sharp lcd panel reviews pricelist

Sharp’s LC-37D7U LCD Television is the largest offering in its new AQUOS D7U series. Having spent considerable time with its smaller sibling, the LC-26D7U, I was not surprised to see that picture quality, sound quality, and industrial design were all top-notch. Sharp is the industry innovator in the field of LCD TV production and sells more LCD panels than any other manufacturer. The AQUOSD7U LCD flat panel series is a feature-packed line of LCD HDTV displays that come with attached desktop stands, built-in HD tuners, and excellent sound, all matched with phenomenal picture quality. This model replaces the LC-37GD6U.

With its stand attached the Sharp AQUOS LC-37D7U LCD is 28.5 inches tall and looks handsome clad in titanium-color materials. The screen area is cleanly trimmed in black and easy access controls are located on the top of the display. The LCD TV is 36.5 inches wide and 1 foot deep with its base attached. With the base removed the depth shrinks to about 4.5 inches. The speakers, which are neatly housed below the screen, can also be removed. The included speakers are powerful, pumping out 20-watts of quality sound. Numerous options for receiving analog, digital, HD, and cable feeds are included, including a built-in CableCARD slot and ATSC tuner.

Like its little brother in the AQUOS family, the LC-26D7U, the Sharp LC-37D7U delivered excellent picture quality. Accurate picture quality has long been a staple of the AQUOS line. Watching 1080i HDTV fed from our tuner via composite connectors was an exceptional experience, as was watching video content from DVDs.

Spread over the larger 37-inch LCD screen area, the 1366x768 resolution lacked the up-close precision that the LC-26D7U maintained even at only a couple feet. The smaller LCD-27D7U packs just over 3700 pixels into every square inch of display, whereas the LCD-37D7U has slightly less than 1800 pixels per square inch. This simply connotes that you will not want to put this display in a room only 6 feet deep. Viewing this LCD Television anywhere from 8 to upwards of 14 feet was an absolute joy.

I set the Sharp AQUOS LC-37D7U LCD up next to Panasonic’s 42-inch plasma, the TH-42PWD7, and Sony’s 23-inch LCD, the KLV-S23A10. These are two products that aren’t equal comparisons but shoppers buying a large LCD television like the LC-37D7U might be considering it as an alternative to Plasma, or as an upgrade from a smaller LCD TV. The AQUOS held its own against both displays. With the Sharp sitting next to the Panasonic plasma I was partial to the color accuracy on Sharp’s AQUOS. Sharp’s displays are not known for having exaggerated, over enhanced colors and the LC-37D7U was no exception. Thanks to the display’s 800:1 contrast ratio darks were maintained very well, though black levels on LCD TVs will likely never match plasma black levels. In City of Angels, where Nicholas Cage bounces between sunlit rooftops and dark hospital hallways, every scene maintained detail. When reproducing bright or colorful scenes I was partial to the AQUOS over the Sony. Only when sitting closer than 8 feet did the small Sony display’s greater pixel-density begin to improve the viewing experience. Sitting back from the TV, I enjoyed watching sunlight radiate through giant sheets of seaweed in an undersea HDTV documentary. The LC-37D7U LCD TV reproduced bright, colorful, 1080i scenes with incredible clarity. Fast-action scenes in the Borne Supremacy exhibited little motion lag artifacts typically related to LCD response times. Also, with 480i input the TV’s de-interlacer performed excellently. Watching fast-action on the Sharp AQUOS LC-37D7U was a pleasure and less taxing on the eyes than the adjacent Sony LCD TV.

One adjustment that owners definitely will want to make is to turn down the backlight adjustment from its factory default maximum (+8) to prolong the bulb"s life (unless you are in an extremely bright sunlit room). I recommend turning the backlight setting down to 0 for normal viewing conditions. Sharp rates the bulb"s life at 60,000 hours. A thoughtful feature of this display is an OPC feature that, when enabled, automatically adjusts the backlight according to ambient light in the viewing room. This feature is ideal for use in a bedroom or living room where a user might want take advantage of the built-in sleep timer to doze off to a movie, with the backlight turned down, and wake up to the morning news with the LC-37D7U LCD TV"s florescent bulb working full-throttle, shining through a sun-filled room. I experimented with the OPC setting by turning on and off recessed lighting in the viewing room and watching the display automatically adjust between intermediate backlight settings. For a more robust, if-not ridiculous, test of the OPC feature, I darkened the room and then turned a halogen light, aimed straight at the LCD television, on and off and watched the unit bounce between its lowest and highest backlight settings. While the auto-backlight adjust feature worked impressively during this test, what struck me as astounding was that even with a halogen light pointed directly at the LCD, there was minimal glare thanks to the display"s excellent anti-glare technology. Furthermore, this display achieved an impressive 170-degree viewing angle with very little loss in brightness or contrast at the most extreme angles.

The LCD display includes 4 aspect ratio options for scaling and zooming video content, which Sharp places under the "view mode" menu. They include sidebar, stretch, smart-stretch, and zoom. For 4:3 sources smart-stretch works best. The scaling conversion was excellent and we found little distortion in the picture using any of the modes.

The Sharp LC-37D7U LCD flat panel has excellent sound reproduction, well-designed menus, a bevy of inputs, multiple installation options, and an on-screen TV-guide system that can control recording to a VCR or DVD-R device. Its only shortcomings are a frustratingly small menu display font and not having a forward-backward tilt installation option without opting for the tilt wall mount accessory.

Using this LCD television is generally a pleasure. There are easy access buttons on the remote for all of the most important settings and options: view mode (Sharp"s term for aspect ratio control), a picture location adjustment, and Dolby Virtual on/off are among the handy feature that are assigned their own buttons. A few rarely used controls such a picture-freeze and closed-caption control, are underneath a door at the base of the remote. Unfortunately the useful AV-MODE button, which allows the user to switch between different video configuration profiles, skipping the video adjustment menu, is hidden under the remote door as well.

Navigating through on-screen menus is generally straightforward. Sharp uses the same drop down menu system it uses in its cheaper, non-AQUOS line of LCD TVs, but the AQUOS LCD menus feature a cleaner, easier to read screen font, and shadowed overlay on top of the screen. Unfortunately, for a display that can be comfortably viewed at 10 feet, reading the menus becomes a challenge for those without perfect vision (or at least perfect corrected vision) much beyond 7 feet. Otherwise controlling the display is a pleasure.

Across the Sharp D7U line LCD product, Sharp provides powerful 10-watt speakers housed below the screen. It would be nice if Sharp graduated their speakers and amplifiers so that buyers of the 36-inch LC-37D7U could fill more space with sound than buyers of the 26 inch D7U series, but 20-watts total power is sufficient to fill most spaces where the 36-inch LCD TV will be used. I found that raising the treble to between +5 and +8 on its -15 to +15 scale made narration slightly crisper. I also found that for some movies, enabling the Dolby Virtual did a commendable job at creating the illusion of depth. Toggling between Dolby Virtual and stereo to determine your preferred mode is a painless task thanks to a shortcut button on the remote.

For those wanting to connect the television to an external amplifier, there are both RCA stereo monitor outputs and an optical digital audio out connector. The monitor output can be configured to output a fixed-volume signal or adjust with the TV"s volume control. Sharp says the TV"s speakers are removable, though how to remove them wasn"t obvious and was not detailed in the manual. For those who want to use the display solely with external amplifications, disconnecting input leads on the back of the display will disable the internal speakers.

Those users needing to connect this LCD TV to multiple sources have plenty of input options: three composite inputs, one DVI, one HDMI, two component video using RCA jacks, one s-video, and a host of accompanying audio inputs. The three composite coaxial input jacks include a cable/antenna analog jack, a digital cable jack, and a digital antennae jack. For purely digital connections, users can choose from HDMI, the single-cable digital video/audio gaining traction for interconnecting digital components; 24-pin DVI, the display"s only computer connector; or i.LINK. The DVI input, which can be used with VGA-only computer with an after-market adapter cable, is paired with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack audio jack to make connecting to a computer"s audio output easier. The display also includes two I.LINK (also known as FireWire or IEEE1394) connectors for connecting i.LINK equipped hard disk recorders or Blue-ray disc recorders. Sharp"s manual says FireWire or i.LINK equipped DVD-recorders, digital video cameras, and computers cannot be used with the TV—too bad given the popularity of i.LINK camcorders with consumers. Switching between inputs is easy using the input menu, which automatically detects which jacks have devices connected and adjust its options accordingly.

New to this generation of AQUOS is a built-in TV guide system. When you first plug in the TV you are asked for a zip code during the initial configuration, since the programming information is location dependent. The system collects information from broadcasters while the unit is turned off and displays programming information on-screen in an interactive format similar to those used by satellite and cable providers for some years now. In order to use the system though, you"ll need to connect your TV either directly to a cable feed or antenna (the display has a built-in CableCARD slot to make this easier) or connect the LCD television to a satellite or cable box via a composite RCA connector since the TV-guide system can"t collect programming information over component video. Users can program the TV guide system to automatically record a program on their VCR, using an included G-Link cable that controls the VCR and, if attached, a cable or satellite box, via infrared.

The Sharp LCD television manages to maintain an impressive viewing area without wasting space. With the included swivel table stand attached the unit is 28 1/2 inches tall, 12 inches deep, and 32.5 inches wide. With the included table-display the screen is easily adjustable from side to side thanks to a solid handle on the back of the display, but it can"t be adjusted for forward or backward tilt. A wall mount ($120USD street), tilting wall mount ($135USD street), and articulating wall mount are all available as options. For recessed installations users will want to consider that the majority of generated heat vents through the top. This unit consumes up to 195 watts of power, but since the LC-37D7U is a lot bigger than a light bulb, there is plenty of space for the heat to dissipate. Furthermore, like all Sharp AQUOS D7U series displays, cable connections are recessed into the unit under a removable plastic cover. On the smaller LC-26D7U there wasn’t enough space to fit high quality cables under it. Here there is plenty of space to cover the cables, but aligning the cover into its holes is still a chore.

Sharp is one of the only manufacturers with a 37-inch LCD offering on the market today so there is light comparison out there. With a street price upwards of between $3,000 to $3,500, the LC-37D7U is expensive compared to similarly sized plasma HDTV offerings, typically ranging in cost from about $2,500. Still there are many compelling reasons to invest in LCD technology, including no screen-burn when used with computers and a superior technology for brightly lit rooms and anti glare situations – even if black levels suffer slightly. If LCD technology is right for you, top dollar will get you the best, latest, and biggest offering in the high-end AQUOS line with near-flawless picture, excellent sound, a full-set of features, and plenty of future expansion options.

If you"re looking for a big-screen TV of 60 inches or above, then Sharp should be one of the first brands you consider. Last year"s LC-LE640U was a very good combination of picture quality and value, and its replacement offers more of the same. In fact they"re almost identical, and that"s not a bad thing.

The Sharp LE650 boasts better overall picture quality than most competing LCD TVs. Black levels and shadows are dark and detailed, color is accurate, and the image maintains fidelity well in a bright room.

At its current price, the 650U is still a good deal, even if it does exact a bit of a premium over the likes of the Vizio E1i-A3 series, a worse performer that"s still its principal current competition. I expect that competition to stiffen further over the next nine months as more makers enter the 60-inch-plus mainstream, but if last year is any indication, the Sharp 6 series will continue to remain one of the best values.

Series information: I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 60-inch Sharp LC-60LE650, but this review also applies to the other screen size in the series. Both sizes have identical specs, and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.

Apart from a new SmartCentral page, Sharp"s menu system is identical to those of previous years. Navigation is top-loaded and scrolls left to right, and it is fairly easy to find the things you need.

Features The 650 series is Sharp"s entry-level model and does without some of the more involved features like a 3D compatibility, and the four-color 8 series. The TV has an edge-lit display but lacks local dimming, and I wouldn"t be surprised if only the electronics (and not the LCD panel itself) received an upgrade over the LE640. Other features include USB and DLNA media playback and built-in Wi-Fi.

The LE650 sports a new "Wallpaper Mode" that can display preinstalled artwork or photos from a USB drive when the unit is powered down. It"s a nice touch, and the muted backlight level makes the image look less like a TV left turned on and more like room decor. Sharp assures us the power draw is minimal.

Smart TV: If there"s one major change to this TV, it"s better brains. While only select Sharp models from last year got the full Smart TV suite, in 2013 it has now been rolled out to the entire range -- with the exception of the 50-inch 6 series. Every other 2013 Sharp, including this one, can receive access to Hulu Plus, Pandora, and a Web browser in addition to old favorites like Netflix. Check out our

The TV now includes two smart modes too. Hit the Smart Central button and you"ll see the marquee look of before, hit it again and you"ll get a more traditional interface divvied up into categories -- video, music, games etc. Like most Smart TVs the games aren"t much chop, and Sharp hasn"t yet erected a store to buy new ones.

The Sharp 650U features five tweakable picture modes, a gamma slider, a full color management system, and an upgraded 10-point grayscale control. Also included is the ability to tweak the strength of dejudder, aka

Is the LE650"s picture quality a significant improvement on the TV that came before it? No, but that"s perfectly OK since its predecessor was one of the few LCD TVs last year to earn a "7" or higher in this category. The LE650 has better color accuracy, particularly with skin tones, and it can render shadow detail a bit more successfully than the 640, but conversely its 1080i film de-interlacing got worse. The 640"s strengths, including solid black level performance and the ability to handle ambient light well, remain intact, allowing this Sharp to outperform competitors like the Vizio E1i-A3.

Black level: Black levels are very similar between the old and new Sharp, with the LE650 showing an ever-so-slight edge, particularly with high-contrast scenes. The two Sharps were the darkest in our lineup, apart from the Panasonic ST50, and the Vizio and LG were the weakest in terms of having the lightest black levels.

During "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part II," however, something unusual was happening between the two Sharps. The LE640 showed a preference for shadow detail on the right side of the screen (45:55) while the LE650 illuminated the left. In the LE640"s case this turned out to be a matter of the TV creating false details in dark areas -- none of the other TVs in the lineup exhibited the same "unmasking". Shadow detail on the LE650, on the other hand, was very good, with both punchiness and subtlety in equal measure.

Color accuracy: Overall the color balance of the Sharp LE650 was very good, especially in the cooler end of the spectrum. Blues and cyans on the Sharp were closer to the Panasonic ST50 during the images of oceans in "The Tree of Life." Greens and reds showed a tendency for desaturation, but skin tones were quite good.

Uniformity: Uniformity was an issue for the previous year"s television, and it"s no surprise that the issue hasn"t changed on the LE650. While it was acceptable there were some issues in the top-left corner -- both black and color uniformity were off. However, both Sharp TVs performed better than the LG LM7600, which had very poor uniformity with yellow blotches of leaking light. When viewed off-axis the LE650 also performed identically to the LE640 with desaturated colors and blueish blacks.

Bright lighting: The big Sharp is well suited to a bright space. It has a matte screen, and like the LE640 before it, performs well in a lit room with contrast and deep blacks equal to its peers".

However, with rock music and action movies there has been a slight improvement in bass response. Compared to the other TVs in the lineup, the LE650 was nearer the bottom while the Panasonic ST50 came out best with full bass, clear vocals, and plenty of treble. The only TV that was worse than the Sharp was the LG LM7600, which distorted our Nick Cave test track. GEEK BOX: Test Result Score

The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY is Panasonic"s sixth-generation professional plasma display unit. It replaces the 37PWD5UZ, and is, without question, Panasonic"s best 37-inch plasma monitor yet. Not only has Panasonic upped the stated contrast ratio on this unit to 4000:1, it has also doubled the TH-37PWD6UY"s gray scale from 1,024 (the industry standard) to 1,536. The TH-37PWD6UY plasma display also features a newly developed plasma panel structure, which utilizes wall-like ribs around each pixel element to boost total light emission.

The Sharp LC-37G4U 37-inch LCD TV is designed by Toshiyuki Kita, an internationally renowned product designer, and manufactured in Sharp"s brand-new, state-of-the-art LCD glass factory in Kameyama, Japan, which came online in January 2004. This LCD display features Sharp"s new Quick Shoot video circuit, which is said to achieve sub 16ms response times—among the fastest in the industry—and minimize motion lag in fast-moving scenes. The LC-37G4U also utilizes Sharp"s proprietary Advanced View/Black TFT Panel with anti-glare coating for increased brightness levels and viewing angles.

The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY is the professional version of the TH-37PD25UP consumer model plasma television. As such, the TH-37PWD6UY does not come with a tuner or built-in speakers. The TH-37PD25UP does. Aside from some basic aesthetic differences, though, these plasma TV models are identical: They both have 37-inch screens, 856 x 480 resolutions, and identical pictures. The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY (professional model) will be used in Picture evaluations. The TH-37PD25UP (consumer model) will be used for Other Considerations and Value judgments, as the Sharp LC-37G4U includes a tuner and speakers, too.

The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma TV is an excellent example of plasma"s ability to replicate extremely black blacks. One only has to look at the intense blackness of the letterboxing on this Panasonic plasma screen to recognize that much. The black levels on this Panasonic plasma display are stellar, as is its dark material detailing. One of the keys with dark material detailing is achieving a truly variegated gray scale, one that allows for minute distinctions among shades of gray. This Panasonic plasma display achieves just the right mix of truly deep blacks and subtle gradations of black (which are technically gradations of gray, only they don"t look that way on the screen). The TH-37PWD6UY plasma monitor employs fully 1,536 levels of gray, and this translates into extra-sharp, extra-detailed shadow detail, which is especially noticeable in a darker film like Veronica Guerin, one of the films we screened for this review.

Head to head, the plasma display fared better in the viewing angle department than did LCD monitor. One can just about watch good plasma display units sideways! The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma screen TV had astoundingly obtuse viewing angles, which I would estimate at 170°, maybe more.

As for the coloration on the 37G4U LCD monitor, we were generally pleased with it, despite the fact that the display"s white balance leans toward pink, lending warmth to flesh tones. Such tendencies bother some people. Fortunately, this Sharp LCD TV"s TINT function can be adjusted. With the TINT bumped up to 4 (on a scale from -30 [red] to 30 [green]) and the COLOR set at -2, the Sharp 37G4U was very acceptable in color performance.

The black levels on Sharp"s 37G4U LCD TV were surprisingly good for an LCD display, particularly one of this size. At 37 inches, this Sharp LCD display is fairly sizeable, certainly large enough to be the principal display in a home theater environment. The problem is, the larger LCDs get, the lighter their overall brightness levels and contrast ratios get. And so it is with the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV: Its brightness levels simply could not match up to those of a well-made plasma unit, though, in general, the Sharp"s black levels were above-average for an LCD. In fact, one might not notice any particular deficiency in the blacks unless you were watching the very same material side-by-side on a plasma display (which we were).

Sharp does a couple smart things to enhance the black levels on its 37G4U display. First, they include a first-rate anti-glare/darkness-enhancing coating on the LCD screen to counter excessive light emissions, which tend to dull blacks on the screen. Second, Sharp enables the user to adjust the intensity of the backlight powering his or her unit. Since LCD technology operates by blocking, rather than reflecting or emitting, light, the ability to manipulate the amount of light that has to be blocked in order to generate deep, rich blacks greatly enhances the prospects of obtaining decent-if-not-good black levels from this unit. We found that backing off the BACKLIGHT setting on the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV helped it to generate deeper blacks.

The Sharp 37G4U LCD TV, on the other hand, dimmed considerably when you got about 60° or 65° off its central viewing axis. While it is possible to see the picture on Sharp"s LCD monitor from the side, we found that, realistically, the LCD screen had a viewing angle of around 125° to 130°.

Given the Panasonic plasma"s performance in the scaling/processing department, we had our concerns about the Sharp when it came to displaying a non-native resolution like 480p at its native resolution of 720p. But all these misgivings were allayed as soon as we popped Veronica Guerin in our Sony DVD player. The opening scene, where the camera floats over Dublin"s port as a shipment of heroin comes in from sea, literally shone with detailing. This was also evident in the characters" faces throughout the movie. This suggests that the Sharp 37G4U has excellent scaling technology, because its 720p signal looked as good as Panasonic"s 480p signal.

As with the Panasonic plasma display, the Sharp LCD display did not show much in the way of false contouring, pixelation, or ghosting. We were especially pleased with the Sharp LCD TV"s handling our Ultimate DVD test disc and its torturous Rodeo Clown sequence. Even with the unpredictable bucks and head thrusts of a raging bull, the Sharp kept its cool, depicting no ghosting or pixelation that we could detect.

The only thing we noticed with respect to the Sharp"s handling of action scenes was an ever-so-slight fuzziness that appeared as the scenes changed repeatedly. This will hardly be distracting to the average viewer, though real video sticklers will notice this—and probably complain about it.

We were pleased with the 37G4U"s handling of 720p HD signals, which it readily upconverted to its native resolution of 768p. HDTV signals on the Sharp LCD TV looked stunning, deep and full of detail!

Even with a 1080i video signal, which had to be de-interlaced and re-scaled, the Sharp did not miss a beat. Likewise with its handling of computer signals via its DVI-I input: The 37G4U displayed XGA (1024 x 768) data signals with extraordinary clarity and sharpness. Both graphics- and data-intensive applications looked good on the screen, though the Sharp LCD"s real strength is its ability to display letters and numbers with perfect geometry and precision for long periods of time with no burn-in.

Picture-wise, these are both good performers. The Panasonic TH-37PWD6UY plasma display edged out the Sharp LCD display in three of the four major categories-color fidelity, brightness, and viewing angles-though not by much. To our eyes, Sharp"s LCD TV tied Panasonic"s plasma TV in the signal processing/scaling department. The Sharp LCD monitor had the edge with data signals. LCD technology has clearly come a long way in a relatively short amount of time, all the way to becoming a genuine rival to plasma technology, at least in the under-40-inch category.

Both the Panasonic plasma TV and the Sharp LCD TV ran quietly—almost silently—throughout our tests. We were hard-pressed to hear it from even a foot away, let alone from the six to eight feet of viewing distance recommended for 37-inch displays like these. Even Sharp"s set-top box ran whisper-quiet.

As for the dimensional component of the Plasma vs. LCD showdown, we"ll have to call it a toss-up as well. Both the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma TV and the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV have depths of 3.9 inches with their speakers attached. Both had more than adequate audio systems of 16W and 20 W, respectively. Neither display is going to win any home-theater audio awards, but neither one is going to disappoint the casual viewer, provided he or she has realistic expectations for what a built-in, mock-surround-sound audio system can do.

But its picture will fade over time. The half-life on this well-made plasma TV is 30,000 hours, after which time the screen will be half as bright as it was out of the box. The decline in screen brightness will probably be imperceptible, since it occurs quite slowly over time. Burn-in, on the other hand, will be quite noticeable, if one fails to take some common-sense precautions against it. Although most of the big-name manufacturers have taken great steps to ward off burn-in in their plasma TVs, the possibility of burn-in occurring on a plasma screen persists. Which makes this plasma a less-than-stellar candidate as a working computer monitor. Reasonable care is more than enough to prevent burn-in in the first place, but there is nothing like immunity—especially if one intends to have his or her flat panel TV double as a computer monitor.

So, while the Panasonic plasma is a more-than-adequate television, it is probably a bit less versatile than the Sharp LCD is, which is one reason why the Sharp gets the nod here.

The Sharp 37G4U LCD TV matches up nicely with the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma TV, input-wise. The Sharp has all rear-facing inputs, in similar quantities as the Panasonic: 2 component video inputs, 3 composite video inputs, a DVI input, an HDMI interface, 3 RCA-type audio inputs, and a PC audio input. The only difference between these two units is that the Panasonic plasma display has 3 S-video inputs, whereas the Sharp LCD monitor only has only one. (There is a corresponding disparity in audio inputs, two less on the Sharp LCD TV since it has two fewer S-video inputs.) All things considered, these flat panel displays tie one another in the connectivity department.

Where the Sharp LCD really outpaces the plasma, though, is in the screen integrity/longevity department. The single greatest distinction between plasma and LCD displays—besides picture quality and coloration—has to do with the imperviousness of LCD screens to burn-in and the renewability of their picture elements. The florescent bulb that powers the Sharp"s picture should realistically last about as long as the plasma TV"s half-life, 30,000 hours. The bulb may not burn out for a few thousand more hours, but its white balance will probably have changed enough and the bulb itself will probably have dimmed dramatically enough to merit replacement. Whereas one would have to replace an entire plasma TV in such instances, one only has to replace the bulb in the Sharp LCD. The Sharp LCD TV can be returned to "like-new" performance levels with a simple bulb change out, which Sharp"s Service Center assured us can be done by the user him- or herself. Thus, the Sharp Aquos line has a big advantage over Panasonic"s plasma line when it comes to performance over time.

A well-made plasma may have a slight edge, picture-wise, over a similarly well-made LCD display, but users can count on their LCD TVs to continue to perform, given a minimal investment (around $270 for a new lamp), indefinitely.

Between the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP plasma display and the Sharp 37G4U LCD display, the real value has to be the Panasonic unit. The prices of both these flat-panel TVs reflect the cost of tuners and speakers as included with the units. In this scenario, we had to give the Panasonic plasma the nod: For a street price of around $2600 for the Panasonic plasma TV, one saves about $1400 over the comparably equipped LCD TV (which has a street price around $4000). Simply put, the Panasonic TH-37PD25UP is an excellent value. The disparity in price has very little to do with the quality of the additional features, the tuner and speakers, when you consider the fact that the Panasonic plasma comes with a 16W sound system (versus a 20W sound system on the Sharp LCD, which, to our ears, sounded no better or worse than the 16W system on the Panasonic), and an integrated NTSC/ATSC tuner (versus a set-top box containing only an NTSC tuner with the Sharp). One simply gets more for his or her money, picture-wise, with plasma display technology, mostly because LCD glass screens still cost more to produce—especially in larger sizes—than plasma screens do.

Although the Sharp 37G4U LCD television is a good unit, its price seems a bit high for a 37-inch widescreen display, high definition or not. This really goes to show how expensive LCD screens can get when they approach HD-quality pixel counts, as this one does.

In a head-to-head competition, Panasonic"s TH-37PWD6UY and TH-37PD25UP plasma TVs bested their flat-panel display cousin, the Sharp 37G4U LCD TV. Plasma technology"s margin of victory has shrunk over time, except where price/value is concerned.

Sharp was the first to manufacture and sell Japan-made TV sets back in the 1950s. Sharp has broken the record for the largest ever LCD TV time and time again and Sharp was the first ever company to create a commercially available 8K TV.

Its sets may not be the go-to TVs that they once were back in the day, but they"re out there and available for sale in both the UK (Currys(opens in new tab)) and US (Best Buy(opens in new tab)) and at prices tempting enough to turn your eyes from big (and pricier) TV brands like Samsung, LG and Sony. If it’s panel inches per pound/dollar that you’re after, then look no further.

Sharp TVs are 4K, HDR-supporting and fitted with the very popular Roku TV platform in the US. But of course, buying a TV is about much more than just specs. So, should you buy a Sharp TV or shouldn’t you?

It"s worth noting that if you"re buying a Sharp TV in the US right now... you might not actually be buying a Sharp TV at all. The Sharp Corporation of Japan sold its rights to make and sell TVs under its name in the Americas (apart from Brazil) to Chinese TV company Hisense back in 2015 when Sharp was in considerable financial difficulty. So, for now and for the last few years, if you’ve bought a Sharp TV in the US, you’ve really bought a rebadged Hisense.

In May 2019, though, under new Taiwanese parent company Foxconn, Sharp had financially turned itself around enough to buy back those rights from Hisense and Sharp-made Sharp TVs are expected to be back on sale in the US since the end of 2019.

Sharp LC-50LBU711U 50in 4K TV$330$300 at Best Buy(opens in new tab)A 50in 4K HDR TV with built-in Roku giving owners built-in access to the likes of Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Prime Video. A scorching deal – perhaps Best Buy"s best!

Sharp LC-55LBU591U 55in 4K Roku TV$340$380 at Best Buy(opens in new tab)A 55in 4K HDR TV with built-in Roku giving owners built-in access to the likes of Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Prime Video.

Freeview Play, 3 x HDMIs, HDR support and, most importantly, 50 inches of screen real estate for just £269 - this Sharp TV is hard to ignore. It"s not one we"ve tested but worth a look on price alone.

It’s important to preface this by saying that we’ve not reviewed many Sharp TVs at What Hi-Fi? over recent years and all the advice we have to offer is based purely on specs, design, on-paper features and our vast experience in the TV sector.

Looking at the Sharp TV website, there are certainly some very interesting Sharp Q-series sets out there. The Q8000U, Q7500U, Q7000U and Q600U TVs are 4K sets, with HDR10 and (depending on the range) Dolby Vision support, all with smart TV platforms of one type or another and built-in Google Assistant voice control. Note that these are still 2018 models and are only sparingly available in the shops.

Instead, the main focus for the US market are the more mid-range Sharp Roku TVs which come in sizes between 24in and 58in, priced between $99 and $550 and stocked mostly by Best Buy(opens in new tab), Walmart(opens in new tab) and Amazon(opens in new tab).

TCL, Hisense and Sharp are the major brands selling Roku TVs and, of course, for the time being, Sharp’s Roku TVs are made by Hisense anyway. For more information on Roku TV, head to our dedicated deals page.

The Sharp LBU591U(opens in new tab) Roku TVs are exclusive to Best Buy in the States. Available now for $340 (55in)(opens in new tab), it offers many more screen inches when compared pound for pound with the more recognised brands like Samsung and Sony. It has wi-fi, three HDMI sockets, a USB input and support HDR too. You can cast your mobile screen onto their displays, and while they’re not voice activated themselves, you can send them commands via an external Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa device.

If you’re in the market for a 55in Roku TV, you may come across the Sharp LC-55LBU711U(opens in new tab) at Best Buy as well. It’s currently priced at $350, a touch more expensive than the 55in Sharp LBU591U above, but offers no competitive advantage on paper.Today"s best Sharp LC-55LBU711U deals

The Sharp LB601U(opens in new tab) Roku TV, again, mainly available at Best Buy, is a step down in resolution to a Full HD 1080p display. The specs are otherwise similar to the 4K models above. They still have wi-fi built in, they work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and feature three HDMI sockets and a USB input.

These Full HD TV aren"t such a terrible deal at this price, though, but watch out, though, because even though the 24in and 32in Sharp LB601U TVs seem like a steal at $100 and $120 these two smaller sets only have HD Ready 720p resolution.Today"s best Sharp LB601U Roku TV deals

The Sharp Q7300U series of 4K TVs is the one member of the company"s Q-series that does come with the Roku TV platform built-in (the Sharp Q7000U and Q7500 series do not). The bonus here is that they’re HDR-compatible and come with a beefier twin 10W speaker set-up.

They come in the form of the 58in Sharp LC-58Q7330U(opens in new tab), as stocked by Walmart. It features Sharp’s Motion Rate 120 motion-processing technology, claims a superior processor for better HD upscaling and a noise reduction filter to help with that upscaled content.

The easiest to find and pretty much the best of them in terms of Sharp TVs in the UK right now, the Sharp BJ4 Series are 4K sets which come in a choice of 50in (£269(opens in new tab)) and 55in (£319(opens in new tab)) sizes, offering plenty of value on paper. They support HDR10, come fitted with plenty of ports, Miracast for screen mirroring and the Freeview Play tuner and catch-up services combo. Plus there are apps from the usuals like Netflix, YouTube, Deezer and Amazon Prime Video.

They"re direct-lit LED models, which may provide a decent level of consistency across the panel, and Harman Kardon has been called in to tune the TVs" 2 x 10W speaker system. There are certainly no glaring omissions on the feature and specs lists and these seem like reasonable bets although you might wish to take a look at our best TVs under £1000 selection for something tried and tested.

It"s not easy to find a small TV these days but these two HD Ready Sharp TVs certainly provide an option. The £199 Sharp 1T-C24BE0KR1FB(opens in new tab) is a 720p set that comes with the bonus of a built-in DVD player and that turns it into something very competitively priced. It also still comes with Freeview Play and both catch-up and streaming services.

Sharp 1T-C24BE0KR1FB 24in HD Ready LED TV/DVD Player £199(opens in new tab)Small and seriously compact, this TV/DVD player combo still has all the mod-cons of more mid-range sets with streaming apps, wi-fi and screen-sharing options.

The other small size option at Currys is the 32in Sharp 1T-C32BC2KE1FB. It"s another 720p set but with no DVD player built-in this time. It does get the Harman Kardon-tuned 20W speaker system and there"s still all the apps and services included. There aren"t too many options at this size. All the same, it feels like there"s better value to be had elsewhere.

There are two TVs available at Costco and the big draw on paper is most definitely the 70in Sharp LC-70UI9362K. However, as appealing as all that screen seems for that price, this is one of the few Sharp TVs we"ve had in for review in recent times and we weren"t particularly impressed. Try something like the Samsung UE75RU7020(opens in new tab), currently on sale at Richer Sounds, instead.

Sharp LC-24DHG6131 24in HD Ready LED TV/DVD player £150(opens in new tab)Only available to Costco UK members, it"s as cheap as you"ll find for an LED TV with a DVD built-in. It"s decked out with Freeview Play and a healthy sounding smart platform with enough space for a couple of HDMI ports.

Costco UK"s other Sharp TV looks a little more promising. At the other end of the size scale, the Sharp LC-24DHG6131 TV/DVD player combo appears a good match for the set above at Currys but at a more favourable price.

Without testing many of Sharp"s older or newer models, it"s tricky to categorically recommend a Sharp TV. At the time of writing there has been no refresh of the brand’s TV range.

But with technology, it’s all too easy to focus on the latest and greatest. When looking at a budget TV, it’s important to bear in mind what you do get rather than what you don’t. By and large, the current crop of Sharp TVs appear decent value if you pick the right one. The Roku TV access is a welcome feature and you get a lot of screen estate for your money. There are caveats, however.

Also, while the Roku TVs are good, if you"re not fussed about this feature, you might want to entertain a Sharp TV that doesn"t have it. There are some decent value options in the UK with the TV/DVD player combos and at the 50/55in sizes. All the same, if you can buy from a store which offers a comprehensive returns policy, then so much the better.

Looking for a smart, interactive display for your office or classroom? Meet the all-in-one Sharp PN-C751H AQUOS BOARD Interactive Display System that makes all your visual communications more lively and productive. It is available in 75" Class (74 1/2" diagonal), respectively - this display opens up an affordable path to pristine 4K Ultra HD resolution. A pre-installed launcher makes it quick and easy to start up and use the interactive whiteboard. Your lecture, presentation, or lesson can now be more creative and involving.

Switch to the whiteboard function to use the LCD monitor as a temporary writing board—no PC required. Even for first-time users, this simple write-and-erase function is a breeze to operate.

Two speakers are mounted low on the front of the LCD monitor. These speakers project sound more directly than rear-mounted speakers, giving you clearer sound for your lessons and meetings.

The LCD panel recognizes up to 20 touchpoints. Up to four people at a time - even young students - can use a finger or touch pen to add their input when inspiration strikes. Meetings, lessons and brainstorming sessions will come alive.

This LCD monitor has built-in wireless functionality. Simply touch the screen and your smartphone, tablet, or computers will immediately download an app that lets it send images wirelessly to the monitor. No need for tangled wires or conversion adapters.

The easy-to-launch SHARP Pen Software interface has a menu with smartly arranged icons. These give you easy access to pen settings and other useful functions. Further handy functions include access to cloud storage, an e-mail address book, sticky notes and bookmarks.

The Sharp LC-60LE633U has fast refresh rate 240 Hz. It means that the image on the screen is flashed 240 times per second. The more pictures per second are displayed - the more natural the video will appear on your television.

List of all TVs like Sharp LC-60LE633U. Compare tech specs to its rivals side by side to find out what TV has better picture quality. Select the best TV for now with SpecsPRO easily!

All the most popular Sharp LC-60LE633U video reviews and tests from Youtube are waiting for you on this page. Watching videos is the easiest and quickest way to get a comprehensive view of the TV"s specs and picture quality. They will help you to understand whether it is really the best TV for you.

Do you want to buy new TV? Then you should get true info about the specs and the picture quality from useful Sharp LC-60LE633U reviews by users and tests by CNET, PCMag, TechRadar and other experts. They describe in detail the pros and cons of this TV. And if you are already the owner of Sharp LC-60LE633U rate it and leave your review to help other сustomers!

The peak brightness is bad for the Sharp TV. At around 200cd/m² it is very low and will not be sufficient to fight glare if your TV is situated in a bright room with a lot of lights of big sunny windows.

The gray uniformity is below average for this Sharp TV. There are large bands on the top and bottom part of the screen which are darker, and the center of the screen is a bit brighter. Also the center of the screen is warmer than both sides. Luckily, dirty screen effect is not too obvious since the bands are pretty large and also horizontal, making them a bit less visible when there is some panning shot in content like sport.

The Sharp N7000U has a very bad viewing angle. In fact, the viewing angle is so bad that even when sitting straight in front of the TV, you can notice both sides of the TV already start losing color and contrast, this can also be noticed on our black uniformity picture. When viewed from the side, the image loses a lot of color saturation and contrast, leaving you with a washed out image.

The black uniformity is very bad for this Sharp TV. It is even worse than most of the IPS TVs that we reviewed this year. This can be linked to the poor viewing angle of this TV, making both sides of the TV lose contrast even when viewed from straight on. This can explain why on our test picture, you see both sides looking less dark than the rest of the screen. Besides that, some clouding can be seen, but nothing that could cause problems when watching normal content. This is probably worse than the Hisense H8C due to the edge-lit backlight in the Sharp.

The Sharp N7000U can display our test gradient image without any real problems and has only a few issues with up to 10 bit color depth. Some little banding imperfections can be seen in the dark blue, dark green and also in the dark part of the grayscale, but we did not notice any banding problems while watching normal content.

Backlight uses PWM to flicker at 160Hz, which causes some strange artifacts to follow fast movement. This is because the backlight flicker isn"t a multiple of the panel"s refresh rate. The response time is quite good though, and results in very little motion blur following moving objects which is great.

Although the Sharp N7000U is advertised to support HDR10, we were unable to get it to work. It was unable to play any BluRays from our Samsung K8500, and the Xbox One S didn"t detect HDR support. We also tried to send HDR infoframes through the HDFury Integral and were unable to get the TV to process it as a HDR signal.

The basic remote included with the TV is almost exactly the same as the one included with the Hisense H8C. It features the Sharp logo instead of the Hisense one, and has almost the same model number.

When Pioneer announced it was dropping out of the HDTV business in 2009 (its remaining sets were available on a limited basis until early 2010), the video world shuddered. While there were sets at the time that could at least match Pioneer’s Elite-branded Kuro models with respect to color, resolution, and video processing, most independent observers—and most A/V reviewers—agreed that no other sets could equal the Pioneers’ black level. But in an era of dropping flat-panel prices, Pioneer couldn’t hope to match the competition’s stickers while retaining the quality it was known for, and they succumbed to market forces.

Enter Sharp, a company with LCDs in its genes. No, Sharp has not suddenly decided to get into the plasma business. Instead, it acquired the rights to use the Elite name (but not the Kuro designation) in a new line of high-end LCD sets. These would not be badged as either Sharps or Pioneers, but rather marketed simply as Elites.

But there was more to Pioneer’s involvement here than the simple use of the Elite name, the model numbers (strikingly reminiscent of the Kuros’), and the similar design of the sets’ aesthetics, remotes, and user manuals. According to Sharp, Pioneer provided key input on picture quality and “picture DNA,” although it was not involved in the design beyond providing remote codes for compatibility with Pioneer Elite A/V gear.

The new Elite LCDs also share the old Elite Kuros’ high prices. In fact, given today’s generally lower flat-panel prices vis-à-vis the competition when the Kuros were in production, the new Elites’ prices look even higher. There are currently two Elite models. The 60-incher, our PRO-60X5FD review unit, will set you back $6,000 (MSRP). The larger 70-inch PRO-70X5FD is $8,500. But it’s worth pointing out at this stage of the review that while you don’t always get what you pay for in this world, you often do.

Make no mistake: The Elites are not simply Sharp HDTVs with Elite badges and prices. The Elite LCD panels are produced in Sharp’s advanced Generation 10 plant in Sakai, Japan, and employ a new liquid crystal technology (versus Sharp-branded panels) that is said to make the crystals “smaller, softer, thinner, and faster.” Beyond starting with this new LCD panel, Sharp says its engineers weren’t limited to hitting any particular price point—clear enough from those premium stickers.

The sets offer all the features you expect in a modern HDTV, plus a few you don’t. They’re 3D ready and THX certified. You can access the Web either via Wi-Fi or a direct Ethernet link to your home network; Web services include Vudu, Netflix, and YouTube, among others. Sharp provides full calibration features, including both two- and 10-point white balance controls and full color management. Full LED- backlit local dimming helps produce the inky blacks we all crave. Sharp hasn’t released and won’t confirm the number of dimming zones they’re using, but sources have told us it’s 240 zones in our 60-inch model and 336 zones in the 70-inch.

The Elite sets also offer Sharp’s Advantage Live program. If a problem arises, you can establish a direct Internet connection between your set and Sharp’s technicians for a diagnosis or remote adjustments.

In most 1080p HDTVs, each of the 1920 by 1080 pixels that make up the image (about 2 million total) include active red, green, and blue elements—or subpixels. But Elite’s RGB+Y technology adds a separate yellow subpixel to the mix. (Sharp uses similar technology in its Quattron sets, but there it’s called Quad Pixel.) Yellow isn’t a native component in our video source materials; they contain only red, green, and blue, from which all of the other colors, including yellow, are normally derived. But in the Elite, the yellow pixels are driven with a signal that electronically derives within the set from the red, green, and blue primaries. With separately driven yellow pixels, Sharp can exercise more control over this color, which is a major component in fleshtones, various metals (particularly brass and gold), light-colored hair, and, of course, yellow objects. The approach is unique to Sharp at the moment and is promoted as an advance, but whether the visible result is really a more accurate reproduction of the source is another matter.

This time the victim is Sharp, which plans to sell its manufacturing plant in Mexico and license its brand name to Hisense for the Americas, Reuters reports. The news follows an especially rough quarter for Sharp, in which it posted an operating loss of nearly $232 million.

“Sharp has not been able to fully adapt to the intensifying market competition, which led to significantly lower profits compared to the initial projections for the previous fiscal year, and has been suffering from poor earnings performance,” the company said in a statement.

Sharp is also considering a wider overhaul of its consumer electronics and LCD panel divisions as it tries to turn its fortunes around. While the company is best known for its Aquos televisions, it also sells home speaker systems, and has dabbled in U.S. smartphone sales with the bezel-free Aquos Crystal handset. Its IGZO display tech has also appeared in phones and tablets from other companies.

Sharp isn’t the only Japanese electronics maker to bail on the TV market. In January, Toshiba announced that it would stop making TVs in North America and license the brand to Taiwan-based Compal Electronics. Panasonic also abandoned the U.S. market last October, handing its Sanyo TV unit to Japan-based Funai Electric.

The impact on you at home: The average shopper probably won’t notice much of a change. Both Sharp and HiSense use Roku software for their smart TVs in the United States, though Sharp has also used Android TV, and it’s unclear whether HiSense will continue to do so. As for hardware, TV makers’ inability to distinguish themselves is one reason once-proud brands like Sharp are struggling in the first place. Sharp’s exit is just the latest sign of how hard it’s become for TV makers to succeed as prices fall, and new technology like 3D and 4K fail to spur sales growth.

MAHWAH, NJ (September 27, 2011) -- Continuing to build on its leadership in large screen LCD TVs, Sharp today introduced the largest LED LCD TV to date, the 80-inch AQUOS (80-inch diagonal) LC-80LE632U. This new TV is a full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) Smart TV, equipped with built-in Wi-Fi and access to apps like Netflix®, CinemaNow® and VUDU™ as well as Sharp"s exclusive AQUOS Advantage Live℠ online support.

"Our 80-inch AQUOS TV delivers more than double the screen area of a 55-inch TV, for an amazing viewing experience," said John Herrington, president, Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America. "It"s truly like nothing else on the market. Consumers want bigger flat panel TVs for deeper, more immersive viewing experiences and that"s exactly what Sharp"s delivering here," Herrington continued.

The AQUOS 80-inch LED LCDTV offers stunning picture quality and sleek design. The full array LED backlighting system ensures uniformity in both color and brightness from edge to edge and corner to corner while also enabling an incredible dynamic contrast ratio of 6,000,000:1. Additionally, the LC-80LE632U employs 120Hz Fine Motion Enhanced which virtually eliminates blur and motion artifacts in fast-moving video. At an incredible depth of less than four inches, the new AQUOS 80" is a stylish replacement for similar screen size rear-projection TVs, with depth of almost two feet.

With AQUOS Advantage LIVE℠, Sharp AQUOS Advantage Advisors can remotely connect to the TV through the Internet to assist with TV setup, troubleshoot and optimize the picture quality.

The LC-80LE632U is the latest expression of Sharp"s goal of providing a large screen TV to fit virtually any need or budget. It is the centerpiece to Sharp"s large-screen push of 2011, following the release of five Sharp AQUOS 70-inch class TVs, and 10 AQUOS 60-inch class TVs.

Full HD 1080p X-Gen LCD Panel – with 10-bit processing is designed with advanced pixel control to minimize light leakage and wider aperture to let more light through;

For more information on AQUOS TVs and Sharp"s full line of consumer products, contact Sharp Electronics Corporation, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, NJ, 07495-1163, or call 800-BE-SHARP.

Create pixel-perfect imagery with the high-end panel quality with the new fully professional NEC M Series large format displays. By focusing on customer needs while also offering professional quality, the M series displays give customers a high-end and reliable digital signage display lineup without all the costs. The M series can support both landscape and portrait orientations while also allowing the modularitypossibilities to customize their needs dependent on their application and use. The new series contain a full metal mechanical chassis, allowing for a more robust design necessary for commercial applications while maintaining the attractive aesthetics that allow the focus of onlookers to be on what matters – the message. Simple and targeted connectivity options allow customers to have the up-to-date options that they need while not having to overpay for excess and unused interfaces. The NEC M series boasts 500 cd/m² brightness which is ideal for a majority of digital signage applications in corporate, higher education, restaurant, retail and grocery store environments when the focus should be on the message, not the budget.

Industrial-strength, premium-grade panel with additional thermal protection, internal temperature sensors with self-diagnostics and fan-based technology, allow for 24/7 operation

For example, RCA, an iconic TV brand, now appears on sets produced by Curtis International, a Canadian company. Sharp TVs? For the past several years they’ve been manufactured by the Chinese TV brand Hisense, but the brand recently changed hands again (see below).

Consumer Reports has seen a wide range of quality in televisions carrying licensed brands. For instance, some Hisense-made Sharp sets have done well in our TV ratings—its higher-end sets even rival some of the top models from the dominant brands—while others didn’t do as well. Meanwhile, several RCA- and Westinghouse-branded sets are near the bottom of the list.

SharpNo company did more to develop and commercialize LCD TV technology than Japan’s Sharp Corp. But in 2015 it yielded to market pressures here in the U.S. and licensed its brand to Chinese TV manufacturer Hisense, which also purchased Sharp’s TV plant in Mexico. Subsequently, a majority share of Sharp was bought by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, which reclaimed the rights to the Sharp brand from Hisense in 2019. The company recently announced a return to the U.S. TV market in 2022.