Sharp Out of the Gate Touting B2B Screens Ahead of 2014 ‘Growth Phase’

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung crowed about having become the No. 1 TV maker for TVs 60 inches and larger at its CES press conference Monday, a position once owned by Sharp, which dominated the jumbo home TV market for three years. But Sharp itself took a different turn at its CES press conference, with CEO Toshi Osawa giving its B2B business top billing in opening remarks before moving on to the company’s 2014 line of consumer TVs.

"Manufacturers come to us for the highest quality screens,” Osawa said, saying Sharp supplies screen needs ranging from smartphones to large TVs. He said Sharp continues to dominate the pro AV market in screen sizes above 55 inches and said that in 2014, Sharp will “move into a growth phase worldwide.” The company reported a $5.4 billion loss last year, but expected to report a profit for the fiscal year ending in March. In North America, Osawa noted, Sharp has “three main businesses,” which he identified as B2B, components and CE. The company’s B2B segment had an “excellent year” in 2013, he said.

In North America, a “growing number of companies” in the automotive and computing industry are “taking advantage of Sharp screen technology,” Osawa said, saying “it is likely that your smartphone, tablet or laptop has a screen made by Sharp.” He said the company’s IGZO panels are being incorporated into products such as Sharp Aquos smartphones and tablets being sold in Japan and from other brands including Dell and NEC. IGZO, he said, “is a flexible technology with infinite applications."

On Sharp’s consumer TV business, Osawa said the company will “continue to innovate and dominate” the large-screen market. At CES the company is demonstrating an 85-inch 8K LED TV and a second 8K TV with glasses-free 3D, he said. Sharp has also refreshed its Quattron technology, introducing here Aquos Quattron Q+ TVs, which it’s touting as “the highest resolution Full HD TV."

"Sharp has put more 60-inch and larger sets in more American homes than any other manufacturer,” a number totaling 2 million, said John Herrington, president-Sharp USA. For 2014, Sharp will offer 60-, 70-, 80- and 90-inch models in the U.S., with some 84 percent of large-screen TVs bought in the U.S. currently falling in those four screen sizes, Herrington said. Sharp will continue its push with larger screen sizes in 2014 and will field four TV series, including 19 Aquos LED-lit models with 60-inch and larger screen sizes, he said. The four series include the first THX-certified Aquos 4K TVs as the reference series; Aquos Q+; Aquos Quattron and Aquos HD.

Q+ HDTV sets pack Sharp’s Quattron LCD panel and Revelation technology, which Herrington said divides each pixel to create two pixels from one, resulting in 16 million subpixels. That’s 10 million more than conventional 1080p TVs, he said. Q+ TVs are “future-ready,” in that they can play 4K content, and Sharp bills the 1080p TVs as the “only Full HD TVs that can play 4K content, delivering a UHD experience.” The series is designed for the consumer who “wants premium high-resolution TV but isn’t ready to jump all the way to 4K … who wants to enjoy 4K content but isn’t ready to pay the 4K price,” Herrington said. In Sharp’s 70-inch TVs, the price delta is $3,000 from HD to 4K, he said. The Q+ will halve that difference, he said.

Sharp’s 60- and 70-inch THX-certified 4K Ultra HD TVs, shipping in summer, will have suggested retail prices of $4,999.99-$5,999.99, the company said. Additional 4K models will be announced later in the year, said Jim Sanduski, senior vice president-strategic product marketing. Sanduski called out the 70-inch 4K model for its “value,” being 16 percent larger than competitors’ 65-inch 4K TVs and far less expensive than competitors’ 84-inch 4K TVs that cost up to three times as much.

Sharp Quattron+ models will come in two lines: the 60- and 70-inch SQ line and the step-up THX-certified UQ line that adds the 80-inch screen size. Quattron+ TVs are due in March at suggested retail prices of $2,999.99-$5,999.99, Sanduski said. The Quattron series ($1,699.99-$2,699.99) and the starter LE650 HD line ($1,299.99-$8,999.99) will cover the 60-, 70-, 80- and 90-inch screen sizes, the company said, with delivery in spring.