Sharp unveiled the much awaited proof of pudding for the IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) LCD panel technology. IGZO acts as a superior substrate material to amorphous silicon, thanks to higher electron mobility, and lets you achieve either higher pixel density, or faster response times. Sharp chose the former, and launched the PN-K321. This 32-inch professional desktop/workstation monitor packs a native resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. To draw those many pixels from its source, it relies on DisplayPort, although HDMI is also available. It is priced at the equivalent of US $5,500, and could be unveiled stateside at CES 2013 (January).Source: Engadget

One of the biggest suppliers of LCD panels to notebook and PC monitor manufacturers, AUOptronics, has been convicted by a US court on Tuesday, of price-fixing, a serious anti-competitive practice that cripples innovation and is bad for consumers and progress of the industry. The company faces fines as high as US $1 billion, which could amount to a big blow to the company that already finds itself facing losses.

AUOptronics' conviction follows the December 2011 mega-settlement of LCD makers including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux. At the time, AUOptronics and LG Electronics were the only fence-sitters. LG Electronics agreed to pay a US $400 million fine, in 2008. AUOptronics' current position is that it finds the evidence presented against it, which led to the conviction as being "distorted and incomplete," and that it will appeal against the verdict. The quantum of fine levied against AUOptronics will surface in the months ahead.Sources: Reuters, The Verge

Five major LCD panel makers, including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux; agreed to pay over US $553 million in settlement to regulators for a price-fixing case. The case by regulators alleged that these companies colluded to fix prices of LCD panels 1999 and 2006, affecting billions of dollars of commerce. The scam unearthed in 2006, by regulators of Japan, Korea, United States, and the European Union. Many companies and executives have since pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust violations and paid more than US $890 million in fines so far.

The latest payout of $553 million is aimed to resolve claims by "indirect" purchasers that bought televisions and computers with thin film transistor LCDs, as well as claims by eight USA states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It also includes payments of $14.7 million by the companies to settle civil fine and penalty law claims by the states, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. He stated "This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics."

Sharp Corporation will introduce the VR-100BR1 triple-layer Blu-ray Disc media (writeonce) that conforms to the BDXL format specification, the new multi-layer recordable Blu-ray Disc format, a world first. These new Blu-ray Discs will be available in Japan beginning July 30, 2010.

This disc media product conforms to the new BDXL format specification that extends the storage capacity of Blu-ray Discs to 100GB, twice the 50GB storage capacity of existing dual-layer discs. This new format enables recording approximately 12 hours of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts or approximately 8.6 hours of BS digital TV broadcasts. It expands the range of applications for Blu-ray Discs to include recording and saving long-duration HDTV programs or multiple episodes of serial dramas onto a single disc with the same high-definition image quality as the original.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

Sharp has developed new 250 mW blue-violet laser diodes which promise to bring a substantial speed boost to Blu-ray writers – up from 72Mb/s today to a maximum of 216Mb/s, equal to 6x recording speed. The new laser will be produced in two models – one 3.3mm package for laptop Blu-ray writers and a 5.6mm version for desktop drives. Samples of the new diodes are available at this time, but aren’t exactly cheap: Sharp charges 50,000 Yen or about $462 per unit. The company will start mass production of both products from April 2008.Source: TG Daily

Sharp Corporation and Toshiba Corporation announced today that the two companies have agreed to collaborate closely in LCDs, a move that is expected to enhance the companies' corporate value, profitability and global competitiveness. The alliance will allow each company to make full and effective use of its respective strengths and resources, particularly Sharp's capabilities in LCDs and Toshiba's expertise in advanced semiconductors.

Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Electronics said on Tuesday it has started the commercial production of blue laser diodes, used to read and write data on high-definition optical discs. The diodes can be used in DVD players based on the Blu-ray format, championed by Sony, as well as competing HD DVD technology, promoted by Toshiba. Sharp, which is entering the market dominated by Sony and unlisted Nichia, plans to bring the monthly capacity to 500,000 units by the end of 2007, spending several billion yen.Source: CNET