With a hopeful eye on the approaching World Cup, Japan's embattled TV makersare hoping the key to their rescue can be found on the second floor of BicCamera's downtown Tokyo outlet.
Sales of big-screen televisions with super-high definition 4K technology arepicking up at the nationwide electronics retailer, and their fatter profitmargins are offering a lifeline to one-time industry giants Sony andPanasonic.
Retailers report that demand for the cutting-edgetechnology - with four times the resolution of standard HD sets - has surged assports fans shell out big bucks with the soccer World Cup kicking off in Brazil on Thursday.
"Many customers are coming to buy a new TV set because of the World Cup,"said Daisuke Kogure, visual products floor manager at Bic Camera's Yurakuchooutlet.
In a corner of the store devoted to 4K screens, crystal-clear images of soccer playersand flowers show off the new technology.
"Even though commercial broadcasting is still to come, customers are stillinterested in seeing photo images and movies on 4K television screens," Kogurenoted.
On June 2, a consortium of major Japanese broadcasters, TV manufacturers andcommunications firms began test broadcasts of satellite television programs in4K across the country of 128 million, with some World Cup games set to beshown.
The move comes with Tokyo's backing as it looks to boost the competitivenessof the world's No.3 economy - neighboring South Korea is already testing 4Ktechnology for cable programming.
Sony President Kazuo Hirai recently pointed to the technology as a possiblesavior for the company's money-losing TV unit, which has bled about 790 billionyen ($7.8 billion) over the past decade.
Hirai's efforts to drag the TV business into the black have so far failed,but he has repeatedly shrugged off pleas to abandon a division that he insistsremains central to Sony's core business.
Sony's rivals Panasonic and Sharp have also suffered massive losses in theirTV businesses, although their units are recovering as they look to go on theoffensive with high-end televisions.
The Japanese giants have been hammered by razor-thinmargins and ferocious competition from overseas rivals, particularly inSouth Korea and on the island of Taiwan.
Panasonic and Sharp have both said they will boost their lineup of 4Ktelevisions and computer monitors, while Sony, a world leader in the technology,is also eyeing the booming health field.
It is hoping that a tie-up with Olympus - best known as a camera maker butwhich also makes medical equipment - will usher in endoscopic 4K images that canbetter diagnose diseases.
But persuading enough consumers to embrace the cutting-edge technology couldstill be a struggle.
Sales of 4K-equipped TV sets remain a small fraction of sales of LCD flat screens. And whilethe average price of 4K TVs has dropped to 330,000 yen from 491,000 yen a yearago, the technology is still expensive and offers limited viewing options.