Friday, May 05, 2006

home theater speaker: Sharp Introduces 45-inch, 1080p LCD Panel

LAS VEGAS--Forget about 1080i (interlace) or even 720p (progressive). Sharp's LC-45G1U 45-inch LCD panel will offer an amazing 1920x1080p flat TV, scheduled to launch around the middle of 2004. Part of Sharp's Aquos line of LCD TVs, the LC-45G1U contains more than 2 million pixels in a package that can hang on a wall or mount on a highly compact stand.

The new Aquos unit will sport a digital cable-ready TV tuner, with HDTV decoding capabilities. 1080i and 720p images are scaled up to the native 1080p resolution with an internal scaler. The LCD panel will have a large array of inputs of all flavors, including DVI and HDMI connectors. Also built into the unit is a PC Card reader, which can be used as a memory card adapter for viewing digital photos or even play back video clips, if the PC Card contains enough memory (or rotating media). The Aquos supports MPEG-4 playback for video clips stored on the PC Card.

The Sharp HDTV uses 1-bit amplifier technology to drive a pair of flat speakers included with the package. The speakers can be mounted vertically, on either side, or underneath the frame. The speakers will be easily detachable for users who want to use an existing home theater speaker package.

Pricing has not yet been set, but the LC-45G1U will be the flagship of Sharp's liquid crystal TV product line. Additional G-series LCD TVs will be available in 26-, 32-, and 37-inch form factors, supporting lower resolutions, but are fully HDTV ready, widescreen products. All will have the built-in PC Card readers, HDMI support and contain digital cable-ready HDTV tuners.

For more, check out PCMag.com's 2004 CES Special Report

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.

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