Sharp's announcement that its next generation of Aquos televisions would come with a fourth colour of sub-pixel raised some slightly bemused smiles.

But the company has told TechRadar that the addition of yellow to the traditional red green and blue will have a key benefit.

Televisions currently use the primary colours – red, green and blue – to generate all the colours that the televisions shows, but Sharp's latest Quattron technology adds a yellow sub-pixel.

"The primary objective to to increase the colour spectrum," Sharp's UK marketing communications manager Martin Arnold explained to TechRadar.

"The TV has always been able to produce yellows – we're not saying that we're adding a yellow or a gold colour, but what we're actually doing is increasing the colour spectrum."

Golden touch

"Golds in particular have always been difficult to replicate on television, so by adding the fourth as a sub-pixel it's allowing us to increase the colour spectrum from billions of colours to trillions of colours and what that does is it opens up a wider colour aperture," he added.

"So whereas beforehand TVs struggled to replicate golds, Caribbean blues and aquas we more accurately represent those colours to the viewers."

Arnold explained that the fourth sub-pixel fits alongside the normal three because the company has managed to shrink the others.

"We've managed to make the red, green and blue sub-pixels 25 per cent smaller and that's given us the room to add the fourth sub-pixel, so you don't need any more pixels.

"What it also does is reduce the jaggedness of the picture because the sub-pixels are smaller."

Big investment

Sharp has invested heavily in the proprietary technology, and will spend even more money in marketing a concept that they believe brings tangible benefits to the screen.

"The real benefit is that this technology is not dependant on source, so it's available for anybody," adds Arnold.

"It's not what I would classify as a gimmick, because it will increase anyone's viewing pleasure."

Sharps Aquos Quattron range has a UK release date for the end of April or the beginning of May and final prices will be confirmed closer to launch.