Sharp Pushes Slim LCD Contrast to 100,000:1

New prototype LCD from Sharp push contrast ratios to 100,000:1, but come in a frame that - at its thickest! - measures just 1.1 inches.

Electronics manufacturers always have to keep an eye on their product lines, but also on what their product lines are going to be in a year from now, two years from now, and even five years from now. With that in mind, Japan’s Sharp has developed new 52-inch prototype LCD displays that aim to define the future of television, combining high resolution, high contrast, and super-thin designs in ways which consume as little power as possible.

The prototype display offer contrast ratios of an astonishing 100,000:1, while boasting super-thin profiles that measure just 1.1 inches at their thickest, and barely over three-quarters of an inch in the main display section. Further, the units are more environmentally friendly than current LCD displays, with a 50-inch set consuming around 140 kWH/year, based on an average of 4.5 hours of viewing time a day.

Unfortunately, there’s no word when Sharp’s technological advances might reach the consumer marketplace, but if the technology scales to manufacturing, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see some elements drift into units in 2008 or 2009, with maybe the super-thin displays finally reaching users in 2010. To save power until then, just watch less than 4.5 hours of television a day.