Feel The Burn: New Sharp Aquos with Blu-Ray burner

Sharp introduced the world’s very first HDTV line with integrated Blu-ray players last year, so what could be next, you ask? How about BR burners? Yep, they did it, apparently.

The next DX2 series lineup one-ups the original DX models by adding Blu-ray burning as well. These do not feature the LED backlighting of the latest displays later this fall, but will settle for the more than adequate 15,000:1 contrast ratio shared with the other D-series televisions from Sharp.

According to reports, these sets will burn up to 30 hours of HD video on dual-layer Blu-ray discs via MPEG4 compression, which is very useful for those who like their movies and shows HD. We like it, even if the price may be a bit steep for some.

The price: from ¥170,000 ($1,740 USD) to ¥480,000 for the biggie. Ship date is estimated at September 15 but may take awhile to make it over to US shores; mainly a Japanese product for now. It’s only a matter of time though.

Speaking of Sony: To buy TVs from Samsung?

We just talked about a deal to partner up with Sharp, but don’t think Sony is done with their partner dreams yet. It seems they’re talking with Samsung about TVs too.

Word from the Seoul Economic Daily newspaper is that it may also make some sort of backroom deal with Samsung on LED backlight TVs, probably related to their recent decision to go with cheaper backlight technology on their BRAVIA line in the future.

A word of advice: Think about this story while TV shopping, if you’re putting it off until 2010. The big price differences between models might not buy as big a difference in actual performance as you may think it does, as either of these two stories today have established.

Finally: Sharp/Sony LCD factory up and official

The recent economic problems have made things slow way down for this deal to go through, but Sharp and Sony have finally completed a billion dollar joint deal that has Sony taking a 7% stake later this year and stepping up to 34% by the end of April 2011, in a much-needed partnership between two companies struggling to sell units.

Production access is the big draw for Sony, while Sharp views this as the first of 2-3 deals to help them sell the 13+ million 42″ers produced each year to other manufacturers and companies under various nameplates.

The Nikkei says other partnerships with Toshiba and various other Europe companies are in the cards, so after October (when the plant will open) whatever name is on the front of your TV, there’s a 50/50 chance it will originate at this factory.

Sunday Siesta: 2 Great Best Buy HDTV Deals

Here’s some great HDTV offers to stir up your quiet Sunday:

Best Buy – A nice TV at a great price: The Samsung LN32B360 32″ 720p LCD HDTV for only $450 and free shipping too (In-Store Pickup). Talk about a deal! Expires 8/1.

Best Buy (again) – Yet another eye-popper: the Sharp AQUOS LC46D85U 46″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for only $999.99 w/ free in-store deal again. Can’t beat that at all; solid reviews.

Thanks for reading and come back soon!

Still Going, Just Delayed a Bit: The Sharp/Sony LCD partnership

We told you awhile back that Sharp and Sony would be joining minds in a LCD factory venture, but up until now, it’s just been a blueprint, and the details were being worked out.

Now its happening: Sony and Sharp’s LCD joint agreement will be finalized by the end of the month and Sony is expected to agree on investing around $1 billion in return for a 34% share in the swanky new LCD plant by next spring or so, and Sharp is expected to take the reins in early October, assuming things go well.

What does mean for HDTV fans? Cheaper and better TVs, as the two companies will swap a few trade secrets, no doubt. And cheaper and better is good in any industry, HDTVs included.

Thursday’s Thrilling HDTV Deals

We once again present more great HDTV deals for your kind consideration:

6ave.com – Great offer on a fine TV: The Sharp LC46E77U Aquos E-Series 46” LCD TV for $1599.00 – $465 off coupon we provide for your eternal joy: “AFLSHP1134″ (Expires 08/04/2009) = $1134.00 with free shipping too. That’s about the lowest we’ve seen on this model.

Newegg.com – You know how we appreciate our LG TVs and this is no exception: here’s an LG Electronics 42LH30 42” LCD Full HDTV for $899.99 – 15% off coupon code “HVD15″ we’ve given you (Expires 07/25/2009) – $50 instant discount too = $754.99 – with free shipping. Good stuff, folks.

Thanks and feel fee to come back and catch more great deals soon.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Sales: DisplaySearch shows Plasma to best LCD in some tests

The past year or so has been pretty rough on Plasma, and yet we’ve said there are times and usages that Plasma beats LCD. And now the tests of a company whose specialty is TVs has backed that up. The  “old” gas capsule technology is considered outdated in many circles, but test results don’t lie.

The lineup of 2008 top of the line LCDs from Samsung, Sharp and Sony were carefully calibrated and compared against a top-end Pansonic plasma TV.

Here’s the full details of the test, but the gist is: the plasma set beat all of the LCDs in contrast, color accuracy and black level, and in some cases, it wasn’t even close. That should be alarming for those who know that Plasma is on its way out for most companies, but it appears maybe it could be another Beta vs. VHS kind of situation (Beta was also clearly superior in sound and picture quality, but lost the cassette tape wars anyway and faded away).

Thursday’s Tempting HDTV Deals

Yes, once again we present our great, now almost famous HDTV deals of the day, a pair of amazing offers from 6th Avenue Electronics:

6ave.com – The LG 42” 720p Plasma HDTV for $799.00 – $150 off coupon code we provide for you “AFLLGE649″ = $649.00 with free shipping as well. Hard to beat this; LG makes a solid Plasma HDTV.

6ave.com – Yet another nice deal: The Sharp LC32E67U 32” 1080p LCD HDTV for $699.00 – $91 off coupon code we once again provide for you “AFLSHP608″ = $608.00 with free shipping to you. Well reviewed, very solid TV set for any home.

Hope you soaked in the savings, and we’ll see you again tomorrow for more HDTV temptation.

Release News: Sharp announces its new AQUOS HDTV Line

CEDIA (a fanatical home theater related show) is only two months away, but Sharp wasn’t content to wait until then to announce a bunch of new AQUOS TVs.

First off, we’re taking a look at their first LED-backlit AQUOS TV, which will be available in 52″ (LC-52LE700UN), 46″ (LC-46LE700UN), 40″ (LC-40E700UN) and 32″ (LC-32LE700UN) screen sizes. That’s quite a bit of variety in size there.

Each of the sets features full 1080p resolutions, a new X-Gen Panel (which supposedly leads to deep black levels that could be some of the best ever), a 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast and 176-degree viewing angles for great viewing anywhere in the room.

Sharp also debuted the gigantic 65″ LC-65E77UM and the 60″ LC-60E77UN, 1080p sets that are part of the E77 series and offer 120Hz tech, 4 ms response, four (count em, four) HDMI sockets and an RS-232 socket. These should really be something to behold.

More details about these to be released shortly, and we’ll cover them here of course when they’re released.

Wednesday’s Wacky HDTV Deals

Yet another installment of our now famous deals takes off:

RadioShack.com – Talk about breaking the price barrier – How about the AOC Envision 22” 720p LCD HDTV for $199.00 + free In-Store delivery too. No way? Yes way. Valid until July 5th.

6ave.com – Killer deal here: The Sharp Aquos LC46SE94U 46” 1080p HDTV – Black for $1499.00 – $311.00 off coupon code we have provided you with “AFLSHP1188″ = $1188.00 with free shipping as well. Great deal on a gorgeous TV set for any room in the house.

See you all tomorrow and feel free to peruse the deals above.

Sunday’s HDTV Deals

Here’s our deals for this fine Sunday:

6ave.com – One of the better reviewed TVs out there right now, the Sharp Aquos 40″ 1080p 120Hz LC-40E77U LCD HDTV for $868 – 5% off with the Sleuth supplied coupon code “AFL5” + free shipping = $825 total. That’s a little chunk for a big HDTV you’ll enjoy for many years.

BestBuy.com – How about a nice deal on a LG 47” 1080p LCD Full HDTV – Black for $997.99 with free shipping too. That’s a lotta TV for a small price, and LG always makes very solid TV sets.

Have a great Sunday, and we’ll see you on the flip side next week.

Speaking of Sharp: LCD panels banned from US import?

It appears Samsung won an important victory (for now) against Sharp: The US International Trade Commission has just issued a ruling banning import of Sharp LCD panels that infringe on one of Samsung’s viewing-angle patents, preventing them from being imported to the US. As you might think, this could be a bit of a blow to Sharp’s bottom line in the short term.

This ban covers a wide array of Sharp’s consumer products in the US, including their famous and popular Aquos TV line, but will it affect other companies that use Sharp panels? We’re not sure, this could create a huge wave of chaos in the US consumer electronics market.

They claim they’ve reworked some models being shipped already, so it may only be a temporary setback, but a setback nonetheless.

Needless to say, Sharp’s lawyers are probably drafting a delay of the ban or an appeal as we speak, so the legal wrangling is probably in its infancy right now. We’ll keep you updated on the news as it breaks.

Offically Official deal done: Pioneer/Sharp Blu-Ray venture

We actually reported on this happening soon a few months ago, but now we’re receiving word that this joint venture has completed setup, and is official. Officially.

Pioneer and Sharp have finalized their long-talked about deal to combine both of their Blu-ray operations together, completing the joint agreement planned since Pioneer started slowly exiting out of the Plasma business.

The PDF here has all the details and geeky info, but the important points are as follows: Pioneer will hold 66% ownership and 3 of 5 seats on the big wig board of the 450-employee venture, which is planned to start up October 1st. Its goal will be to develop new disc technologies and players, mostly Blu-Ray.

All of this means lower priced players and better technology for HDTVs in the long term, two things we’re quite fond of at Screen Sleuth.

Monday Blues Fighter: New HDTV Deals

One way to fight the Monday blues is to check out our great HDTV deals. Feel free to dig in:

Vanns.com – How about a the Sharp Aquos LC-32GP3U 32” 1080p LCD HDTV (Red) for $649.88 with free shipping too? Great reviews and a great price – how can you beat that?

BestBuy.com – Yet another nice deal on a solid TV – The Proscan 40” 1080p LCD HDTV for $499.99 + In-Store pickup is free. No beating that for a 1080p TV this size…and good reviews on the BB site too (4.8 out of 5 stars with 25 reviews).

Now if that doesn’t brighten up your Monday, nothing else will. Come back to SS again for more great offers!

Saturday’s HDTV Deals

Once again we present some of the finest HDTV deals around. Have a read:

BestBuy.com – Nice deal on a solid TV for any living room (or big bedroom). How about a LG Electronics 32” 720p LCD HDTV for $479.99 + free In-Store delivery as well. LG always produces reliable, quality TVs, and this writer knows that from first-hand knowledge.

6ave.com – A pretty good deal on one of the better reviewed TVs around; The Sharp LC40E77U 40” AQUOS 1080p LCD HDTV for $997.85 and a 15% off code “AFLTV15″ (Expires 06/16) = $848.17 and free shipping as well.  Grab this one up before it expires.

Thanks for reading and feel free to stop by tomorrow for more deals and steals from Screen Sleuth.

Special – Wednesday HDTV Deals

We bring you this special weekday deals post in honor of Father’s Day, upcoming soon:

OneCall.com – Here’s a nice deal on a solid TV: The Sharp LC52SE941 52-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD HDTV for $1399.77 – $20 off coupon code “DAD” we provide you with (Expires 06/05/2009) = $1379.77 with free shipping too. Heck of a deal.

TigerDirect.com – This is a pretty wild deal too: The LG 50” Widescreen Plasma HDTV with 2 million:1 dynamic contrast ratio for the amazing price of $899.99 with free shipping as well. How do we do it?

Feel free to check these out, and have a wonderful Wednesday (or whatever day this post finds you).

In the “Wait a Second” File: Sharp HDTV with built-in Blu-Ray, but no 1080p

Yes, this is one of stranger releases in recent memory; a LCD HDTV from Sharp with a built-in Blu-Ray player (very nice), but its only 720p, not 1080p. So you won’t get to see your discs in full resolution. May we ask… why?

For reasons unknown, the Sharp set only has a 1,366 x 768 resolution, which in our book, is a deal-breaker for this kind of gadget.

This will be mainly released in Japan at first, with releases elsewhere to possibly follow (and hopefully they rethink the 1080p thing for a US release). Other specs include a digital tuner, 1,500:1 contrast ratio and 450? brightness. You can choose between black and white colored models for retail ¥150,000 ($1,593 USD) near the end of June or so.

Special: Thursday Deals Galore

Here’s a few extra Thursday deals for you:

Newegg.com – How about a Toshiba REGZA 40” 1080p LCD HDTV – Black for $899.99 with free shipping. Nice price on a very nice TV set for anyone; $200 off is always a good thing.

Dell Home – Here’s a Sharp LC19SB24U 19” 720p LCD HDTV for $299.00 – $60 Sale Discount = $239.00 with free shipping too. Another very nice Dell deal we’re bringing you.

Always a pleasure for us to bring you more HDTV deals.

The Sunday Quickie Deals

Here’s a quick rundown of great Sunday HDTV deals from your ever-watchful eyes at Screen Sleuth:

Best Buy – How about a LG 32LH40 32in Class 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for only $800 + shipping? Free in-store pickup as well too – great deal on a top of the line 32″ from one of the best in the biz in LG. Ends the 25th of April, so get in there quick.

NewEgg – Yet another small wonder in the SHARP AQUOS 37″ 1080p LCD HDTV – LC-37GP1U for only $850 + free shipping. 1080p, 8,500:1 Contrast Ratio. Great, well-reviewed TV at a great price.

Check those out and have a great Sunday!

Good News: Sharp’s 10th Gen LCD plant opening ahead of schedule

Make some space for bigger and cheaper LCD HDTV’s, folks: Sharp today announced that its new 10thGen plant will open in October 2009. Originally scheduled to open March of next year, the new facilities can produce larger LCD TVs much more quickly than the old plant, driving down costs for everyone in the long haul.

When it opens fully (that will take a month or so), it will be capable of manufacturing 36,000 units per month, and go up to 72,000 later, which means one thing: more HDTV goodness on shelves at a lower price. And that’s something we can all celebrate, indeed.

Here’s the whole official article here for your reading pleasure.

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