DEFINITION May 2018

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NEWS INTERVIEW

sizes to follow. There will be a niche demand for those and we have that already; the camcorder is already commercially available in Japan, China and some of the other Asian markets. We would like to launch that in Europe as soon as possible but we have some European regulations to meet – it’s normal when you go from Asian to non-Asian markets. But I would expect the camera to be commercially available this year but at the latter end. The cost in Europe might show some modification expense but you can find out how much it is in Asia right now.”

the cost is too much for the return. But that knowledge in itself and the gaps in either feature, function, form or price is valuable to working out what it looks like as a market.” COMMERCIALISATION With Foxconn holding the purse strings it’s obviously important that these new 8K products start earning their keep. How is that reflected in the new roadmap? Sid explains his plans. “The commercialisation is in two parts. The monitors are commercially available in Europe now, there’s a 70in monitor and other

business case for something else then we’ll feed that back in to the factory.” What Sharp is planning echoes what Sony used to do, inasmuch as when a new format is introduced you top and tail the market with cameras and monitors or flat panels. Sid explains that the comparison is appreciated. “I worked for Sony broadcast and production for ten years. At Sony, when we launched advanced technologies you would look and see the insights of those verticals. That’s exactly what we were doing at ISE, and maybe at the moment it’s perfectly possible that

ABOVE Sharp’s 8K camera at the ISE show in Amsterdam earlier this year.

DEFINITION MAY 2018

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