CEDIA 2010

When Sharp introduced its new four-color Quattron sets at last winter's CES, they were met with a collective, "Fine, but where's the 3D." Sharp's Quarttron launch may have been buried in an avalanche of 3D news at that time, but the company knew that it had 3D designs waiting in the wings.

Now they are here. we do have a real selection of new line of. The new Sharp AQUOS Quattron 3D HDTVs make up its top-of-the-line LE925 series. There are two models (both arriving in stores as we speak), the LC60 60" ($5300) and the LC52 52" ($4200). Both offer the same features. These include LED edge lighting, 240Hz operation (120Hz refresh with scanning of the LED lighting in 6 horizontal bands to produce a 240Hz-like result), 10-bit video processing, and of course the now requisite Internet features and apps (over 100 at last count). The sets are also claimed to be 1.8x brighter than the competition, which should offer real advantages for 3D viewing.

The sets come with two pair of Sharp 3D glasses. Extra glasses are $200 each. The glasses have a unique feature we haven't seen before: You can switch them to display 3D as 2D. This may be useful if a family member or guest becomes uncomfortable watching 3D and wants to rest his or her eyes without missing part of the show. The Sharp sets also have a 2D-3D conversion mode.

Sharp 3D buyers will also get a free copy of the 3D Blu-ray release of Despicable Me, beginning on the disc's street date of December 14th and running until March 31, 2011, when the offer expires. Owners of other 3D sets will be happy to hear that this release will also be available to anyone at Blu-ray disc retailers; it is not an exclusive arrangement with Sharp. Thank you, Sharp, and thank you, Universal Pictures. In addition to the Sharp 3D HDTVs, the company announced two 3D Blu-ray networked players, the BD-HP80U ($430) and the BD-HP90U ($500). An interesting feature of the 90U is that it can be positioned either horizontally or vertically. The dark shape in the lower right hand corner of the attached picture is a BD-HP90U.