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Sharp Shows 2015 Lineup of Android-Powered 4K Ultra HD TVs Starting at $599

By Ken Sander

Did you know that Sharp invented the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), which is now the basis for the vast majority of display devices on the planet? Most people probably don't know that because the company hasn't exactly cornered the market on the technology. A few years back, Sharp was also the first to hit the $2,500 price point for a 42-inch 1080p LCD TV. What a difference a few years makes. This year Sharp will offer an LED-lit LCD TV with four times the amount of picture detail of that earlier model, one inch larger for about a quarter of that price.

At a press conference in New York City's SoHo neighborhood on Wednesday, Sharp announced its new Sharp AQUOS 4K Ultra HD models. There will be a total of nine models, priced from $599 to $4999 (street prices), sized from 43 inches to 80 inches diagonally.

4K Ultra HD Content is still pretty hard to come by, but streaming providers such as Netflix and Amazon have started to deliver 4K content, and if all goes well, new 4K Blu-ray Discs (Ultra HD Blu-ray) should start hitting the market later this year. Until then, Sharp's "Revelation Upscaler" will take all your current high definition (and even standard definition) content and upconvert it to 4K.

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This wall of Sharp TVs was on display at the company's 2015 Ultra HD launch event in Manhattan on June 10, 2015 (photo by Chris Boylan).

According to Sharp reps at the event, over 60% of all HD sets sold today have some sort of Smart TV features bult in, Ultra HD sets accounted for about 30% of overall revenue in the TV market in 2014 and Android currently makes up about 78% of the smart phone market. How do these seemingly disparate facts relate to each other? Sharp's new line of Ultra HD TVs are Smart (with built-in streaming apps), offer Ultra HD 4K resolution and are powered by the new Android TV platform.

By partnering with Google to offer Android TV on their step-up UE30 and UH30 models, Sharp offloads the responsibility of having to maintain native streaming apps. As long as the TV apps are available in the Android Play Store, then they can be downloaded and enjoyed on one of Sharp's new Android TVs. A Google rep at the event confirmed that there are now over 600 apps in Google Play for the Android TV platform. Netflix and VUDU are just two of the big streaming providers with Android TV streaming apps.

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Sharp's top of the line 80-inch LC-80UH30U Ultra HD is powered by Android and is expected to sell for just under $5,000 street price (photo provided by Sharp USA).

Sharp says their upcoming UH30 and UE30 series will be the first of their 4K sets to ship with Android TV, bringing the "world's largest operating system" to the biggest screen in the home. In addition to those hundreds of Android apps (including a fair number of games), the TV's wil have Google Cast built in, allowing owners to stream content such as music, videos and pictures from their Android phones or tablets directly to their TVs without wires or complicated set-up.

What About The Picture? Is it Sharp Too?

The top-end AQUOS UH30 series sports Sharp's new "SPECTROS" Rich Color Display which the company claims will provide 21% wider color spectrum than standard LED/LCD TVs. The 70-inch model in this series even attained the elusive THX display certification.

The UH30 series comes with a touchpad remote which has a microphone for voice command ("OK, GOOGLE!"). The UE30 and UH30 series utilize AquoMotion 480 and 960 processing (respectively) to reduce motion blur on any type of programming. They also include Sharp's AquoDimming local dimming feature to improve details in dark areas without sacrificing black levels or contrast. Both the UE30 and UH30 series have 4 HDMI inputs, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features.

The entry level (but still 4K) UB30 series does not include Android TV, but uses Sharp's Smart Central platform to deliver popular apps such as Netflix and YouTube. The UB series marks the first time Sharp Ultra HD TVs will be available under $1000 with the 43-inch model selling for just $799.99 (MSRP), 50-inch for $999.99, 55-inch for $1,299.99 and 65-inch for $2,399.95. Keep in mind that these are Suggested Retail Prices. Sharp says street price should be lower with the 43-inch model expected to sell for as low as $599.99 (which we confirmed on Amazon).

UB30 Series:

  • MSRP 43" (42.5" diagonal) Class LC-43UB30U: $799.99 (Shipping Now)
  • MSRP 50" (49.6" diagonal) Class LC-50UB30U: $999.99 (Shipping Now)
  • MSRP 55" (54.6" diagonal) Class LC-55UB30U: $1,299.99 (Shipping Now)
  • MSRP 65" (64.5" diagonal) Class LC-65UB30U: $2,399.99 (Shipping June 2015)

UE30 Series

  • MSRP 60" (diagonal) Class LC-60UE30U: $2,099.99
  • MSRP 70" (69.5" diagonal) Class LC-70UE30U: $2,899.99
  • MSRP 80" (diagonal) Class LC-80UE30U: $5,599.99

UH30 Series

  • MSRP 70" (69.5" diagonal) Class LC-70UH30U: $3,299.99
  • MSRP 80" (diagonal) Class LC-80UH30U: $6,299.99

Where to Buy:

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