Sharp Announces Elite LCD TVs For the Rich

A rich feature set and high performance usually targets equally rich prospective customers, but it looks like Sharp really took things up to eleven by resurrecting the Elide brand of LCD TVs.

One would have thought that the 7-inch Sharp Galapagos tablet would be enough of an attention bringer for its maker, but it looks like Sharp has been working on a certain other project.

Said project is the revival of a certain brand that Sharp once used and which was linked to the top-most layer of the worldwide consumer display market.

Simply put, Sharp has decided to once again use the Elite moniker, bringing along matching price thresholds while at it.

The company basically announced 60-inch and 70-inch LCDs with LED backlighting and which have, as minimum price, $6,000 (the 70-inch one costs $8,500).

For that sum, users will get 3D support (240 Hz refresh rate), full array LED, THX certification, Local Dimming (allows specific LED groups to dim, for greater brightness control) and other advantages, like connectivity to Netflix, VUDU, YouTube and CinemaNow, among others.

Furthermore, Sharp implemented its quad-pixel technology, which complements the standard RGB pixel arrangement with a fourth, yellow sub-pixel, for higher color accuracy and richness.

"Over the past 25 years the Elite brand has developed a loyal and avid fan base of audiophiles and videophiles," said Tom Evans, Sharp's associate vice president and general manager of Product & Marketing for Elite televisions.

"We are confident that our new line of Elite LCD TVs will appeal to the Elite purists who expect the highest picture quality and experience as well as today's luxury technology enthusiasts looking for the most innovative products to outfit their digitally connected homes."

Bearing the names of Pro-60X5FD and Pro-70X5FD, the two Elite panels are set to enter US stores later this month (August, 2011).