Sharp Shows Thin, Light TV

By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO – Sharp Corp. on Wednesday showed off what it calls the thinnest, lightest and most power-efficient TV ever.

The 52-inch liquid-crystal display prototype is just over an inch thick, weighs 55 pounds and consumes less energy than today’s LCD or plasma sets, the Japanese consumer electronics company said.

At a Tokyo museum, Sharp demonstrated how the new panels could be easily hung on walls or placed on thin poles for an arty floating effect. The LCD panels are about one-fourth the thickness of its current models.

Sharp President Mikio Katayama said parts of the new technology – a culmination of various improvements in materials, color filters and backlight technology – will be introduced gradually in Sharp’s upcoming products.

He also said he hoped to have the innovations ready for mass commercial production by the time a new Sharp plant is running by March 2010.

The Osaka-based manufacturer of Aquos brand TVs gave no details on how much sets using the new technology would cost.