LCD TV Reviews

What the big bucks get you.

Per screen inch, this is the most expensive TV we've reviewed in years. The early 50-inch plasmas were certainly more expensive (and obviously smaller), but, in the era of higher yields and vicious competition, it's rare to see any company come out with a model that unabashedly eschews the price wars. An obvious comparison would be one of a Ferrari, and Sharp would indeed love that comparison. For the extra money, does this 57-inch offer greater performance compared with the Camrys of the LCD world? The better question would be, does it offer enough better performance to justify its substantial premium?

Editor's Note: Home Theater is pleased to bring you this exclusive first look at Sharp's groundbreaking Elite LCD HDTV. As you'll read in Tom Norton's superb and thorough review, it is the first LCD that can truly go head-to-head with the now-discontinued Pioneer Elite Kuro plasmas for the title of Best TV Ever. Enjoy, and please post your comments.—Rob Sabin

Price: $6,000 At A Glance: Class-leading blacks and shadow detail • Superb resolution • Bright, vivid 3D

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.

There's a revolution happening in high-definition televisions. Plasma and LCD flat panel displays are on the verge of dominating the market. CRTs still sell in higher numbers, but primarily in smaller and cheaper models. Once you get much over $1000 and 30-inches diagonal, CRTs are dying off like flies.

I've never been all that impressed with the picture quality of LCD flat panels. I'm primarily a nighttime, controlled light environment movie watcher, and the poor blacks and lack of contrast just do me in with these things. On top of that, many LCDs have a "painted" digital look that never suspends disbelief, and the worst of the bunch have response time issues that make motion blur.

Reviewing Sharp's '62 and '92 series AQUOS sets has been an amazing experience- and I'm not even talking about image quality yet. As soon as web entries came up here and at our sister site for <I>Home Theater</I> magazine, declaring these reviews on the way, the emails started. The response to this news was a startling statement on the power of the flat panel. I've never received so much email about any pair of reviews, let alone two that weren't even written yet!

Price: $3,000 At A Glance: Great color and detail • Excellent video processing • Mild-mannered frame interpolation • Mediocre blacks and shadow detail

A Worthy Contender

Many companies have gotten into the LCD HDTV game over the last few years, hoping to capitalize on the high demand for flat panels. But most are newcomers compared with Sharp, which was one of the first companies to offer LCD TVs in Japan back in 1988. Since then, Sharp has remained ahead of the curve in terms of manufacturing and environmental concerns. It has invested billions of dollars in new plants and processes.

PRICE $3,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Crisp detail
Excellent color
Bright, vivid 3D
Minus
Middling contrast and black level
3D ghosting

THE VERDICT
It can’t deliver the deep blacks found on today’s best flat panels, but the Sharp LC-60UQ17U offers top-notch detail and color, along with the ability to display 4K source material with excellent, though not full 4K, resolution.

TV manufacturers continue to search for ways to keep prices down and sales up. But with 4K Ultra HD the hot ticket these days, it’s not an easy task. While Sharp already has a 4K model in the market and others planned for the fall, the company also offers a less expensive alternative: Quattron+, or Q+. These aren’t full Ultra HD sets, as their basic pixel structure is still 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), not the 3840 x 2160 required for Ultra HD. But Sharp’s Q+ sets will accept a 4K input, and with a bit of technical hocus-pocus, the company says they’ll deliver something between Full HD and true 4K.