Sharp Aquos LC52D64U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Sharp LC52D64U via a direct promotion with Sharp USA. The deal I was offered was too good to pass up. I have never bought a large format TV in my life and always got by with a Sony CRT 27" in my bedroom running SD TV. I was just fine with that for many years and when I moved into a new apartment with a nice big (and empty) living room and ordered HD cable, I decided to consider purchasing a large HD panel TV.
When I did my research, I was overwhelmed at the number of choices, formats and connections types, such as LCD, plasma, projection, 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, Hdmi, HD channels recievers....argh!?!?!?!
Well after I did enough research, this Sharp LCD has everything that I need for at least the next 5 years. I am running a Tivo Series 3 HD reciever pumping 1080i HD channels over digital cable into one of the 3 available HDMI ports. The image quality is, to say the least, MAGNIFICENT!!!! The deep blacks and rich colors really cut through exceptionally well. I have not yet played an HD DVD or Blu-Ray movie through it, but if the 1080i HD channels look this great, I can only expect the same from watching Spiderman 3 on Bluray at 1080P when it's available this late October.
When I was researching large format panel TV's, my eye kept going to plasmas like Panasonics and the Elite series from Pioneer. Suffice it to say, these brands were very much out of my budget and consdered LCD's instead. So I did some research on the Aqous series and found alot of useful information. I also read many reports of the Sharp Aquos series suffering from a bad phenomenom known as "banding" and a recent review of the LC52D64U on cnet.com indicated that the problem was still present in this new model. This made me nervous about buying the TV, but then I reminded myself that those reviewers have eyes like a hawk and scrutinize every little detail that an average consumer (like me) probably wouldn't even notice until pointed out.
Well I don't know if I can't see it, or if it is not present in my particular unit, but I have NOT experienced any "banding" issues that may appear as color bleed, ghosting effects or ongoing pixilation.
Sharp does offer Aquos models that have a higher refresh rate as much at 120 hertz. This unit, I believe, operates at a 60 hertz refresh rate. The higher 120 refresh rate is supposed to handle fast moving images (such as football player running across a field) and improve the image so as to reduce any bluriness or undesireable pixilation.
Well I do not watch alot of sports, so this is not a deal breaker for me. There were a few times I was watching a movie and saw some pixilation occurring due to fast moving images. But as long as you watch your 52" sharp LCD from a practical viewing distance and loose yourself in the entertainment and not scrutinize every single image that's on the screen, you probably won't notice it when it does occur, if at all.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the Sharp LC52D64U. Remember that to get the most out of this LCD panel, be prepared to spend some money and feed it a high resolution data feed for both audio and video. Everything I am sending it comes in at full 1080i/1080P, if not upscaled from 720/480. I plan to get the new X-Box 360 elite and it has an HDMI output port and many of the newer games run at 1080P, so I can only imagine that there's more visual pleasure to come my way.
I hope this non-technical review was helpful. Now go out and buy this damn thing and be a happy couch potato!!! :-)

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Large-screen 52 flat-panel TV offers full HD Spec 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution. Sharps proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with multi-pixel technology provides a native 2000:1 contrast ratio and a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1 with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology, 4ms response time and wide viewing angles (176 degree horizontal x 176 degree vertical). Multi-pixel technology divides each pixel into two sections and adds an advanced driving system to provide 60 percent improved color reproduction. Built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners provide access to DTV and analog TV channels. Includes two HDMI inputs and two HD component video inputs. Compatible with 1080p signals. Features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers. Included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications. Flat-panel TV offers 16:9 LCD panel, S-video input, 15 watt speaker system and removable stand. Screen measures 52-1/32 diagonally.

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Sharp LC 42SB45U - 42" LCD TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV - black Review

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(More customer reviews)Before I start, let me point out that this Sharp 1080p HDTV, LC-42SB45U, is *not* a model from their state-of-the-art Aquos line, which costs much more. I bought mine from Dell at a great price, and then realized this was not an Aquos. This is from what Sharp marketing geniuses call their "traditional LCD" line. (The Japanese are really great at marketing, aren't they?) This TV is made in China, underlining its value branding.
I struggled between giving this a 4-star vs. a 5-star rating. I'll explain. Picture quality-wise, it's excellent at 1080p -- I use it with my 60GB PS3 (which upconverts DVDs) -- with great contrast, smooth graphics and vibrant color (Sharp is best at color reproduction on LCD panels). The response time is 6 ms, and the viewing angle is an astonishing 176 degrees, both horizontally and vertidcally. (A flat surface has 180 degrees.) The maximum brightness is sufficient to allow you to use this set outdoors, on a patio, for example. (My old LCD TVs could not do this.)
I'm a movie buff so I watch a lot of Blu-rays and DVDs and have been very happy. (Tip: when using PS3's upscaling, set it to Normal, not Double Scale.) The built-in speakers (non-detachable) are passable for a small living room; you might want to use a home theater for hi-fi sound anyway.
When playing non-HDMI input materials -- e.g., from a traditional non-upconverting DVD player, an old VCR or non-HD cable content -- the picture quality is only average, hence my originally hesitation at giving this set a full 5-star endorsement. My guess is for this "traditional" (i.e., value) line, Sharp does not have a good non-HD upscaling engine that can improve the quality of non-HD images, or maybe it doesn't have one such engine at all. You'll notice aliasing artifacts that are absent from upconverted and native 1080 materials. (The Aquos models, on the other hand, excel at non-HD images as well.)
In the end, given the price I paid and given the solid build of the set, I feel I got a really good value, and when used with a PS3, this inexpensive 42" (actually 42 1/64" diagonally) 1080p LCD HDTV is terrific. Since I use it pretty much exclusively with my PS3, I'm very happy. Of course, you should be aware of its middling performance with non-HD content.

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The 42" Class (42-1/64" Diagonal) LC-42SB45UT, with full HD Spec 1080p resolution and an elegant new glossy black design, produces superb picture quality. The LC-42SB45UT features high contrast, fast response time and wide viewing angles. The LC-42SB45UT includes built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners, three HDMITM inputs, is compatible with 1080p signals and has 2 HD component video inputs. The LC-42SB45UT features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers, and the included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications.

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