Sharp, NHK develop 85-inch direct-view LCD display (w/ video)

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and Sharp Corporation have jointly developed an 85-inch LCD compatible with Super Hi-Vision, a next-generation television broadcast format. This is a world first for a direct-view display.

NHK began R&D into Super Hi-Vision, which has dramatically higher resolution than current HDTV, in 1995 and aims to begin trial broadcasts in 2020. With approximately 33 megapixels (7,680 x 4,320 pixels), or 16 times the resolution of HDTV, Super Hi-Vision will offer powerful, life-like image reproduction.

Under the joint development, Sharp’s UV2A LCD technology was used to create for the first time in the world a direct-view LCD compatible with the unprecedentedly high display performance of Super Hi-Vision. The incredibly detailed images on the giant screen will immerse the viewer in a virtual-reality-like experience. The display's brightness is 300 cd/m².

The LCD will be shown to the public at NHK’s Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo from May 26 to 29, 2011.