EDITOR’S NOTE by Richard Barnes :

When I first saw Sharp’s promotion for four- primary colour technology – featuring the addition of a yellow pixel to the traditional red, green and blue – I must say I was puzzled as to why one really needed an extra pixel, and indeed why it should be yellow. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have been curious as to this reasoning. When recently touring Japan on a fact-finding mission, we visited Sharp’s massive new production facility at Sakai in Osaka, and went on to meet in the city with the company’s Head of Global TV Marketing, Yuji Nishiyama, who took some time to explain to us the reasoning behind four- primary colour technology: Quattron. The picture then became clear... It was NOT just a case of wanting to produce brighter yellows, for if that were the only advantage of the extra pixel, the interest would not be huge. No... there was a lot more to it than that! The addition of a pixel in this fourth primary colour is just part of a whole new technological concept that Sharp is instigating.

It’s a highly innovative new production process that allows high-speed LCD screens to be much brighter and vivid, especially when used for 3D TV. After an hour of explanation by Nishyama- San, Sharp’s intentions and ideas were obvious to us. We therefore felt it was essential that now, the story should be told to you, the TV professional, in such a way that you may also be able to understand, as we did, the interest and importance of Sharp’s new technologies. This SPECIALreport aims to do just that. We truly hope that consequentially, consumers will be more enlightened as well if you are able to pass this information on in the right way. Remember, an enlightened buyer is much more likely to make a good buying decision, and will look for features and added-value rather than just price- points. Pass the information on, and together, let’s make the industry more successful thanks to wise, confident and happy purchasers!