With 4K adoption still in its infancy, Sharp has introduced an 85-inch 8K TV and plans to launch it next month.
At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, Sharp showed off what it called "virtual 8K." Now, about eight months later, the company has unveiled a release-ready embodiment of a TV that is capable of displaying 8K content —four times the pixels of 4K.
The Sharp LV-85001 has liquid crystal display that outputs a pixel count of 7,680 x 4,320. Technically, it is a TV. Functionally, it can't display 8K broadcasts. There is even barely enough 4K content to go around.
The Sharp LV-85001 leverages Sharp's IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology, a low-power method for putting out a broad pixel bandwidth.
On the subject of bandwidth, the LV-85001 outputs tons of it. Users will have to connect four HDMI cables between the TV and source to have the bandwidth necessary to accommodate the 8K content.
On the subject of content, 8K content is virtually non-existent right now. As such, the LV-85001's price isn't the only factor the clearly places this TV out of the reach of 99 percent of consumers.
On the subject of price, the LV-85001 will cost about $133,000. For now, 8K will likely only land in the hands of the rich and famous and enterprise entities.
While Sharp's 8K may be well out of the reach of many, IGZO isn't, and the company has already been implementing the tech to kit out laptops and mobile devices with 4K displays.
"IGZO is a revolutionary, transparent compound semiconductor that Sharp is the first to successfully mass-produce and bring to market," said Sharp. "IGZO opens the door to countless breakthroughs, from crystal clear displays to lower energy and even life-changing technology of the future."
Samsung has also licensed IGZO, and it has been confirmed that another one of the world's biggest and most influential tech companies is preparing to use it for the Retina displays in a refresh of its tablet line.
