Sharp participates at this year's CEATEC JAPAN 2015 show with new products including its AQUOS 4K Recorder Ultra HD Blu-ray player / recorder, 4K / 8K TVs and curved surface FFD displays. Following Panasonic's announcement for the development of its own DMR-UBZ1 BD Recorder, Sharp's AQUOS 4K Recorder supports playback of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs (50/66 GB and 100GB) holding 4K (3840 x 2160) content enhanced with HDR.

During the show, the company will be demostrating a playback demo of 4K HDR content on its 80-inch 4K AQUOS NEXT "LC-80XU30" TV set.

The recording function of the AQUOS 4K Recorder should be similar to Panasonic's device - recording 4K broadcasts on optical disc or HDD, although a standard for recording on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs has not yet been developed.

Sharp has not provided any technical details related to the BD device and has not yet decided when it will hit the market.

Regarding TVs, the company plans to add support for HDR content to its LC-80XU30 and the 70-inch "LC-70XG35" series of AQUOS TVs before the end of 2015.

In addition, the 85-inch 8K "LV-85001" TV will be on display at CEATEC. The device was announced last September and was co-developed by Sharp and NHK. The world's first production 8K TV, the LV-85001, will be released by Sharp next month, priced at about 16 million yen ($133,000.)

The LV-85001 is positioned for business use and typically for those working with ultra-high resolution video content.

The 8K LCD panel is 7680 x 4320, which works out to 104 pixels per inch at the 85-inch size. Sharp says the IGZO panel's contrast ratio is 100,000:1 with viewing angles of 176 degrees and a brightness of 1,000cd / m2. The color gamut covered reaches the 78% BT.2020.

The panel has four HDMI 2.0 ports to receive (input) 8K video. In response to an input of up to 60fps, the displayed video is performed at 120Hz.

Going even further in the development of LCD technology, Sharp is freeing LCDs from the restriction to be rectangular with its new FFD (Free Form Display) technology, which allows designers to integrate a display of virtually any shape into their products. Free Form Displays move circuitry out of the bezel and into each pixel, opening a new world of possibilities for product design by eliminating the need for traditional rectangular LCD form factors and providing an ultra-thin bezel.

These Free Form Displays are enabled by IGZO, an oxide semiconductor that Sharp mass-produces.

Sharp showcased an 12.3-inch FFD for future automotive displays.This new technology will impact automotive displays, since now dashboard screens can be designed in completely new shapes.