Sharp Corp. plans to begin selling in Japan from March a computer monitor with a 65-inch widescreen LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, it said Thursday.
The PN-655 monitor is closely based on one of Sharp’s Aquos LCD televisions and offers several features typically found in televisions, although there is no tuner.
The monitor has a DVI and a Mini D-Sub socket for hooking up to a computer and there is also a composite video and D4 analog HDTV input. Sharp’s TV also has the DVI-D socket but the Mini D-Sub connector is only found on the monitor. There are also several connectors missing from the monitor than are on the TV, such as an S-Video socket and HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) digital HDTV interface. The monitor has a stereo audio input.
The screen offers 1,920 pixel by 1,080 pixel resolution, which is the same as high-definition television and less than that offered by some competing, but smaller, monitors. Another feature from Sharp’s TVs that is available in the monitor is a picture-in-picture function that can mix the computer input with a video signal.
It measures 157 centimeters by 13 cm by 92 cm (61.81 inches by 5.12 in by 36.22 in) and weighs 65 kilograms (143.3 pounds), which makes its slightly thinner and lighter than the equivalent television.
The monitor will go on sale in Japan on March 24 and will cost around ¥2 million (US$16,963), the company said. Sharp is considering offering it overseas but has yet to make any definite plans.