With 3D increasing in popularity, Sharp has announced that they will be coming out with the largest 3D TV on the market, an 80 inch monster capable of transporting you to another planet. Okay, that last part may not be true, but still…80 inches combined with 3D is sure to be an entertaining experience.

This is all of course if more 3D content comes out this year and not just stuck on the $12 a pop (or more) movie theater screens.

“This new model will boast 240 Hz refresh rate, double that of the LC-80LE632U, 3D technology with use of active shutter glasses, and a new SmartCentral interface for the various online services and apps available through the HDTV. It will also feature the same built-in Wi-Fi of the other model, and will use Sharp’s 3D X-Gen pannel with four-color Quattron technology.”

The other model they’re talking about is the 80 inch LED HDTV that Sharp came out with last year. The built-in wifi will allow consumers to access third party content such as Netflix, Hulu, and apps.

Just how big is an 80 inch television? Think of a 55 inch TV, already quite massive in itself, and add, according to Sharp, 108% more viewing area. All we can say is, if you’ve got a small living room, good luck fitting this sucker in without taking up a large chunk of the floor and wall.

Pricing for the 3D monster hasn’t been announced yet, though expect to pay a good amount of money as the model without 3D will run you around $5,000.

3D Gets Big, Real Big: Meet The Sharp 80 Inch 3D HDTV is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sharp is gearing up to launch a new line of internet-ready televisions in Japan next month. One of the more interesting features of the new line of TVs is the capability to interact with Sharp’s line of smartphones.

The new TVs, which Sharp has dubbed the Aquos L Series, launches in Japan this coming July 15. The TVs bring access to the internet by way of a new online platform called Aquos City. The new platform offers news, weather forecasts and various entertainment options, among others.

The Aquos L Series TVs will come in four size models, with the smallest coming in at 40 inches and the largest coming in at 60. All models will link with Sharp’s smartphones, allowing for users to record video on their smartphone and send it over to the TV for viewing, for example.

Unfortunately for those of you with iPhones (and other non-Sharp smartphones), the Aquos L Series TVs will not be compatible with smartphones not of the Sharp variety.

via WSJ

New Smartphone Linked TVs to Hit the Market is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sharp decided the standard Red, Green, Blue light spectrum simply wasn’t enough for TV viewers, so this year they debuted a new color at CES 2010, Yellow. The companies new QuadPixel units, featured in a variety of viewable sizes brings new vivid yellows to the screen.

The units feature Edge-light LED for an ultra-slim depth effect which pulls colors out at the user in vivid coloring, one of the more impressive outputs I’ve seen at CES this year. The sets I viewed also offers 120hz refresh rates, making me believe a 240hz unit will offer even more output capabilities in the near future.

According to Sharp reps, the television also features over 1 trillion color output, that’s compared to approx. 1 billion with the traditional RGB color scale.

The units are also setup with energy efficiency in mind, ensuring users get the most of their TV and the least out of their phone bills.

Sharp has also included AQUOS net with Netflix capabilities for streaming video capabilities. While Sharp also offers Aquos Advantage Live which is an internet based service used to perform remote diagnosis of your televsion and to perform software updates as they become available.

I spotted the 46, 52 and 60 inch displays and they all looked amazing.

Here’s a few more shots of the Sharp QuadPixel technology in action.

Sharp QuadPixel TV Technology Debuts At CES 2010 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Black Friday 2009 falls on Friday November 27th this year, unfortunately for many retail locations WalMart didn’t get that memo, instead they’re offering the 42″ Sharp LC42SB45UT HDTV starting this Saturday November 7th for a surreal $498.

The TV features 1080P 60Hz output, offers an 8,000:1 contrast ratio and comes equipped with built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners, 3 HDMI Ports, Component Video, S-Video, Compositve Video and Audio and a 20 watt built-in speaker system.

Considering the typical WalMart price of $740 you really can’t beat the price, you may even be able to avoid those crazy Black Friday lines if you get in on this deal. Notice I said beat the lines, unfortunately you won’t be able to order this deal online for delivery or for a site to store pickup.

Reviews have been generally good for the TV, although you’ll want to hook it up to a sound system as some users have complained about the built-in speakers. [WalMart]

Black Friday Comes Early For Sharp HDTV Buyers Thanks To WalMart is a post from: The Inquisitr

As we covered extensively last year, most major TV manufacturers were planning to launch internet enabled television in 2009; the future is here.

Here’s a round up of what’s been released at CES. The biggest question last year was how open the platforms would be; or more precisely how closed they would be. Details included where available.

Sharp

Along with new screen technology, Sharp Internet enabled televisions will have access to the “Sharp Aquos Network portal” that will included widgets from includes a Navteq traffic report map. The Aquos Network doesn’t include web video yet, but there’s a reason: the new line of TV’s includes built in Bluray players.

Internet TV score: FAIL.

Toshiba

The new internet enabled televisions from Toshiba pack a punch: the cell processor best known for being the power behind the PlayStation 3. Primarily the chip will deliver ultra-high definition viewing, but it also opens the TV up to a number of other features. According to specs, as well as offering DVR functionality built in, the televisions will support the Intel/ Yahoo Widgets platform. The platform isn’t as open as say a web browser, but does allow developers to build on it, and when first launched last year included promised on video on demand. The down size is costs, with the new sets to be offered in the $5-10,000 price range. Toshiba though is going to offer a box to attach to existing sets, price isn’t known.

Internet TV score: Nice, but costly.

Panasonic

Panasonic was the first major manufacturer to launch an internet enabled television, although one model only in 2008. The lineup for 2009 expands three series – The Z1 series, the V10 series and the G10 series. Panasonic offers its own internet platform under the VEIRACAST brand. Content includes YouTube, Picasa Web Albums, Bloomberg and weather service; an newly announced HD movie rental via Amazon Video-on-Demand. Nice line up, but similar to the Apple TV, and sadly closed to general browsing

Internet TV score: a reasonable start well priced.

LG

LG was the mystery playing coming in to CES. There was some rumors of that they’d play, and I’d speculated they would as well, although earlier announcements said they were more focused on internet enabling Bluray players. LG made the announcement of an internet enabled TV Jan 5 (details here). The sets will offer the Intel/ Yahoo Widget engine and content from YouTube and Netflix. Still a closed system, but appealing.

Internet TV score: win, but wish it wasn’t closed

Windows Media Extender

Add to the list Samsung and Toshiba’s pledge to support for Windows Media Extender, although it’s not clear if this will be available immediately. This will open up both to extra content, although a little fussy.

Conclusion

It’s a nice start to the beginning of the internet television era. The problem with all the sets so far though is that they remain closed; users can’t for example go to Hulu or a similar service for shows, and this will limit their appeal. However eventually having these features as standard means that they’ll be purchased anyway, and that’s where the space is headed. The only issue now is getting people to buy televisions at all given the economic crisis. The roll out will be slow, but it will happen.

The Future of Television has Arrived: CES Internet TV Roundup is a post from: The Inquisitr