixel tech –can play 1080p DivX HD files from a connected USB drive, a very cool feat indeed.

Now bear in mind, this might not be quite the embedded content technology seen at CES, but DivX has proven itself a fighter in the technology arena, so don’t be shocked if it creeps into the plans of even more LCD companies in the next few years.

Sunday’s Easter HDTV Specials

Derek — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:17:42 +0000

It’s Easter, time for bunny rabbits, marshmallow peeps and great HDTV deals. Check them out:

TigerDirect.com has a great deal on a well-regarded Plasma HDTV: the Samsung PN42C450 42” 720p Plasma HDTV for $539.99 with free shipping too. That’ll even tempt the Easter Bunny to turn in his basket and kick back for some HD joy.

Staples.com has a very nice combo unit: the Sharp LC-26DV27UT 26” LCD HDTV With DVD Player built-in for $349.99, and with free shipping as well. Brighten up anyone’s Easter with this gift!

Thanks for joining us, and may many brightly colored eggs be headed your way.

Wednesday’s HDTV Deals

Derek — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:02:13 +0000

Yet more amazing deals we scour the internet to bring to you, so feel free to stare, gawk and generally be amazed:

Sears.com has a very nice Panasonic TC-P50C2 50” Viera 720p Plasma for $719.99 with free shipping too, and that’s a heck of a deal for a company whose specialty seems to be of the Plasma persuasion. Check it out.

PcRUSH.com has an LED wonder, the Sharp AQUOS LC-40LE700UN 40” 1080p LED HDTV for $814.96 with free shipping as well, and that’s one of the lower prices for this we’ve seen around. Great reviews, great price, no strings.

Thanks for joining us, and see you all later!