AV Enthusiast Centre

Sharp has developed a new range of LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs that are thinner and have larger screens than its previous thinnest televisions.

The Aquos XS1-series is due on the market in Europe in October and measures 23 millimeters at its thinnest point. In comparison, the X-series models that Sharp put on sale in Japan in March this year, which were 34 millimeters at their thinnest point. Those TVs were available in 37-, 42- and 46-inch screen sizes.

Pricing and launch plans for other markets were not announced.

Sharp managed to slim down its LCD TV by removing the tuner to a stand-alone box and by employing an LED (light emitting diode) backlight system. The panels used in the TV sets have a contrast ratio of 1 million-to-one so black areas of the video image are deep black rather than the grey they sometimes appear on other panels.

The TVs are energy efficient too and reduce power consumption by adjusting screen brightness based on the ambient light where they are being used.

They also feature a sound system that was developed in collaboration with Pioneer.

The announcement was made at the IFA electronics show in Berlin and followed similar thin-TV announcements earlier in the day from Panasonic and Sony.

At 23 millimeters the sets aren't nearly as thin as the 9.9 millimeter LCD that Sony launched earlier on Thursday. But Sony's set only comes in a 40-inch screen size while the Sharp sets will be 52-inch and 65-inch models, so they won't be directly competing in the same parts of the TV market.