Podcast #629: Sharp 2014 Quattron+ Televisions

Sharp 2014 Quattron+ Televisions

We mentioned the upcoming Quattron+ technology from Sharp in our CES roundup earlier this year.The tech just got real. Sharp has announced several new LED LCD models for 2014 that feature the technology. Along the lines of JVC’s e-Shift technology we discussed a couple episodes back, Quattron+ looks like a clever bridge between the 1080p LED LCD televisions of today and the 4K and/or OLED televisions of tomorrow.

CES Information

Sharp Aquos Quattron Plus TV - At half the price of a 4K TV of the same screen size the Plus has 10 million more sub pixels than a regular 1080p TV. Retina Display for TVs?? The TV will accept 4K content and will scale 1080p content to make use of every one of the 10 Million sub pixels! Sharp claims they have put more TVs over 60 inches into American homes than any other manufacturer.

What is Quattron+?

Sharp has long held the belief that a fourth sub-pixel, a yellow one, in addition to the standard red, green and blue ones, makes all the difference in how vivid and real your TV can look. While a standard 1080p TV with red, green and blue sub-pixels has a total of about 6.22 million of them, that fourth yellow subpixel bumps that total up to roughly 8.29 million. But that’s just plain old Quattron; that’s yesterday’s news.

Quattron+ goes quite a bit further. These new displays use the same four horizontal sub-pixels (yellow, red, green, and blue) but also add an additional row of sub-pixels for every main pixel, effectively doubling the sub-pixel count to a total of 16.59 million and dramatically improving pixel density. Does that sound like JVC e-Shift to anyone? If not, you may want to take a listen to Episode 627.

The Models

Sharp has announced several TVs that will incorporate Quattron+ tech, ranging from the large to the really freaking large. There are three 60 inch TVs, three 70 inch sets and one 80 incher. The 60 and 70 inch sets come in three model ranges, the entry level SQ line, the middle tier TQ line and the top end UQ line. he 80 inch set is only available in the top of the range UQ line.

For price comparison, the top-end UQ line breaks down like: LC-60UQ17U is a 60-inch set with MSRP of $3000. You can find it at Amazon for $2499. The LC-70UQ17U is 70 inches, goes for MSRP of $4000 and is available for $3297 from Amazon. The big daddy, the 80 inch LC-80UQ17U has a suggested retail or $6500 and has landed on Amazon for $5499.

Every set in the lineup features:

• The Highest Resolution Full HD TV

• 10 million more subpixels than conventional Full HD for more detail, depth, and color

• Plays 4K content; upscales any content

• New SmartCentral 3.0 with integrated guide & search, mobile connectivity, and all the best apps

• Quattron technology for finer details and a billion more shades of color

• Native 1080p resolution, 240 Hz refresh rate, 3D capable

• 4 HDMI ports with Audio Return Channel, 4K input (4K/30fps), HDCP 2.2 and MHL

The UQ line adds:

• Dynamic Contrast Ratio of 12,000,000:1 (vs. 8,000,000:1)

• AquoMotion 960 Refresh Scanning Rate

• Sharp ‘Super Bright’ technology

• THX Certified

• 2 pairs of 3D glasses

None of the seven sets listed at Sharp’s website claim support for HDMI 2.0 nor HVEC. So while they may be future proof in some categories, they certainly aren’t on others.