Industry expert Pete Putman, writing in Display Daily points out back in the early to mid-1990s, Sharp was a powerhouse in LCD projector sales. Yes, right up there with InFocus, Epson, and NEC.
Today, the company’s projector market share is…well, frankly…projectors are obviously not their priority.
Putman finds a bright note in their 2011 launch of super-sized 70" and 80" Aquos LCD TVs - and their subsequent surprising adoption by commercial AV systems integrators.
He points out “every projector installation is also a candidate for a big LCD screen, especially now that Sharp is producing both consumer and professional versions of its 80-inch displays.”
Today a 2-piece projector/screen solution requires ambient light control and an architectural design to hide the screen (not to mention lamp replacements and filter changes. Compare that to a self-contained, bright and contrast display (that works under any ambient room lighting, doesn’t need to be hidden when not in use, and will run a long time before it hits half-brightness).
Putman expects Sharp to bring a 90” and maybe even a 100” LCD TV/monitor to market soon.
An 80” LCD screen clearly falls in what Putman calls the projector killer class at the low end, while a 90” display is “sitting right in the sweet spot.”