CES 2009

Sharp announced the construction of a new 10th generation LCD plant in Sakai City, Japan, a huge facility on 314 acres of land, 30 times the area of Yankee Stadium. The mother glass that this plant can handle will be 1.6 times the size of that produced in the current Kamayama plant. Each 10th gen mother glass can be cut into six 60" displays, eight 50", or fifteen 40", greatly increasing production efficiency.

Sharp showed a prototype of a potential design using this 10th gen glass. This 65" model (shown at the left in the photo) weighs just 88 lbs, is barely over 1" thick, and sports a claimed dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1. While no date was announced for the production of such a model, it looked great and provided a potent preview of what might be in store once the new plant is up and running.

On a more immediate front, Sharp is also introducing a number of new models. The most interesting is a "Special Edition" SE94 Series that offers AQUO Net capability. It's available in 65-, 52-, and 46-inch sizes (the two larger sizes should be in stores this month). The SE94 models claim a dynamic contrast ratio of 27,000:1 and a response time of 4ms. They also provide 120Hz operation, 10-bit panel resolution, and (as if we really need to say this) a resolution of 1920x1080. Prices will be $10,999.99, $4,199.99, and $3,199.99 respectively.