Sharp’s latest “Quattron” LCD HDTVs have attracted some attention via advertisements featuring an astonished George Takei (Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu) gazing upon the red-green-blue-and-yellow four-color output of the displays. Now fans of high-definition digital video will have another reason to be astonished: the Aquos LE820 line will also feature support for DivX HD playback. Users will be able to load their DixV HD files—which support resolutions up to 1080p—onto a USB flash drive and pop it into the front panel of the LE820 televisions.
“Sharp is highly regarded for providing innovative and stylish TVs,” said DivX Inc. CEO Kevin Hell, in a statement. “We are excited to grow our relationship with them and take consumers’ viewing experiences to a whole new level.”
Although a growing variety of home video devices support DixV encoding, DivX HD provides for a clearer experience on big-screen high-definition televisions. According to Sharp, a typical 8 GB USB flash drive will be able to hold two DivX HD films.
Some Sharp-watchers are disappointed the LE820s won’t be offering the embedded content service that Sharp was showing off in January at CES; nonetheless, support for DivX HD may give the sets a competitive edge for some media fans.
The Aquos LE820 sets are now available in Europe; no word yet on U.S. release dates or pricing.
