Sharp Corporation announces the introduction into the Japanese market of the XV-Z11000 Theater Projector, a DLPTM*1 projector featuring the industry's highest contrast ratio of 5500:1.

The XV-Z11000 uses the latest DMDTM HD2+ chip set, the newest DMDTM (Digital Micromirror Device) projection device that dramatically increases the effective light utilization ratio, and adopts a new optical engine that makes full use of leading-edge technologies, including an advanced lens system, innovative iris design, and high lamp output. These features enable the XV-Z11000 to achieve a contrast ratio of 5500:1, the industry's highest, and deliver superb image quality with rich, life-like color tones and a wide dynamic range—from deep blacks to brilliant sunlight.

As DVDs gain widespread acceptance and terrestrial digital broadcasting begins, and with the debut of high-capacity blue-laser discs and the increasing availability of high-definition video sources, Sharp is offering the XV-Z11000 as its flagship model to respond to the needs of the full-fledged era of home theater in which users enjoy cinema-quality video images on a big screen.

*1 DLPTM (Digital Light Processing) system: A digital control system that projects images by controlling the reflection of light from hundreds of thousands of tiny, precisely aligned mirrors arrayed on a silicon substrate microchip called a DMDTM(Digital Micromirror Device). This system can, in principle, deliver seamless, high-contrast images with a cinema-like quality and little color unevenness, and is considered ideal for use in home theater projectors. The application of this system in DLP projectors for theatrical use based on the DLP CinemaTM system also continues to increase.

Major Features
1. The latest DLPTM technology delivers a high 5500:1 contrast ratio Working together with Minolta Co. Ltd., we developed a high-contrast optical engine that completely eliminates unwanted light and pushes the F number up to 8. And thanks to the adoption of leading-edge technologies such as a new HD2+ device (1280 x 720 pixels) that dramatically improves the effective light utilization ratio, a proprietary iris system, and other enhancements, the XV-Z11000 delivers on-screen images with deep "jet-black" black tones never before attained in a projector using a fixed image-element device.

2. Proprietary Sharp image processing LSI reproduces images with superb quality The XV-Z11000 features a proprietary Sharp high-performance image processing LSI that integrates all digital image processing functions onto a single chip—from signal input to video output to the display device. The XV-Z1000 projects cinema-quality images from a wide range of video sources, including standard video and PC data, but also Hi-Vision high-definition video and movie film sources as well.

• DLPTM and DMDTM are trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated.
• Lumens: A numeric value indicating the average brightness of the projector at the time of shipment. Stated in conformance with specifications contained in JIS X 6911:2003. Based on Annex 2 of the standard, which specifies measurement methods and conditions.