Sharp is the first to launch an 8K Ultra HDTV with 8Kpanel here in Europe: the LV-70X500E has been fitted with an LCD that covers a display resolution of a whopping 7680×4320 pixels. The panel also has 216 local dimming zones.
The screen has an average brightness is up to 400 cd/m2 and is HDR10 ready and can peak to 1000 cd/m2. he release of this television sets a completely new mile-stone, unfortunately, there are some drawbacks, the first would be actual 8K HD content, there simply is no source material available. The second would be playback of 8K content, you’ll likely need an awesome media player or HTPC to be able to do that. And thirdly, connection. To be able to get towards 7680×4320 pixels this TV needs to bundle four HDMI 2.0 connections for supplying enough bandwidth at 8K/60Hz. No such devices support this. Photos with 8K resolution (33 megapixels) can be loaded via a USB stick, videos are limited to 4K.
Sharp does not yet envisage any commercial content available in 8K, saying that users will upscale, or watch user-generated material. Although the brand says 8K developments are happening. Netflix has shot Lost in Space in 8K. Sharp understands these limitations, and the release as such is more of a showcase. You can watch 8K photos through a USB stick as hardware.info reports.
Once HDMI 2.1 is broadly supported, one HDMI cable will be sufficient. The Sharp LV-70X500E will become available at the end of the month and carries a suggested retail price of €11.199.
