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Sharp simultaneously launched the world's first 8K consumer TV in Berlin and three other locations, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Tokyo. The premiere titled "Horizon Broadened: SHARP 8K Ecosystem" being held in Shanghai. China being the primary target market for Sharp owner Foxconn and its new large 8K displays. China is the first country to see the launch of this first 8K TV, next month.
Initial production volume for the as of yet unpriced 70" TV set will be 200 units per month. Sharp/Foxconn/Ho Hai are also reported to develop "60 inch, 65 inch, 80-inch TVs and other large-size display devices".
The TV will go on sale in December in Japan, Taiwan and Europe will have to wait till spring of 2018 with scheduled availability for Taiwan in February 2018, and Europe in March 2018. Sharp no longer holds the rights to its brand in the US, those rights were sold to HiSense, so there is no mention of Sharp, or any other Hon Hai/Foxcon group company, selling this TV in the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7FSPbRoTnI
"We want to be the impetus that begins the era of 8K displays looking to 2020 (Tokyo '8K' Olympics)", Sharp board member Hirokazu Nishiyama told the Tokyo press conference.
So Sharp says it "is also complementing its 8K TVs by accelerating development of 8K broadcast receivers, 8K cameras, and other 8K products to lead the world by establishing an 8K Ecosystem".
SHARP also announced that it will participate in the construction of a key project in Shenzhen, China: Foxconn's Global R&D Center for Future Display Technology and Innovative Applications in 2017, where SHARP will further sharpen the competitive edge of 8K TV by testing 8K + 5G applications. Believing that the 8K imaging technology is one of the cornerstones for the "Made in China 2025" initiative and is crucial to improving human life in the future, both SHARP and Foxconn hope to leverage 8K + 5G to revolutionize education, entertainment, social groups, security, healthcare, purchasing, transactions, and environmental protection.
Sharp reportedly wants to shift half its line-up of 60 inch and larger TVs to 8K by March 31st 2021. Foxcon is building a new manufacturing plant in Canton to enable this strategy to return Sharp to a leader, this time in 8K LCD TVs.
The TV features something called 'Dynamic Highlight display' a new edge-lit backlighting technology that renders dimming and brightness on different sections of the picture, achieving a darker or brighter effect, so Sharp's version of edge-lit local dimming. However this Japanese product page contradicts this, saying it uses; 'LED (Direct Type)'. In addition it is compatible with both Dolby Vision HDR and 'BDA-HDR', better known as HDR10. According to Sharp the 8K TV has 'an excellent contrast ratio and wide color gamut due to a fluorescent molecular imaging technique, marking a great choice for an exciting life'. Is this non-native speaker English for Quantum Dots?
The TV will offer the following gamut:
Prior to the acquisition by Foxconn Sharp was the first to start selling a commercial 8K display, two years ago, with a list price of over 100K€/$. Following a decade of development and showing of progress at tradeshows.
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