HDTV Reviews

The The Sharp Aquos Full HD LCD range, the LC-XD1E have been long awaited and are now available to the 1080p craving enthusiasts. The LC-XD1E range comes in four different sizes ranging from 37-inch to a massive 52-inch LCD. All feature the “Full HD” resolution aka 1080p providing 1920 x 1080 resolution.

The smaller two of the four, the LC-37XDE1E (37-inch), and the LC-42XD1E (42-inch) LCDs have a contrast ration of 1,200:1 and a response time of 6ms. While the LC-46XD1E (46-inch) and the LC-52XD1E (52-inch) a fast response time of just 4ms and a contrast ratio of 2,000:1.
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Sharp have just announced three new “Full HD” 1080p LCDs, the LC-52D62, the LC-46D62U and the LC-42D62U. These are all on the larger end of things size wise.

The LC-42D62U is a42-inch LCD, which has a contrast ratio of 6,000:1, twin HDMI inputs and a 6ms response time. This LC-42D62U will sell for $2,499.

The LC-46D62U is 46-inches, and has a 10,000:1 contrast ration, twin HDMI inputs and 4ms response time. Its retail price is $3,499.

The LC-52D62U is the very large 52-inch which has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, dual HDMI inputs and a 4ms response time. This TV will retail at $4,799.

These three LC-D62U LCD will be available in October.

Sharp have announced six new Aquos 1080p LCDs with 450 cd/m2 brightness levels, and the worlds highest 2000:1 contrast ration and the worlds fastest 4ms refresh rate and Familink HDMI control technology. These new Aquos sets are from sharps new 8th gen plant offering the latest technology with two HDMI connections, two component inputs, QAM/ATSC tuners and 4-wavelength backlighting system.

The 52-inch LC-52D62U and the 46-inch LC-46D62U 1080p Aquos LCDs will be available in October with MSRPs of $4,799 and $3,499 respectively.
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The Sharp LC-32D40U Aquos isn’t the cheapest 32-inch liquid crystal widescreen television out there, but it provided the most natural, realistic picture I’ve seen among similar displays. Add to this a stylish design and plenty of quality video connections, and the LC-32D40U is a top notch HDTV.

The LC-32D40U provides a near-ideal set of video inputs, including two HDMI ports, two component-video connections, and a single RF input that feeds the TV’s analog (NTSC), digital (ATSC), and Clear QAM (unencrypted digital cable) tuners. The LC-32D40U’s native resolution is 1,366 by 768 pixels, which slightly exceeds the resolution of a 720p HD signal. The display lacks a DVI or VGA input for PC use, but I found that PC resolutions up to 1,280-by-720 (720p) are supported via the HDMI inputs.

‘m admittedly biased toward the excellent color representation possible with modern plasma displays, but the LC-32D40U proved to me that a well-made LCD can Read more

Other than AQUOS LC-57D90U larger size, there is little to distinguish the LC-57D90U from its smaller Sharp brethren. Its bezel is the same burnt-gold finish (they call it titanium) that is nicely different from the black and silver found everywhere else in the flat-panel community. The remote, too, is the same as those found with other models. The menus are colorful and are pretty easy to follow, although it is often hard to distinguish between what is selected and what is unselected since the colors are so similar. There’s an average amount of adjustments, but I was hoping for a bit more from a premium panel. So, why is this panel so expensive? Well, it uses different glass than the rest of Sharp’s LCD line. It’s from their brand-new Kameyama factory in Japan. They claim a 4-millisecond response time (more on that later), a 1,500:1 contrast ratio (about twice what they claim on their other panels), a greater viewing angle (more on that later, too), and a bunch of other improvements. The proof, though, is in the pudding, or, in this case, the liquid crystal.

Feed the LC-57D90U a signal from a decent scaling DVD player via HDMI, though, and this LCD’s character changes rather significantly. The image is far more natural, with none of the scaling issues and noise that’s apparent with the analog input. If you get one of these, don’t bother inputting anything analog, as the digital input looks much better. In fact, had the whole set looked as good as it did with the digital inputs, its performance numbers below would undoubtedly have been a good 4 or 5 points higher. Read more

Sharp has launched four models in their 9 Series in either 32-inch or 37-inch screen sizes. The 32GA9E and 37GA9E are analogue-only models and have been awarded an EU Eco-label due to their low energy consumption and environmentally friendly design. While the 32GD9E and 37GD9E haven’t been awarded this label, they do come with integrated Freeview tuners.

All the models use Sharp’s latest TrueD anti-judder technology, which reduces noise while enhancing detail and contrast. This will make movement appear more smooth, according to Sharp. The technology apparently works particularly well with HD sources, so it’ll make a difference when watching action-oriented material such as Sky Sports HD.

The design has been given a subtle facelift, featuring a clear flat speaker system boosted by a 30W power output. And to make the most of its extra audio ability there are a few added frills including Cinematic Sound, Auto Volume and a Clear Voice setting that enhances dialogue.

Consumer Reports got its hands on the Sharp LC-37D90U 1080p 37-inch LCD TV ($2500), and the sensible publication liked it. A lot. True 1080p sets have been few and far between up until recently, and this 37-incher packs a lot of pixels into a relatively small space. The Consumer Reporters lauded its “gorgeous resolution,” calling it “among the best LCD sets we’ve ever tested.”and mention the Sharp LC-37D90U does a great job of up-rezzing 1080i video to 1080p.

On the downside, the Consumer Reports reviewers noticed a rather narrow viewing angle, and pointed out the “so-so” black level of the set, a commonplace drawback of LCD displays, but a problem they judged to be worse than other Sharp LCDs. Overall, they gave it a big thumbs-up, calling its picture quality “beautiful.

Sharp have just announced a whole bunch of new AQUOS products. This includes nice new AQUOS LCDs, four recorders and a TV stand / audio system.
There are four 37-inch AQUOS LCDs two of which support the full 1080p resolution, while the rest of standard 1366×768 resolution. Black ASV LCD is ment to give these sets a deeper contrast ratio with the full 1080p sets have a 1500:1 ratio and the others a 1200:1.
The 32 inch sets and larger support two HDMI inputs and one DVI, and four 6.5cm woofers and two 2cm tweeters. Sets under 32-inch have only one HDMI and DVI port.

The DV-ACW38 is Sharps new flagship recorder with a massive 800GB hard drive to record off of the two digital and one standard tuners.

The DV-AC34 and DV-AC32 are set to come out on September 15th and the DV-ACV32 on October 20th, with a price of 120,000 Yen ($1,024),

Sharps new AQUOS line is as follows:
LC-37GX1W, LC-37GH1, LC-32GH1, LC-26GH1, LC-26GH1, LC-20GH1, LC-37GX2W, LC-37GH2, LC-32GH2, LC-26GH2

Sharp’s 32P70 is an affordable screen that concentrates on enhancing standard-definition performance from more traditional sources but does also support the newer future HDTV formats. It has a 960×540 resolution may appear comparatively low to other HDTV’s but it’s been chosen to perfectly fit PAL video signals used by terrestrial TV and typical DVD players. The LC-32P70E will accept HDTV signals but it will be slightly scalled down.
The subsequent downscaling of HDMI induced images leaves the picture looking soft and unfocussed against a fizzing background. Conversely, if you turn to Scart-connected sources or the integrated analogue and digital tuners, the picture improves dramatically
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Sharps Aquos range of LCD TVs, equipped with Sharp’s latest panel and picture enhancement technology. As part of this line-up, four models offer integrated digital Freeview, while two have been awarded the EU Eco-label for low energy consumption and ecologically-friendly design.

Each product in the range offers a contrast ratio of 1200:1 for outstanding reproduction of detail and depth of images, 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution and an industry-leading 6ms response time for improved viewing of fast-moving images, such as sports and action movies. The new sets also include enhanced viewing angles of 176 degrees, horizontally and vertically, ensuring that colours remain constantly crisp and bright – wherever you are sitting.

As with all Sharp Aquos LCD TVs, each model comes with a low-reflection Advanced Super View Black TFT LCD panel for enhanced picture quality, with brightness at 450cd/m2.

The Aquos LC-32GA9E and LC-37GA9E (32” and 37” widescreen analogue models) and the LC-32GD9E and LC-37GD9E (32” and 37” widescreen digital models) are equipped with Sharp’s TruD anti-judder technology for picture, contrast and sharpness enhancement, as well as smoother playback from DVDs and other video media – particularly from HDTV sources.

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