The new screen has the maximum size that a single 8th-generation glass substrate (2,160 x 2,460 mm) manufactured at Kameyama Plant No. 2 can yield. The large display can be useful for displaying images to many people in wide interior spaces. The input variety is quite standard and includes HDMI and DVI-I connectors. In order to minimize noise and dust intake (which tends to shorten the device’s life) a fan-less design was used.
The monitor’s first buyer, Shinjuku Piccadilly, will be one of Tokyo’s premiere multiplex cinemas. It is being built under the concept of a “pure-white theater” with a predominant design theme of brilliant, immaculate white. The entrance lobby features a huge, open-ceiling foyer extending from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor. In the center of the 3rd floor’s lobby, the 108V-inch LCD monitor will be set, facing the open foyer. This setting is optimal for exhibiting the monitor’s features, which include wide viewing angles (176 degrees vertical and horizontal) and (relatively) high contrast (1200:1 ratio), making on-screen images visible even in bright locations.
Sharp considers the LB1085 to be the flagship LCD monitor for commercial applications, but are not yet ready to deliver many units. According to their announcement, in the near future, they will mount a full-fledged effort to accept orders for this model. Furthermore, the current plans are to expand sales beyond the local (Japanese) market and sell the monitor in the international market.
TFOT has covered Sony’s first OLED TV, launched last December, and HP’s Dreamcolor Display, which can display an unprecedented one billion colors. Other related TFOT stories are Aquavision’s 57″ LCD in-wall waterproof television, specially designed for the bathroom’s wet and humid conditions, and coverage of the displays exhibited at CeBIT 2008.
For more information on Sharp’s 108-inch monitor, see Sharp’s website.
