If you thought the Sharp brand wouldn’t be present in the US after the name was licensed by Chinese manufacturer Hisense last year, think again. Now under new management, Sharp has just announced it will be releasing 25 new TVs in 2016, between 32 inches and 75 inches, ranging in price from $189 up to $3,299.
Sharp TVs are coming back to the US with Quantum Dot and HDR
Hisense continues its push into the North American market
Hisense continues its push into the North American market
The new flagship TV, the 70-inch 4K Sharp Aquos N9000 series, features Quantum Dot technology and high dynamic range — both firsts for Sharp — as well as Full-Array local dimming over 192 zones; it will retail for $3,299. There’s also a 65-inch 4K model with a curved screen with an identical spec breakdown that will cost you $2,999. The N8000 will also receive HDR support, and a new user interface complete with an app store designed by Hisense will also be available on all 4K TVs, including the cheaper N6000 and N7000 models.
Hisense is of course insisting that the quality of Sharp’s TV sets won’t decrease under its direction. "The Sharp brand has long been esteemed in the TV industry for pioneering sophisticated picture technologies and creating the big screen category," Sharp brand manager Mary O’Neill said. "2016 will be no different."
Although it may not have huge name recognition in North America, Hisense is a major player globally, as the third biggest seller of TVs in 2015 behind Samsung and LG, and it’s aiming to reach that same mark in the US. To that end, 22 TVs ranging from 20 inches to 65 inches will be released by Hisense in 2016. Its top-of-the-line curved 65-inch H10 model featuring the so-called Ultra PureColor Quantum Dot technology and ULED 3.0 — which can produce brighter colors and deeper blacks utilizing 240-zone Full-Array local dimming — will run you $2,799, a relatively affordable price for a curved 4K TV at that size.
Hisense is also pushing the price pretty far down on the H7, its cheapest line of 4K TVs. The 43-inch set featuring an octa-core processor, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and HDR processing — a feature which Hisense says will take HDR metadata and remap it to the parameters of your TV set — comes in at $399, a price still dominated by 1080p TVs at the same size. Sadly the truly stunning Dolby Vision HDR specification won’t be available on Hisense and Sharp TVs as they’re part of the UHD Alliance, which has its own set of standards for High Dynamic Range.
Hisense says the H3, H5, H7, and H9 Series will ship to retailers in February, while the H10 Series will hit stores in the second half of the year. The H8 Series will be available in April, and the H4 Series, which features the familiar Roku smart TV interface (with a 1080p display), will ship sometime in 2016.
As for Sharp, the 65-inch curved N9000 will hit stores in March, alongside the N5000, N8000, and most of the N7000 models. The lower end Sharp N3000, N4000, and N6000 models are slated to hit stores in April, while the 70-inch N7000 and 70-inch N9000 won’t be available until July.
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