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Sharp releases first THX-certified 4K television

Sharp has announced the 70-inch LC-70UD1, which is the first Ultra HD screen to receive THX certification, but it won't come cheap.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury
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Watch this: Sharp's UD-1 4K TV

Sharp has announced that the 70-inch LC-70UD1 television, the first Ultra HD screen to receive THX certification, is now available in stores for $7,499, with a street price of $5,999.

The TV features a 4H/UHD resolution of 3,840x2,160 pixels and the company's proprietary Revelation upscaler to upscale existing sources to the resolution of the panel.

The LC-70UD1 is the first to receive THX 4K classification, which Sharp said involved over 400 tests, and it means the TV includes two precalibrated THX Movie modes.

The UD1 is edge-lit but lacks local dimming and unlike the previous flagship -- the Sharp Elite Pro -- it lacks four-color Quattron capability, being RGB LCD-only.

The Sharp LC-70UD1 4K television is now available for $7,499. Sharp

The Sharp has a relatively thin metal bezel and a bottom grille featuring a six-speaker, 35W sound system with dual subwoofers.

Onboard are four HDMI inputs -- which the company says can accept a native 4K signal, despite the lack of devices capable of sending them yet. The TV is only HDMI 1.4, which means the display is restricted to 4K at 24p, but the company said it is investigating whether the existing chipset can be software-upgraded or whether it will need a new board to comply with HDMI 2.0. Sharp says that either way it will keep its registered customers informed -- so send in your warranty cards! In addition to the HDMI ports the LC-70UD1 includes an SD card reader and two USB ports.

Interestingly, the LC-70UD1 comes with active 3D glasses instead of passive, but Sharp says the TV should support 4K 3D content.

Sharp also includes its SmartCentral smart-TV suite powered by a dual-core processor and features apps such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Pandora, and Skype. The TV also includes an onboard browser with Flash support and a picture-by-picture mode for watching TV shows at the same time.

The LC-70UD1 is also the first 70-inch UHD TV and is comparable to the Sony 65-inch XBR-65X900A at $6,999.99.

Look for a full review here very soon.