Tuesday Sharp revealed plans to launch an 80-inch AQUOS LED LCD TV here in the States next month. Listed as the LC-80LE632U, Sharp claims that it will be the "world's largest" commercially available LED-lit LCD TV on the market to date, and will be backed by an equally large pricetag: a credit-haunting $5,500 USD.
"Our 80-inch AQUOS TV delivers more than double the screen area of a 55-inch TV, for an amazing viewing experience," said John Herrington, president, Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America. "It's truly like nothing else on the market. Consumers want bigger flat panel TVs for deeper, more immersive viewing experiences and that's exactly what Sharp's delivering here."
Sharp said the upcoming 80-inch AQUOS TV will actually be a Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) Smart TV, and will come equipped with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and access to apps like Netflix, CinemaNow and VUDU. It will also include Sharp's exclusive AQUOS Advantage LIVE online support which allows tech support to remotely connect to the TV through the Internet to assist with TV setup, troubleshoot and optimize the picture quality. Creepy.
Tuesday's announcement also revealed that the 80-inch monster will sport an X-Gen LCD panel with 10-bit processing which was designed with advanced pixel control to minimize light leakage, and a wider aperture to let more light through. Other features will include a dynamic contrast ratio of 6,000,000:1, 120Hz Fine Motion Enhanced support for improved fast motion picture quality, two USB ports, and a game mode (Vyper Drive) that supposedly eliminates perceptible lag between video game consoles and the TV display.
As reported earlier, the AQUOS line features Sharp's "innovative" Quattron quad-pixel technology which essentially adds a fourth color to the typical red-blue-green lineup: yellow. "When combined with Sharp's 1080p X-Gen LCD panel, the displays offer dramatic reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional CCFL LCD TVs," Sharp said. "These technologies work in tandem to optimize picture quality and contrast ratios while reducing energy use."
It's magnormous. It's viewmongous. It's spectacularge. It's Sharp's 80-inch AQUOS LED LCD TV for a spooky $5,500 USD, coming to a store near you in early October, just in time to watch HD splatter movies on Halloween.
