Sharp’s New 4K TV Acts Like an 8K Set, Thanks to Subpixel Tricks

According to Sharp, its Aquos Beyond 4K UltraHD TV can reach an effective resolution of 7680×4320. That’s four times sharper than 4K. Sharp

In the world of TVs, Sharp is synonymous with huge screens. The company has concentrated on the 60-inches-and-up space for a few years now, and that won’t change in 2015. But they can also play small-ball. For the second year running at CES, Sharp is also focusing on a tiny piece of those massive TVs. A piece even smaller than the pixel. We’re talking subpixels.

The whole subpixel obsession started with the Quattron series in 2010, which added a yellow subpixel to the traditional arrangement of red, green, and blue in an effort to widen the color gamut. Last year’s Sharp Quattron Q+ sets boosted the subpixel count even further in an attempt to deliver 4K-like sharpness out of a 1920 x 1080 screen; the Q+ technology did this by dividing each row of RGBY subpixels in half and allowing each cluster to be addressed individually. The result was a 1080-line set with a hell of a lot more subpixels than your average HDTV—16 million as opposed to 6 million—that could work with 4K video sources.

Now Sharp is taking subpixel counts further into the stratosphere. The company’s highest-end 4K sets, which launch this Spring, come packed with 66 million subpixels—about 42 million more than your average RGB-only 4K television. The company says it will put the new UH30 “Beyond 4K Ultra HD TV” panel next to the 85-inch native 8K TV Sharp has showcased at its booth the past few years. Showgoers can compare and contrast the image quality for the two sets.

Keep in mind that subpixels are not the same thing as pixels, which is one reason why Sharp isn’t billing this as an 8K set. But according to Sharp, the new UH30, which will be available in 70- and 80-inch sizes (at $3,200 and $6,000 respectively), is a 4K TV that can reach an effective resolution of 7680 x 4320 with some source material. The company says the set will be able to upscale 4K content to something even higher-def than 4K—which is a necessity, as no 8K content is available.

The UH30’s other features make it sound like it’ll be able to walk the walk. The LCD set has a full-array LED backlight system with local-dimming features, and Sharp says it meets the color-space requirements for the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) spec. The UH30 is also a THX-certified 4K TV, joining a Sharp model from last year as the only UltraHD TVs with THX certification.

A few more UH30 features will also be found on Sharp’s lower-priced sets, including support for both H.265 (HEVC) and VP9 streaming codecs, so you should be able to watch 4K content from Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and YouTube. The UH30 and the midrange UF30 also have Android TV built into their smart UI—ChromeCast functionality included—and both of them come with adjustable stands where the legs can be placed at the edges of the TV or more in the center.