Nothing is lost

with FULL HD AQUOS

HANS KLEIS

CEO Sharp Electronics Europe
LARGE SIZE LCD BEATS PLASMA!
As the LCD TV market further matures and grows, in this Special CeBIT edition, Hans Kleis, CEO of Sharp Europe delivers several major announcements underlining Sharps commitment to the market as a true technological leader.
Hans Kleis: Some big news came in the past couple of months with the announcement by analyst Ross Young from DisplaySearch that in Q4 2006, production worldwide of 42 LCD overtook that of 42 plasma! So in the sweet spot of 42 inches, which the plasma manufacturers thought was their firm stamping ground just a couple of years ago, for the first time now they have been beaten, and that trend will continue. So of course people thought that this being the case, LCD could never beat plasma in the very big sizes. Thanks to Sharps new Kameyama II plant, we have also proven this wrong, in January this year making the biggest direct view TV in the world at 108 beating plasma! In 2007, I believe LCD TV will truly become the main player in the TV market, while the primary screen size will shift from 30 to 40 inches. 2 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 www.cleverdis.com
Sharp Now Manufactures LCD in Europe
Last year, the big news was the opening of our Kameyama II plant in Japan. This years big news is the launching, in January, of our new factory Sharp Manufacturing Poland (SMPL). The initial production capacity of LCD modules at SMPL amounts to 100,000 modules per month for the fast growing European LCD TV market. These modules will go into flat LCD TVs to be manufactured by Sharp Electrnica Espaa S.A. (SEES) in Spain and Loewe Opta GmbH in Germany. The production capacity will be enhanced step by step in order to meet the fast growing demand for LCD TVs on the European market. With the new Sharp LCD module factory in Poland, we are underlining how important Europe, the LCD TV market of the future, is for our company. For 2007 we expect LCD TV demand to reach 27 million units in Europe. With the factory in Torun we want, on the one hand, to be able to better meet the high demand for LCD TVs in Western Europe and, at the same time, reduce the time to market. On the other hand, we are deliberately investing in Eastern Europe with this factory, since countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary or Slovakia belong to the fast growing European LCD TV markets which will gain more and more importance in the future. Therefore, Sharp plans to additionally extend production lines in Torun in 2007 in order to be able to manufacture also complete LCD TVs here. The sum invested in the new factory is about 44 million euros. Currently, the new plant has a staff of 800 employees.
Hz picture enhancement technology provide for optimal viewing of crystal-clear pictures. Featuring screen diagonals of 46 inches (117 centimetres) and 52 inches (132 centimetres), respectively, and full high definition resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, HDTV can be enjoyed in full 1080p quality on the new AQUOS models. On these new models, we have totally eliminated ghosting effects from the display by doubling the frame rate to 100 Hertz (Hz) through interpolation. Moreover, with truD HD, we have integrated a full host of picture enhancement technologies into our new Full HD TVs which optimise the displays picture and colour reproduction.

BD-HP10

The Icing on the Cake - AQUOS LCD TV with Blu-ray Disc player
When people become accustomed to the beauty of images on their Full HD TV they will find it difficult to forego the stunning films and other features that are now hitting the market in Blu-ray Disc format. The new BD-HP10 Blu-ray player from Sharp is on show at CeBIT and will be available for sale from April. The Blu-ray Disc offers a storage capacity of up to 50 gigabytes providing the user with many hours of high-definition programmes and highquality surround sound.
Kameyama I and II biggest LCD fab in world and first all-in-one plant
In January 2004, Sharp opened an incredibly advanced facility for the integrated production of AQUOS - from the manufacturing of LCD panels to assembly of final products - in Kameyama, Japan. In October 2006, the second plant began operation. Together, the two factories are able to yield up to 20 million 32-inch televisions per year. Kameyama is also unique in its respect of the environment. A cogeneration system and photovoltaic power generating system supply the plant with about one-third of the energy needs in-house and thus together with using exhaust heat, the plant reduces CO2 emissions by about 40% compared with conventional models. In addition, the plant collects all the waste water from the production process and recycles it with water purification technology.

Contents

HDTV IN EUROPE Advantages of LCD in HDTV LCD - IT'S EVERYWHERE LCD has come a long way in the past few years ABOUT LCD TECHNOLOGY How does it work? DIFFERENTIATION through variety SHARP MAKES WORLDS BIGGEST TV 108 LCD COMMENT on Sharp & flat TV market ECO LABELS Environmental protection 14

New at CeBIT

At CeBIT 2007, we are not only presenting the worlds biggest TV (108 LCD), but also have two new premium segment LCD TVs the AQUOS LC-52HD1E and LC46HD1E. Thanks to fast response times of only four milliseconds and two HDTV tuners, the new flagships from Sharp are heading for premium entertainment in the living room. A dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1 and the 100
CONCLUSION 15 SHARP Giving true meaning to Cutting Edge

Glossary

15 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 3

www.cleverdis.com

Advantages of LCD in HDTV

HDTV IN EUROPE

HDTV Roll-Out
According to Pacome Revillon, Managing Director, Euroconsult, penetration of HDTV sets should reach 20% of European households in 2010, and close to 10 million households may subscribe to HDTV services at that time According to Euroconsult, the multiplication of HDTV channels, the introduction of HD disc media (Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD) and the development of standards such as the HD Ready label are all instrumental in the adoption of HDTV by TV viewers.

Industry pundits agree that there are 3 main forces driving the changes in the world TV market at the moment: The availability of large flat panel displays at descending price points The switch from analogue to digital The introduction of HDTV As potential buyers see more and more HD images on TVs in stores, they will be increasingly attracted to buy HD Ready equipment and ensuring they have HD sources. There has been a vicious circle in the past. People have not bought HDTVs because few channels were broadcasting in HDTV. Broadcasters have not been broadcasting in HD because not only did viewers not have HD capable TVs, there were also no programmes available, and equipment was expensive. All these factors are changing at the same time. The prime mover is the fact that HD-Ready TVs are becoming the norm, and in a couple of years, channels not broadcasting in HD will be like those continuing to broadcast in black and white after the colour change-over. Europe's HDTV Beginnings After the launch of Europes first HD satellite service Euro 1080 in 2004, a number of countries in Europe are now starting to roll out HDTV services. Germany's ProSiebenSat1 Group was the first national TV corporation in Europe to use the new highresolution format, with its two channels broadcasting in HDTV alongside the standard format. Both HD stations started broadcasting on October 26, 2005, via the ASTRA satellite system.
Germany is currently the most dynamic high definition market from the supply side, says Revillon. Following the launch last year of two HD channels by ProSiebenSat.1, the pay-TV platform Premiere also introduced a package of three HDTV channels. The development of the German HDTV market will be favoured by the low penetration of terrestrial TV reception, with more than 95% of households receiving TV through satellite and cable. HDTV market drivers include 43% of TV reception by satellite, currently the most flexible delivery network for HDTV. The push of Premiere will also be instrumental in the development of high definition.
Of course, the World Cup was a strong opportunity to promote the HDTV experience and to increase the viewers' interest. The German market is expected to continue to have the largest number of households equipped with HDTV sets over the next ten years.
4 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007
there is no way to sell an HD TV if the buyers cant get content.
HD TV The Future is in the Content
Gabriel Fehervari, CEO Euro1080
Selling HD TVs is one thing, but its important to be able to know that content is going to be more readily available. This exclusive interview with Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of the Europes first HD channel Euro 1080, gives us some insight into the roadmap for content
We started the channel three years ago as a sister channel of the production company Alfacam which is probably still the most productive company in High Definition. Alfacam produces more than 900-1000 projects a year in High Definition now. The channel was first opened as a demonstration channel, because talking about HD is not good enough you have to show it. So the first purpose of Euro 1080 at that time was showing it in all corners of Europe. This launch model the Pan-European one will continue on until 2010 or maybe longer. In the meantime, we are also distributors of MPEG-4 HD desktop boxes and we are developing new regional channels with culture channels and sports channels for various platforms. Its what we call the multi-regional model. In many cases today, and especially in countries like Turkey and the Ukraine, networks are jumping directly from analogue to HD digital. With MPEG-4 available today there

is nothing preventing channels moving over to HD TV.
So content will drive the market?
Of course there is no way to sell an HD TV if the buyers cant get content. I believe in any region there should be an HD offer of at least 5 channels. On the second of April in Belgium, the cable companies are launching an HD offer of 5 channels. In the Netherlands since a couple of months, and in every other major territory there are at least 4-5 channels available. This will be the inflection point for the sale of HD TV sets. Its like when colour TV came out. At that time one third of the programmes were in colour and the rest were in black and white. People would automatically zap to the colour channels. The same will be true for HD TV. But its not enough to show HD content in the stores; the people have to know they can receive it when they arrive home, and here, packaged HD media will also help drive the market. What I expect to really drive the market as we approach 2008 is the fact that he next Summer Olympics will be broadcast in Full HD. This will create a true buzz around HD TV!
Many sports events are now covered in HD
SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 5
LCD aIT'Sway in the past few years EVERYWHERE LCD has come long
New! Sharp Launches New Premium 46 and 52 Inch Full HD TVs at CeBIT 2007
Sharps premium class comprises screen diagonals of 52 or 46 inches the new AQUOS LC-46HD1E und LC-52HD1E, featuring Full HD resolution, 100 Hertz picture technology, and an integrated 160 GB hard drive recorder. These features make LCD TVs the ultimate visual interface for multimedia applications. On the hard drive photos and films can be stored, via the HDMI interface HD gaming with a console becomes possible, audio systems deliver perfect surround sound in the home cinema. With a dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1 (static 3,000:1), the displays produce clearly separated colours and sharp contrast. Sharps newly developed multi-wavelength backlight already displays 95 per cent of the displayable NTSC colour spectrum. This makes skin tones appear more realistic, for example, and subtle colour differences come out better.
LCD is the only technology available today that (still) caters for sizes of just a few centimetres (phones, digital still and video cameras, in-car use, etc.), passing by medium sized screens (PCs, Portable TVs, etc.) right up to large flat screen TVs. We first noticed the true onset a few years ago, as LCD monitors started to become commonplace in the office, and then at home. But in the consumer sector, the inclusion of LCD TVs is still a relatively recent phenomenon, whose popularity has been caused by a marked drop in prices, thanks to new economies of scale in LCD production. Today, LCD is almost omnipresent, facilitating our daily lives in ways we never would have dreamt about even just a few years ago and Europe is at the heart of this change in paradigm, with consumers finding it easy to integrate LCD TVs into virtually any room in the home.

LCD Technologies

Application Products

New-mode display

LCD monitors, large-screen LCD TVs
Reflective/transflective display
Color mobile phones, games

David becomes Goliath

While having its roots in the smallest LCD displays calculators and watches Sharp recently decided to push LCD technology to its limits, creating the biggest LCD TV on the market bigger than most of the Plasma TVs youll find in the shops today a 65 LCD TV! The new 65 LC-65GD1E features a full-spec highdefinition LCD panel with resolution of 1,920 H x 1,080 V pixels that can precisely display digital content in high definition format (1080i).

TFT-TN color display

Notebook PCs, PDAs, camcoders, digital still cameras, pocket TVs, car navigation systems

Graphics display

Word processors

Static display

Games, watches

Segment display

LCD electronic calculators
6 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007

Helping the Environment

As light conditions in your room change, the brightness of the TV is automatically adjusted thanks to Optical Picture Control (OPC). So while an ideal picture is displayed, power consumption is reduced as far as possible. This continues along the lines of Sharps Green TV Manufacturer policy. All AQUOS TVs are made from eco-oriented materials and design, convenient for recycling.
LCD - the dominant display technology
Just as the CRT dominated the electronic display industry for the twentieth century, LCD dominates the start of the new century. LCDs started Bob Raikes as the ideal display for portable President applications and now dominate not only the mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 players that go with us everywhere, but have driven CRTs from the desktop and now from the living room. Other technologies, such as PDPs, CRTs and OLEDs can only find niche markets or limited applications.The versatility of the technology has driven the growth of the TFT LCD industry to a value of $60 billion in 2005 with further growth to $69.8 billion expected in 2006. In 2005, TFT LCDs represented 71% of the revenue of the whole electronic display industry in 2005 and is forecast to be 81.6% in 2006. The key to this immense success has been the ability of the LCD makers to drive costs down at 20% per year or more, while improving every aspect of the displays performance in colour, viewing angle, speed, contrast, power consumption, size and weight at the same time. Its hard to remember that the first 10.4 TFT LCDs for notebook computers were just 640 x 480 and cost $2,500 as a raw panel just thirteen or fourteen years ago!

Sharp Wins Engineering Emmy
In November 2004, The National Television Academy awarded a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award to Sharp for its development of Direct View Liquid Crystal Display Screens. Launched in 1948, the Emmys recognise companies, organisations and individuals for breakthroughs in technology that have a significant effect on television engineering. According to Peter O. Price, President of the National Television Academy, Our long tradition of recognizing technology in television honours both the science of the medium as well as the applications which are now expanding the universe of our profession.
SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 7
ABOUT LCD TECHNOLOGY how does it work?

Advantages of LCD

LCD has a number of advantages with regard to plasma. To begin with, LCD is much lighter, meaning the average person can easily carry an LCD TV or monitor from one room to another. In this day and age, where power consumption is a major issue, it's important to note that LCD has lower power consumption and lower heat emission, which means no fan is needed and saves air conditioning costs. As HDTV becomes increasingly attractive, with more and more channels coming on line, LCD will gain further ground, because it's easier to attain higher resolutions, particularly Full HD resolution (1920 X 1080). If you want to use a TV or monitor in strong ambient light conditions, LCD is by far and away the best choice.
About 100 Hz Picture Technology in New AQUOS TVs Eliminating Ghosting Effect
LCD TVs always display one picture until the next picture follows. Picture sequences in 50 Hz, customary so far, do not appear one hundred per cent sharp to the human eye. In order to avoid this, the number of pictures per second is doubled from 50 Hz to 100 Hz. For the new 100 Hz Sharp TVs this means that one picture is not displayed eight, but only four milliseconds now. The 100 Hz technology uses interpolation to produce so-called intermediate pictures from two original pictures. In addition, pauses between the pictures are eliminated thanks to this technology, so that one picture is followed by the next without interruption. Even with fast camera pans or in sport scenes, the picture remains needle-sharp with brilliant colours. In order to make fast action scenes appear not only sharp, but also without judder effects, Sharp has also reduced the response times of new LCD TVs to four milliseconds ensuring that video games and action movies are even more fun.

RGB Plus 2 Technology

While cathode ray and plasma technologies rely on phosphors that are excited by electrons which makes them light up, the light in an LCD screen is provided by a backlight, meaning that if the backlight is brighter, the screen will consequently also be brighter. In some of the bigger screens there may be several backlights. The reason why an LCD TV generally didn't have as good a colour gamut as CRT screens until now was due to the light originating from the back light not necessarily having the spectrum necessary. The colour space of the RGB Plus system with four wavelength backlight has been extended to include the colour pure Green. This expansion of the colour space now makes it possible to cover an impressive 95% of the NTSC colour space.

Contrast and Response Time
With a dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1, Sharps premium models attain a response time of 4 Ms. In realtime, the bright and dark areas are adjusted with dynamic contrast enhancement. Different image planes are clearly and distinctly separated and create what appears to be a three-dimensional presence.

Kameyama II Eco-Aware

DID YOU KNOW? About one third of the electrical energy needed for production at Kameyama II is generated in combined heat and power plants run on natural gas. Waste heat is recovered and used in air conditioning, for heating water and for producing steam. One of the worlds largest pV systems assists the CHp (cogeneration) plant in producing energy. Furthermore, all the waste water is collected from the production process and recycled with water purification technology. The plant is thus what Sharp terms an environmentally improved factory.
8 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007

Kameyama II

Sharp's Kameyama Factory World's First Generation 8 Plant
The Kameyama plant is the only place in the world with a manufacturing set-up that incorporates both LCD and TV production. According to Sharp, the great advantage of having LCD and TV engineers working in the same factory is that they can then easily meet and discuss technological issues. This makes it possible to produce LCD panels constructed to an optimised TV specifications, and to design TV circuits and image-processing device that make best use of the advantages of LCD panels, involving the amalgamation of the skills of master engineers from two different fields. The Kameyama plant II produces large LCD panels by using the world's largest (8th generation) mother glass, which measures 5.31 m2 in area and 0.7 mm in thickness, and which is 2000 times smoother than normal glass. The liquid crystals are slotted into a 3-micrometer gap between the two layers of glass. www.cleverdis.com
Production of LCD Modules in Poland by Sharp Underlining Importance of European Market
With the launching of production this year of LCD modules at Sharp Manufacturing Poland (SMPL) in Torun, Poland, Sharp underlines the significance of the European market in its global strategy. Initial production capacity amounts to 100,000 modules per month. The LCD modules go into flat LCD TVs to be manufactured by Sharp Electrnica Espaa S.A. (SEES) in Spain and Loewe Opta GmbH in Germany. The production capacity will be enhanced step by step in order to meet the fast growing demand for LCD TVs on the European market. With the factory in Torun, Sharp plans to be able to better meet the high demand for LCD TVs in Western Europe, while also reducing the time to market. The sum invested in the new factory is about 44 million euros. Currently, the new plant has a staff of 800 employees.

SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 9

through variety

DIFFERENTIATION
only in terms of display performance, but also in the electronics backing the display up, ensuring an exceptional viewer experience. Thus, to fit the broader and broader demands of the public, Sharp has conceived four separate LCD TV product categories
In 2007, Sharp continues to expand upon the idea that variety is not only the spice of life, its also essential in a market where consumer demand is changing constantly. To this end, Sharp claims to be the only company offering such a broad line-up from basic personal models right up to Premium Full HD models. The latter boasts cutting edge technology not

52HD IE

Aquos 1080 Premium HD1
The Aquos Premium range not only delivers Full HD and 100 Hz performance, but also boasts dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1 and a 4 millisecond response rate. In addition, a built-in Dolby virtual surround speaker system (including subwoofer) ensures the total experience is in keeping with the most demanding viewer.
10 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007

Aquos Full HD (1080)

46XL1E

37RD2E

Aquos HD Ready (WXGA)

20S5E (WH)

Personal Aquos
SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 11

108 LCD

SHARP MAKES WORLDS BIGGEST TV
In announcing the news of the screens release, Hans Kleis was highly enthusiastic: With the 108-inch Full-HD LCD-TV and the technological advances in panel and image quality, we have once again proven our technological and market leadership in an impressive manner, and we have developed a one-of-a kind product that will definitively influence the market. Faithful to the Sharp motto: Make products that others want to imitate! The 108 TV was seen in public for the first time at the CES show in Las Vegas this January. Analysts and journalists from around the world flocked to the Sharp stand to take a closer look at the screen, which subsequently received rave reviews.
Over past years weve seen various manufacturers battling to bring out the biggest flat screen TV. Each time, bigger and bigger Plasma screens have been produced a way by the Plasma manufacturers of underlining the fact that theyre good at making the biggest TVs. Technical constraints had, until now, prevented LCD TV manufacturers from reaching giant sizes. However, with the introduction of Sharps Kameyama II plant, one might say the shoe is on the other foot. The fact that the plant not only is the only one in the world to be able to produce Generation 8 mother glass, but also assembles all elements in the one location, has enabled the company to arrive at a new benchmark with a new 108-inch Full-HD LCD-TV.

12 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007
on Sharp & flat TV market
Over past years, Sharp, as inventor of the LCD TV has dominated the LCD market. How do you see Sharp's position going over coming years given the increased competition in the field?

COMMENT

by Ross Young Founder & President DisplaySearch
same time, plasma suppliers will try to do the same thing, matching LCDs in resolution and brightness and exploiting their advantages in moving picture performance and highlight contrast.
Sharp is still number one in Japan and is one of the leading So how would you summarise Sharp's position in the market? brands in the US and Europe. What makes them unique Sharp is the dominant brand in Japan and one of the top 5 relative to their competitors is that they focus on all sizes, brands in all other regions. They service the whole LCD TV with products ranging from 20 inches to 65 inches, and market from 13 to 65 inches and are a leader at low they try to be the leading edge in terms of resolution. They resolution and high resolution. They are on the cutting edge were the first major brand with a 1080p product. But at the of LCD manufacturing and device same time they offer lower-resolution technology, offering a great picture at products as well. They still sell a lot of an excellent price. Sharp is in a good VGA products. So they try to be a full service provider, servicing the whole position to lead in the next What do you see as being the main advantages of LCD as opposed to market as opposed to focusing on just large size categories Plasma? the high end like some other brands.
What do you feel will be the result of the opening of Sharp's Generation 8 Kameyama plant in Japan?
This plant has enabled Sharp to jump to the forefront of quality and pricing at 46 inch and 52 inch sizes. This fab is optimized for these two sizes giving Sharp a cost advantage and sufficient supply to drive significant share gains at these sizes.
Plasma manufacturers have not been standing still as LCD has been progressing. How do you see LCD positioning itself against plasma?

LCD took leadership in the 40-42 inch market in Q406 from plasma, much faster than anyone expected. LCDs now have the advantage of 1080p at this and other screen sizes and we expect LCD manufacturers to exploit this until plasma can compete on price at 1080p with LCD. LCD manufacturers will also exploit their brightness, contrast and other advantages. In addition, as LED backlights with local dimming and 100-120Hz refresh rates are implemented, LCD manufacturers will claim they can match all of plasmas advantages in motion blur and highlight contrast while maintaining resolution and brightness advantages. At the

2002 2003

TFT LCD 2006 Projected
According to measurements we've taken across the screen, LCD's are ten times brighter than Plasma. Also resolution is an advantage, which will grow in importance as more 1080p movie titles become available and Blu-Ray and HDDVD player prices come down. We expect to see more LCD's focussing on 1080p compatible with those DVD players. There's definitely a lot of promotion for the second half of this year focussed on 1080p, and they won't involve plasma because there's no 1080p plasma available below $4,000. So we think resolution will become of growing importance in the consumer's mind and that will favour LCD. On a revenue basis, in the last year, LCD TVs grew more than twice as fast as competing technologies with its share rising from 18% to 32%. Including plasma TVs, flat panel TVs accounted for a majority of revenues with a 51% share, up from 33%, with CRTs falling from 51% to 38% and RPTVs falling from a 15% to an 11% share.
Ross Young is the founder and President of DisplaySearch. He has appeared on NBCs The Today Show and is regularly quoted in numerous national publications including Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal. Prior to founding DisplaySearch, he served in senior marketing positions at OWL Displays, Brooks Automation, Fusion Semiconductor and GCA in the driver IC, flat panel automation, etch and strip and lithography markets respectively. He authored a book on U.S.-Japan high tech competition entitled Silicon Sumo: U.S.-Japan Competition and Industrial Policy in the Semiconductor Equipment Industry, published by the University of Texas, which offered a unique perspective on U.S.-Japan competition. DisplaySearch is part of The NPD Group and provides leading market research and consulting on the entire flat panel display (FPD) food chain, including component suppliers, equipment manufacturers, FPD producers, OEMs, brands, distributors and retailers.

TFT LCDs Revenue Share

Other technologies

Source:DisplaySearch

SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007 13

Environmental Protection

ECO LABELS

covers several product categories (PC, refrigerator, TV, washing machines, etc.) TV appliances with the Eco-label have: reduced energy consumption during use and stand-by, few harmful substances, designs for improved durability, easy disassembly and recycling, user information for environmentally-friendly use
It is important to note that at many levels, Sharp is working very hard on being known around the world as the Green Minded TV manufacturer. To whit, the Sharp Corporation has adopted a number of policy guidelines for an allembracing environmental management strategy: To promote environmental awareness throughout the organisation To create environmentally advanced technologies and products To minimise the eco-footprint of its factories and production processes To environmentally optimise its logistics and packaging To comprehensively communicate environmental themes to its customers and partners On this basis, Sharp Corporation claims that it is consistently pursuing the aim of shaping the future as an environmentally advanced and progressive company aspiring to sustainable growth, and championing the protection of the environment in equal measure.
Sharp LCD TVs Eco-Awareness with Distinction
Many Sharp products now have national and international environmental labels. Our SH1 LCD TV series was the worlds first generation of TVs to be awarded the EUs Ecolabel. LC-13SH1E, LC-15SH1E, LC-20-SH1E, LC-20S4E, LC-26P50E, LC-32P50E, LC-37P50E, LC-26GA6E, LC-32GA6E, LC-37GA6E, LC-32GA8E, LC-37GA8E LC-32BV8E, LC-37BV8E, LC-26SA1E, LC-32SA1E LC-26SV1E, LC-32SV1E, LC-37SV1E, LC-37SA1E LC-42SA1E, LC-32RA1E, LC-37RA1E, LC-32SA1EA LC-32SV1EA, LC-20S5E, LC-15SH2E, LC-20SH2E LC-32GA6E, LC-32GA9E, LC-37GA9E, LC-32BV9E LC-37BV9E, LC-26P55E, LC-32P55E, LC-37P55E LC-20SD5E

Recycling

An ever more important criterion, especially with the implementation of the European WEEE directive in the European member countries, Sharp has assured the easy dismantling of sets and the careful choice of recyclable materials to increase reusability after the usage phase of the product.

What is the European Eco-label?
The conservation of nature is in the common interest of many companies and consumers. The aim of manufacturing innovative products that harmonise with environmental factors is also encouraged by the European Commission. Since 1992 the EU Commission in co-operation with its member states has established a certification scheme for products and services: the European Eco-label. The European Eco-label, also called the Flower: is a voluntary eco-label scheme can only be met by approx. 30% of the products per category on the market (thus guaranteeing that the selected products meet strong environmental criteria) has been awarded to more than 300 licensed companies on more than 2000 products 14 SPECIAL REPORT by cleverdis March 2007

LC-37GA9E

SHARP Giving true meaning to Cutting Edge
LCD TV has finally come of age. This may sound a little outlandish, as LCD TV has of course been around for a while now, however we have arrived at a kind of inflection point, where for the first time, LCD is finally able to efficiently cover all the main sizes of TVs sold in Europe. Until now, the very large sized LCD screens (between 40 and 60 inches) were extremely difficult to produce efficiently. Sharp's Kameyama plant in Japan, producing generation 8 mother glass, circumvents this difficulty and consequently means that the large screen sector, until recently catered for only by plasma and projection devices, is henceforth also the stamping ground of LCD. In addition, it has to be noted that the biggest LCD screen sizes (over

CONCLUSION

by Richard Barnes Editor in chief Cleverdis
60) offered by Sharp, are truly on the upper edge of what the European market demands and what it will demand in the foreseeable future. Parallel to this, Sharp's dedication to the development and promotion of FULL-HD screens will also auger well for the future of the industry, driving all those involved in image production to aim for this quality level as being the new standard in years to come. It is evident that a number of technologies will cohabit the market side by side for many years to come, however the only single technology that efficiently covers all segments is LCD, and as the true pioneers in this technology, Sharp are placed in a very exciting position for the future.
Aspect Ratio: The ratio of image width to image height. Wide screen TV's and HDTV are generally 16:9 aspect ratio, while the format we have generally been used to until now has been 4:3. Coaxial cable: A cable in which one conductor is accurately centered inside another, with both conductors carrying signal - primarily for the transmission of high frequency, such as digital signals or television. Composite Video: The composite video signal is one where the luminance and chrominance are mixed together. Component Video: Video transmission that uses three separate video lines: one for luminance (black & white), and the remaining two for colour. Contrast Ratio: The ratio between the darkest and lightest spot on a screen. CRT: Cathode Ray Tube, used in direct-view TV monitors, computer desktop monitors and tri-tube projection devices. DTV: Digital TV - a broadcast standard, which will ultimately replace analogue television broadcast signals we receive today. DVI: Digital Visual Interface FULL-HD: (see explanation of HDTV below) - Devices that have a resolution of at least 1080 lines. HDTV: High Definition TV. This refers to new broadcasting and reception standards based on a much higher total number of pixels than on a standard PAL or Secam screen. The basic HDTV standards currently on the market are 720p, 1080i and 1080p. HDTV images are much clearer and sharper than standard PAL/SECAM images. See also pages on HDTV in this Special Report. HD Ready: Refers to televisions, monitors and projection devices that have at least 720 lines resolution, and that can also display (through down conversion) images of 1080 lines. LCD: Liquid Crystal Display - The active matrix LCD is also known as a thin film transistor (TFT) display. OPC Function: A function specific to Sharp TVs which automatically adjusts the back-light's brightness level based on ambient light levels around the TV, giving users an optimal picture and preserving the brilliance of their TV for years to come. PAL: Phrase Alternation Line - a type of television signal, used in most parts of the World outside the USA. Pixel: short for "picture element - the basic unit of programmable color on a computer display or in a computer image. These are the tiny dots that make up a TV screen. Plasma Display Panel (PDP): a display in which each pixel on the screen is illuminated by a tiny bit of plasma or charged gas, somewhat like a tiny neon light. Progressive Scan: Video signal in which all the lines making up the image are displayed one after the other, from top to bottom in one single sweep. Resolution: the number of pixels contained on a TV or monitor, expressed in terms of the number of pixels on the horizontal axis and the number on the vertical axis. RGB: Video signal in which the chrominance is totally decoded in three primary colors - Red (R), Green (G) and Blue (B). SECAM: Abbreviation of Systme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire - TV standard generally used in France. TFT: Thin Film Transistor. This refers to Active Matrix LCD panels. VGA: Video Graphics Array a display mode introduced by IBM in 1987 that allowed a choice between 16 colors at 640 x 480 pixels or 256 colors at 320 x 200 pixels. Widescreen: A television with an aspect ratio of 16:9. WXGA: Wide XGA (see XGA). XGA: Extended Graphics Array 1,024 by 768 resolution in 65,536 colors.