sharp lcd panel reviews brands

I work in games and entertainment, and so I own and have owned several TVs, projectors, computers, VR headsets, etc. The Sharp Aquos tv is by far the worst television I"ve ever owned. Ever since I"ve owned the tv there has been very distracting brightness adjustments within any Amazon show I try to watch (that I cannot turn off even after turning off every "smart" gamma feature in the tv, and rebooting factory defaults). Then Amazon just stopped working altogether one day, and because it comes installed in the tv you don"t have the option to remove or reinstall it.

Furthermore, the experience with the customer care reps at Sharp and at Hisense, the manufacturer who would be in charge of any fixes has been like pulling teeth. I have had to relay the same information to multiple people via email and phone because they don"t keep track of their cases very well. Based on the service I"ve received thus far I have little to no hope of them fixing or replacing the tv, so I"ll probably end up just eating the cost and buying a new tv all together (a TCL, which womps Sharp in my experience). I will never again even consider a Sharp product, or a Google TV.Read full review

That"s my Yoda-esque way of saying the TV lacks picture depth perception. LED-LCD screens often do have this problem, though it can be more pronounced on some than others. That"s the case with the Sharp LC-80LE844U. I would say this is one of the flattest screens we"ve seen in a couple of years. A good plasma TV for instance will look substantially better in this area when comparing side to side.

These large Sharp LED-LCDs have very bright whites so they eye-catching in the store. Plasma TVs by contrast look dim as the peak white do not compete. But take the TVs home and put them in a dark room with a colorful movie and you will see a much stronger picture performance on the good plasma screens or the better LED-LCDs that have overcome many of the negative picture symptoms of LCDs. But then if you need that super brightness and high whites for a brightly lit room, especially on football Saturdays and Sundays, then the Sharp LC80LE844U will look very good. In fact, this or a better version of this is the type of TV you are looking for. The lack of picture depth could be overcome in that situation with the Film Mode"s smooth motion 240Hz de-judder action.

After watching a bit of the Blu-Ray of The Fifth Element we immediately noticed the depletion of natural background blur. We"ve seen this before in other brands and it"s always distracting when done to excess. In the Sharp, it"s done to excess in 2012. It"s actually a de-judder mode in that it removes that jerky motion you see when watching movies during motion scenes – thus Sharp"s naming it the Film Mode. The tradeoff is not a good one in our opinion. Turn it off for all film based content. Otherwise, you get a “soap opera” effect during films as background blur is eliminated. When you turn it off, you will likely notice some judder effects for a slight time until you get used to it. Ironically, you may want to leave the feature on for live action sports or other live fast motion programs. It will delivery a smoothing quality.

Standard – Sharp Standard setting is pretty good though colors are oversaturated and the setting comes with the Film Mode set to Advanced. So you will want to immediately turn that off when watching movies, film or the like. It"s fine for live sports if you want the color to be juiced a bit.

User – As mentioned above we did not calibrate from this mode due to it only allowing 2 pt. White balance adjustment. There is lots of light flow-through to the picture. Setting the Color Temp under the User Mode setting to Mid-Low produces a nice picture with lots of light. I like this mode a lot. Also take the Sharpness down to -10 and make sure the Film Mode is turned Off. I like this mode because it adds depth to the picture through use of the LED lighting.

First off, the active 3D glasses we purchased were the Sharp AN-3DG20-B. They are expensive (around $50 per pair – not 2 pair!). They are also uncomfortable, heavy and slip off the nose easily. As a last note, users must use the Sharp active 3D glasses or glasses made specifically for the Sharp active 3D viewing. Sharp has no compact yet with interchangeable glasses with Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. Therefore, Sharp TVs will not sync with the universal glasses or those from other manufacturers.

Color rendition looks good, but just a touch on the unnatural side and with a green push from our fully calibrated Movie setting after 10 point white balance adjustment (see Picture settings on next page). Again, plasma TVs are much better in this area. The LE844U is a Quattron model which means it contains that extra yellow pixel and Sharp"s best picture quality.

Off center viewing quality is severely compromised in the large Sharp LED TVs. Since the TVs are large there is some leaveway with this issue since there is more physical movement needed to get off center of the TV. From 15 to 20 degrees and on the saturation of colors starts fading and it gets worse the more off center one gets. Of course, on an 80 inch TV it"s much more difficult to get off center. But still, this is an issue worth considering especially if the room it"s going in has wide viewing possibilities.

So the Vudu Apps that are available for free are the other Apps available through Sharps Smart Central TV, they have not bothered to created their own and I"m not sure that I blame them or that is wasnt a smart move to enlist the Vudu Apps and let them do the work.

The LC-80LE844U looks different than all other Sharp 2012 offerings with a larger black bezel. It"s not too much larger, but it shows due to the super thin framing bezels we are seeing these days. The reason for the 1 inch wide frame and more than 2 inch deep panel is the full array LED backlighting which gives the panel much more control over individual areas of the screen than edge lit LED backlighting. It"s a large upgrade feature but helps tremendously with accuracy of color processing on a screen this large. While there are full array LED lighting they are not of the higher end local dimming variety.

Sharp makes certain to have a large ad for the products listed there. After painfully typing in your search term through the diminutive browser keyboard, click “Done” and then the word you"ve labored to type in appears in the search bar top right. But your still not done, you must then scroll right to the magnifying glass and again press enter to conduct your search. Then an annoying pop up screen appears “Foresee” asking you to give customer feedback (I"m giving mine here). A few clicks get rid of it. But wait, you"re still not done, now you are on a Sharp search page where that your search term has been transferred. You must again click the search button. It took 5 clicks total to get there. Disappointingly, we got 0 results for the term “lcdtvbuyingguide.” Ups. But wait, this is Sharp"s proprietary search engine – let"s try “Google.” 18 results came up, all PDFs related to Sharp. All with Sharp titles. I"m starting to feel deceived. The first PDF would not open as the MIME type not supported. But wait, isnt this Sharp"s search engine. They cant even open their own results? OK, you"ve guessed it by now – the built in web browser is utterly useless and worthless.

Sharp"s Aquos Advantage Live is an attempt by Sharp to give some customer service to anyone purchasing a Sharp TV with this feature. Advisors can help with your picture settings, Internet connections, or other issues. It appears that with most of Sharp"s higher end TVs the enrollment is free, but it is mandatory that you enroll in the service – there is no question about that. Sharp also says there is membership to the exclusive membership web site and an additional 3 month warranty extension on your product.

Well, there is hardly anything to currently compete with this 80 inch TV in size. At $5500 or so it"s not an inexpensive option and does not seem to offer the fantastic value proposition that some of the other Sharp sizes like 70” and 60" have. There is a Samsung UN75ES9000 75-inch model due to hit the market soon. It will sell for just less than $10,000 if initial reports are true so I guess that makes this Sharp a discount model.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

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.

Back in 2016, to determine if the TV panel lottery makes a significant difference, we bought three different sizes of the Samsung J6300 with panels from different manufacturers: a 50" (version DH02), a 55" (version TH01), and a 60" (version MS01). We then tested them with the same series of tests we use in all of our reviews to see if the differences were notable.

Our Samsung 50" J6300 is a DH02 version, which means the panel is made by AU Optronics. Our 55" has an original TH01 Samsung panel. The panel in our 60" was made by Sharp, and its version is MS01.

Upon testing, we found that each panel has a different contrast ratio. The 50" AUO (DH02) has the best contrast, at 4452:1, followed by the 60" Sharp (MS01) at 4015:1. The Samsung 55" panel had the lowest contrast of the three: 3707:1.

These results aren"t really surprising. All these LCD panels are VA panels, which usually means a contrast between 3000:1 and 5000:1. The Samsung panel was quite low in that range, leaving room for other panels to beat it.

The motion blur results are really interesting. The response time of the 55" TH01 Samsung panel is around double that of the Sharp and AUO panels. This is even consistent across all 12 transitions that we measured.

For our measurements, a difference in response time of 10 ms starts to be noticeable. All three are within this range, so the difference isn"t very noticeable to the naked eye, and the Samsung panel still performs better than most other TVs released around the same time.

We also got different input lag measurements on each panel. This has less to do with software, which is the same across each panel, and more to do with the different response times of the panels (as illustrated in the motion blur section). To measure input lag, we use the Leo Bodnar tool, which flashes a white square on the screen and measures the delay between the signal sent and the light sensor detecting white. Therefore, the tool"s input lag measurement includes the 0% to 100% response time of the pixel transition. If you look at the 0% to 100% transitions that we measured, you will see that the 55" takes about 10 ms longer to transition from black to white.

All three have bad viewing angles, as expected for VA panels. If you watch TV at an angle, most likely none of these TVs will satisfy you. The picture quality degrades at about 20 degrees from the side. The 60" Sharp panel is worse than the other ones though. In the video, you can see the right side degrading sooner than the other panels.

It"s unfortunate that manufacturers sometimes vary the source of their panels and that consumers don"t have a way of knowing which one they"re buying. Overall though, at least in the units we tested, the panel lottery isn"t something to worry about. While there are differences, the differences aren"t big and an original Samsung panel isn"t necessarily better than an outsourced one. It"s also fairly safe to say that the same can be said of other brands. All panels have minute variations, but most should perform within the margin of error for each model.

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 Sharp/NEC NP-PE456USL is a versatile short throw installation projector made for tricky applications found in museums, retail, entertainment, and business/education environments. Its nicely bright, no-maintenance laser light engine and array of installation features make it one to consider for those with challenging projection needs.

The Sharp/NEC NP-PE456USL was made with challenging applications in mind. This short throw laser projector boasts 4,500 rated ANSI lumens, and projects a beautiful image even with ambient light shining directly in front of the screen. The entry level installation projector is geared toward a variety of markets—business, education, museums, retail, and even entertainment and golf simulators. The NEC can produce a 130-inch diagonal image from just 4 feet away. If casting a shadow on the projected image is a concern, or space is tight, the PE456USL may be one to consider.

With a typical street price of $2,579, the PE456USL is mostly competing against long-throw projectors in this 3LCD, WUXGA product class. The Epson PowerLite L530U is a laser projector with a $2,651 price tag, and for that extra sub-$100 difference, it packs 5,200 lumens and up to a 500-inch diagonal image. The $2,547 Panasonic VMZ51U is another long throw laser with 5,200 lumens. In both cases, you"d be sacrificing the short throw lens for long throw. Among price-competitive, short-throw LCD projectors targeting the same applications with similar resolution and brightness, the pickings are slim. Epson"s recently announced PowerLite L210SF, a 1080p model, should sell for less than the Sharp/NEC when it starts selling in the Spring, but it offers just 4,000 lumens compared with the PE456USL"s more substantial 4,500 rating.

The PE456USL claims ease of installation, with several features that support that claim. The projector is 4K ready, with great image quality. Along with Sharp/NEC"s other laser projectors, it has an excellent warranty.

The PE456USL is a compact and lightweight projector that measures 15.9 x 6.5 x 15.9 inches (WHD) and weighs in at just 17.9 pounds. That should allow it to fit tight spaces and be easily mounted or moved around. As mentioned, it sports WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution from a trio of 0.64-inch LCD imaging panels, which gives the projector immunity to rainbow artifacts that may occur with some single-chip DLP projectors as well as equal white and color brightness to insure good color fidelity. It also supports 4K content up to a 30 Hz frame rate using NEC"s video processing/scaling chip. There"s a basic control panel on the projector"s top panel that lets you power it on and off, switch inputs, and access or navigate the menu.

The PE456USL"s blue laser+yellow phosphor light engine has a lifespan of up to 20,000 hours at full power, with its Eco modes extending that. There are four energy modes (Normal, Full Normal, Eco 1, Eco 2) and you can also manually adjust the brightness of the laser in the menu. Though the projector is low maintenance, it does require periodic cleaning of the filter accessible from the side panel, and past 1,000 hours of use it will automatically remind the user at turn-on with an onscreen message unless that time is extended in the menu (settings are available for 500, 1,000, and 2,200 hours). Failure to clean the filter could eventually result in overheating, though I found the projector doesn"t heat up too much during normal use with a clean filter.

As mentioned, images are projected through the short throw lens with fixed optical zoom and a very tight throw ratio of 0.44:1. This results in an unusually short throw range of just 1.7 to 4.16 feet, with an image size range of just 55 inches to 130 inches max. You can visit the ProjectorCentral Sharp/NEC PE-456USL Throw Calculator to see the lens-to-screen distance for your preferred image size. Though it lacks adjustable optical zoom, the projector does have a digital zoom function that allows some zooming in of the image, though there is no vertical or horizontal lens shift. The manual focus is accomplished with a lever above the lens.

A reasonably well-equipped connection panel is found on the projector"s rear. Two HDMI ports are version 1.4b with HDCP copyright management, and there is a 15-pin VGA analog input as well as a VGA output that could be used to feed a monitor in an overflow room or a podium monitor if needed.

This NEC comes with a variety of useful networking features. It has the usual wired LAN (RJ-45 port with 10/100 base-T capability) and wireless LAN via Sharp/NEC"s NP05LM1 Wi-Fi adapter (an $85 option) plugged into the USB-A port, though it lacks integrated Wi-Fi as found on some competitors, notably Epson"s models. Once connected to the network, it has Crestron RoomView compatibility for managing multiple projectors in an installation remotely, as well as AMX and PJLink support. The PE456USLis also compatible with NEC"s NaviSet Administrator 2 software for Windows and Mac for fleet monitoring and control, and you can directly access a control/monitoring panel for the projector from a built-in web page accessible via a browser on a PC that"s on the same network. The PE456ULS can also be used with MultiPresenter, a free software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android that allows screen mirroring of such devices.

Color Modes. There are six color modes offered by the Sharp/NEC NP-PE456USL—five standard modes and one User Mode. Dynamic, the brightest mode, has the expected green tinge to it. As far as brightest modes go, however, it doesn"t even touch the hideously ugly mark. It is highly usable in high ambient light circumstances where color accuracy isn"t an issue (though I would never use it when projecting films or artwork). Still, I don"t see much reason to ever use this mode, though, because User and Standard are both nicely bright, not too far off the mark set by Dynamic mode for battling ambient light, and offer color that is seriously improved.

The PE456USL"s lens is sharp. Though powered focus is always preferred for a mounted projector, this one"s manual focus is easy to use, smooth, and granular enough to make focusing quick work. Many projectors do tend to fall out of focus over time, however, so when it does, you might need a ladder to fix it.

That said, the projected image does get a little fuzzy around the edges, specifically the corners of the image—something I"ve seen with short throws, but also know that if you"re doing any Cornerstone Correction, you can run into a bit of that as well. In my estimate, it"s not a big deal, and most wouldn"t notice unless you have text or some detail near the edges of the image that the eyes are directed to. Images otherwise look awesome, and in almost all cases, text is sharp. The overall image quality and color of the projected image is great and close to what I saw on my computer screen in terms of color, just a tad off (the blues on the projected image were a bit lighter), which wasn"t bothersome.

To see how a projector does with text, I have a document with a variety of font sizes and colors ranging from 8-point to 24-point—black text on white background, white text on black background, and yellow text on blue background. The yellow text on blue background can get tricky. With the first two, black and white, and vice versa, things were highly readable even at 8-point font from 10 to15 feet back (further back I"d recommend at least 12-point). However, the yellow text on blue background was fuzzy. In an otherwise sharp projected image, that was the only issue I found—the projector didn"t like this unusual color combination, paired with smaller fonts.

Video Viewing. The NEC PE456USL can handle both HD and 4K content. I watched both the HD and 4K versions of The Fifth Element, Serenity, and Ghost in the Shell in Cinema Mode. I also tacked over to Standard, but didn"t prefer it for these films at all, as the dark shadow detail and black level performance is better in Cinema. Comparing each film"s HD and 4K version, there is a noticeable difference in the sharpness and pop of the 4K content, though be aware that this projector does not process HDR (high dynamic range). But 4K looks fantastic, even displayed at the projector"s native WUXGA resolution. Regular HD is great, too, and if that"s what you"re watching you won"t be disappointed in the quality and sharpness. But if you"ve got the opportunity to go with 4K content, do it.

The Sharp/NEC NP-PE456USL is a good fit for scenarios where installation is particularly challenging, especially environments where a bright, well-balanced image is important and the ability of a short throw projector to eliminate shadows over the projected image is a requirement. This WUXGA projector is 4K-ready, and video content looks excellent in both HD and 4K. The projector is nicely bright, exceeding its 4,500 lumen claim in our sample with 4,920 lumens in its brightest mode. But it"s the brightness combined with the projector"s tight, short-throw lens, along with placement flexibility from features like 360-Degree Rotation, Portrait Mode, and Cornerstone Correction, that make it stand out for the business, education, museum, retail, golf sim, and even entertainment markets it is targeted at. To top it all off, the PE456USL comes with an excellent warranty—5 years parts and labor, with Instacare next-business-day exchange. All in all, it adds up to a pretty nice, compact laser short-throw with good image quality and a competitive $2,579 price tag.

Brightness Uniformity. The brightness uniformity of the Sharp/NEC NP-PE456USL is 82%, which is quite satisfactory. Visually, I didn"t pick up on any hot spots or dimming in the image when viewing presentation or video content.

Fan Noise. Sharp/NEC rates the fan noise of the NP-PE456USL at 37db at full power, 27dB in its Eco modes, using the industry-standard averaged measurement in a soundproof room. Our casual single-point measurements are always higher. Standing approximately three feet back from the table-mounted projector in a quiet room, the ratings were as follows:

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.

With its stunning 8K Ultra-HD resolution, the Sharp 8M-B120C display packs 33 million pixels into its enormous 120” -class LCD panel. This 8K monitor with 7,680 x 4,320 pixels achieves a screen resolution 4 times higher than what you get with a 4K panel. You can’t help but feel the depth and presence of the stunningly realistic on-screen images. Sophisticated color-processing technologies support a wide range of color expression along with faithful color mapping on the display. The rich color palette with 1 billion colors adds depth to the content and brings the entire screen to life. The combination of 8K ultra-high resolution and a mammoth 120-inch panel creates an incredibly immersive effect—putting you right inside the scene.

Sharp’s PN-HY501 professional LCD monitor gives you more options than ever to set up your digital signage in the most eye-catching way possible. This 4K Ultra-HD monitor can be installed face-up, face-down, or at any tilted angle. The 50" Class (49 1/2" diagonal) PN-HY501 display offers such a wide variety of installation options, you’ll be sure to find the ideal setup to match your location and signage needs. Three HDMI input terminals come standard and the monitor includes a built-in 4K media player to provide digital signage without the need of a separate PC. The system is designed for increased convenience and flexibility as the PN-HY501 monitor stylishly makes your key message even more visible to your intended target.

It was over a year ago that I visited Sharp Laboratories Europe, located near Oxford, where Sharp had developed its 3D-screened laptop the Actius RD3D. I got to take a look at this laptop on that day, as it made a rare visit to the UK: It has been launched in the US, but not in the UK. I also saw some Sharp mobile phones with 3D displays that were even then on sale in Japan.

It has taken a while for Sharp to bring its 3D technology to the UK, but the company has finally managed to do so with the LL-151-3D; a 15-inch monitor you can use in both 2D and 3D modes with any PC that has either digital or analogue video out capability. The big draw of the monitor, and of Sharp’s 3D technology in general, is that it gives you the 3D viewing experience without the need to wear special glasses.

As a standard 2D monitor the LL-151-3D is competent. It delivers a nice, sharp, clear image, and its settings options are easy to manipulate. A row of buttons on the front of the casing provide access to the various controls allowing you, for example, to alter the volume, change brightness and vary the red, green and blue ratios that affect the overall hue of what is delivered to the screen.

However the screen is very, very reflective. Initially I was working with a window to my left with the monitor to my right, but the reflection from the window was more than I could bear. I had to shift things so that there was no ambient light reflection – once the right environment had been achieved this monitor was able to show off its superbly sharp rendering.

Switching to 3D mode enables a barrier which sits between the backlight and the LCD and ensures different images are sent to the left and right eyes. Your eyes have to be in the right place to receive these two images, and when you are correctly in position for this to happen, your brain combines them into a single 3D image.

Of course, the 3D experience is not worth having if you don’t have software to take advantage of it. Sharp ships two applications to help. SmartStereo Photo Editor which formats pairs of digital images for viewing through the LL-151-3D, and SmartStereo Camera Calculator, designed for use with a stereoscopic camera to ensure production of images appropriate for the monitor.

When it comes to running third party software, this needs to be designed for use with the LL-151-3D: the monitor can’t convert 2D graphics on the fly. Sharp is a key member of the 3D Consortium and has partnered with a number of players to ensure that the software and hardware components come together. The best known of these is probably nVidia and the full list is available at Sharp’s US website.

Even with this effort, the number of real-world applications supporting the technology is relatively small: Sharp was only able to provide me with demos rather than full applications for testing purposes. The bottom line is that even if this monitor appeals, you could be waiting a while to take full advantage of what it has to offer.

The Sharp PNY556 55" Class (54.6" diagonal) LCD monitor is designed for ease of use and flexibility in a variety of settings. SHARP Content Distributor software supports convenient content distribution and management via a local area network. Whether in a retail, public, or office setting, this monitor can help convey your message and make an eye-catching impression. So if you"re seeking a multifaceted signage solution with round-the-clock reliability and easy content distribution, this affordable slimline monitor offers outstanding value.

The PNY556 LCD monitor supports easy daily usage and versatile content distribution. Simply insert a USB memory device or SD card for plug-and-play operation. Using a specified wireless SD card equipped with an original Sharp HTML application, you can distribute content wirelessly from a PC or mobile device. Furthermore, SHARP Content Distributor software supports convenient content distribution and management via network. Thanks to its versatile signage capabilities, this monitor makes it easy to convey messages in public spaces or commercial locations, or promote internal communication in the office.

Displaying still images or videos couldn’t be easier. Just insert a USB memory device or SD card into the LCD monitor and the built-in media player starts playing your content right away. There’s no need for a PC and cables. It’s easy for anyone to operate.

Operating over a LAN, SHARP Content Distributor software makes it easy to update the content to be displayed on multiple LCD monitors. Through simple and intuitive PC operation, you can schedule what content gets distributed, when it gets delivered, and which monitors show it. Take advantage of a convenient signage solution that lets you distribute content in a timely manner to multiple PNY556 monitors.

Set a time and day of the week for content distribution to a maximum of 20 pre-registered LCD monitors. Up to seven schedule patterns can be registered.

Samsung has so far avoided producing OLED displays like those of LG. So, instead of striking a deal to use LG’s panels, Samsung branded its own LCD tech “QLED.” For a detailed breakdown, check out our QLED TV versus OLED TV comparison, but the general gist is this: QLED uses quantum dots to enhance performance by producing a purer, full-spectrum white light than LEDs are capable of on their own. In practice, QLED televisions are brighter (better for bright rooms) than less-expensive LCD TVs, and unlike OLED, can be more affordably built into large displays (100 inches and beyond).

OLED — Organic Light Emitting Diode — is the premier display technology today. OLED TV panels are capable of reaching black levels never before seen, with better contrast across the board, and because the pixels themselves light up, OLED televisions boast quicker response times (and less input lag) than other types of displays, and the picture integrity is stunning at any viewing distance. To see how OLED stacks up against regular old LED, take a look at our OLED vs. LED comparison.

Sony is one of a handful of companies offering OLED televisions (the list has recently expanded to include Panasonic, Philips, Hisense, and Vizio) thanks to a deal with LG allowing Sony to build TVs using LG panels. Due to the Cognitive Processor XR chip, Sony’s Bravia flagship TVs offer greater contrast, improved sound, low input lag, and faster web performance than we’ve ever seen. Sony’s newer TVs also offer VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) for gaming, particularly with the PlayStation 5.

TCL isn’t the only company making Roku TVs — Insignia, Sharp, and Hisense do the same, among other manufacturers — but it has been the most successful so far. From the affordable Roku Express to the Roku Streambar, the Roku TV platform’s vast selection (5,000+) of channels and its snappy cross-app search function are second to none. Roku’s smart TV user interface is a little less slick than webOS or Tizen, but we think it works better, and it’s more straightforward.

Additionally, TCL expanded into Google TV territory in 2021 with theirpopular 5- and 6-Series panels equipped with the latest Google TV operating system. While the new sets were briefly pulled from U.S. Best Buy shelves due to software issues, a fix was issued and the retailer now stocks the popular TVs again.

Chinese manufacturer Hisense has been steadily making moves in the TV market over the years, licensing Sharp’s brand name(and buying its North American factory outright in 2015), buying Toshiba’s business in 2017, and making TVs under all three names for the U.S. market. Hisense had a rocky start but found a rhythm in making value-conscious Quantum 4K panels. In fact, their quality has improved so much that one of the latest versions, the Hisense U7G with HDR support, is one of our new recommended picks for a TV under $1,000 — and it has new, affordable 8K TVs now as well.

With choices between Roku, Google TV, Fire TV, and more, buyers can pick the smart platform they like here, with plenty of options for budget-friendly purchases. The company is also making use of its TriChroma laser tech for improved color accuracy, and “ULED” panel technology to enhance images. Its latest Google TV picks also offer mini-LED panels, while the U6H Fire comes with Quantum Dot color, so you also have plenty of panel technologies to choose from. The latest 2022 models even have FreeSync and Game Mode Plus for gamers.

As with Samsung, Vizio is big on quantum-dot-powered panels. This is especially evident for the brand’s 2022 models, especially when it comes to the MQX and P-Series Quantum X series. And on top of quantum-enhanced colors and contrast, while you won’t find mini-LED tech on these 2022 models, the sheer number of traditional LED local dimming zones that are in place make for a totally arresting image packed with brightness, color detail, lifelike contrast, and minimal light blooming.

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.