Derbyshire UK, February 2007

The Aquos is a great-looking TV. It produces excellent picture quality from standard definition sources and in High Definition (HD) mode the quality is absolutely stunning. It's easy to install and set up, though connecting an XBox 360 was a little fiddly. The supplied remote control is intuitively designed and quickly accesses the impressive array of features.

• 42" Flat Panel LCD TV
• Model number LC-42XD1E
• Full 1080P High Definition picture format
• Integrated Freeview decoder
• Includes desktop stand, multiple AV connectors (HDMI, SCART, Composite etc.) and remote control

Size isn't everything...

The first thing that strikes you when you get the box home is the sheer size of this TV. Unless you are replacing a similar-sized set, a 42" TV really does look huge in a bigger than average room and takes some getting used to. Be prepared for it to dominate your room, both in terms of sheer size and the brilliance of light it emits into a darkened environment. However the black frame is beautifully slender and therefore adds little to the overall dimensions. All of the controls are neatly tucked out of view, yet are easily accessible behind the top right corner. 

Installation 9/10

Ideally you need two people to lug this TV around and set up its stand. You might also need a mild sedative before carrying out the initial instructions to lay the TV face-down on some soft cushions to install its stand. However the screen stood up to this rather alarming treatment and emerged unscathed.

Setup 9/10 and Connectivity 7/10

Once in position, the business of connecting the TV up to most of the other pieces of equipment was pretty simple. All the connections are on the rear of the TV. The mains cable is on one side and all the other connections are neatly laid out on the other. Attaching a Sky Digibox, DVD player and Surround Sound system was a breeze and didn't even require a look at the comprehensive manual. The Aquos automatically located the various pieces of equipment in seconds and was displaying their signal within minutes of being out of the box - a superb result when compared with the chore of manually locating different channels and frequencies. However connecting an XBox 360 games console in High Definition mode did prove something more of a challenge.

The XBox can be connected in one of two ways - either a standard resolution AV input, or High Definition mode via separate RGB cables (this is supplied with the premium edition version of the console). At first it was less than obvious where these High Definition cables should connect and the manual was not much help here. It was time to try Sharp's technical support offering.

Customer Support 9/10

To solve the XBox connection problem, the first port of call was the Sharp website, which has a reasonably sized section on the Aquos range, but this carried nothing specific about HD connections and XBoxes. However the customer support phone number was prominently displayed and the staff were knowledgeable, courteous and helpful. It's useful to know before you call them that they will ask for the TV's serial number and a till receipt before dealing with your enquiry. From this first encounter, I gleaned that the RGB connectors on the XBox's cable need to be attached to a separate RGB to composite cable that was supplied with the Aquos.

All well and good. With the XBox fired up and set in High Definition mode, the TV picture sprang to life in stunning high resolution. However, all was too quiet and remained so. The RGB cable carries the picture signal in red, green and blue colours, but does not carry a sound signal of any type, so none of the wonderful sound effects you would expect were to be heard from the TV.

The XBox's cable includes a separate pair of red and white - left and right - audio connectors for sound, but there is no connection for these on the Aquos, just a single mono-aural input to compliment the composite connector. Hence another call to customer support. This time they were equally courteous, but could not answer the question directly. They took contact details and promised a return call within one working day. Sure enough the call came through very early then next day. The upshot was that a separate adaptor would be required to connect the sound signal to the TV and it appeared that this would be mono-aural. This is a little disappointing as the XBox boasts full 5:1 surround sound. One alternative was to connect the XBox directly to a surround sound system, bypassing the TV completely and this worked a treat. 

Overall Picture Quality 8/10

It's worth reiterating that this 42" Aquos TV does look enormous when replacing a smaller TV, even in a larger than average living space. Just about all visitors have commented on this - youngsters and adults alike.

As well as the size, the brightness of a screen this size can be quite dazzling in a low-lit environment, especially when a scene is mainly white. The remote control offers quick access to a variety of pre-set picture settings, but even the softest of these can light up the entire room during bright scenes. This is not so much a criticism of the Aquos, more a natural effect of placing a large, highly luminous display in a setting with low ambient lighting.

The LCD screen has a matt finish which reduces reflective glare to a minimum. This is an excellent feature when compared to the irritating reflections experienced on other TV sets. It effectively puts an end to staring at the reflection of light from a window or a lamp during dark scenes.

Standard Definition Picture Quality 7/10

With standard definition input (e.g. Sky satellite, DVD or terrestrial broadcast via a rooftop aerial) the picture quality ranges from good to very good. These all consist of just 365 lines so there is bound to be a lower quality output than the television's optimum of 1080 lines. Given that there is currently only a limited amount of high definition viewing available, this is likely to be the most watched content in the short term. The Aquos handles it well, with bright, vibrant colours, superb contrast and minimal motion blur in fast-moving scenes. That said however, there are a couple of issues worth mentioning:

During slow-moving scenes, such as a presenter talking to camera, dark indistinct areas such as the hair seem to stand still whilst brighter more detailed areas such as the face move around, as if the two somehow are not connected. It is possible that this is inherent in the compression algorithms applied to the incoming signal and is only noticeable when the screen is so much larger than average. However it does on occasion detract from the suspension of disbelief that is the magic of television.

Another issue with viewing standard definition images on a 42" screen is that on occasion, the compression applied to Sky broadcasts (amongst others) becomes visible. This can lead to grainy edges to high contrast areas such as a building against the sky and a slight halo of random colours. This is most certainly down to the quality of the incoming signal and cannot be attributed to the television receiver. The best advice on avoiding this is to position the television further from your seating position as the effect diminishes with distance.

High Definition (HD) Picture Quality 9/10

The best accolade that can be applied to a television is that it is like looking through a window. The Aquos comes very close to this in HD mode.

Plug a high definition source into the Aquos and you will find out what all the fuss is about. Wham! This is when the Aquos really comes into its own. There's a range of superlatives to describe the experience of a superior quality High Definition television. "Absolutely stunning" is the nearest description of the Aquos in high definition mode. Colours come to life. Details are reproduced faithfully. Movement blur is a thing of the past.

The Aquos does a fine job of automatically detecting the resolution of the input source. Just a couple of seconds after connecting a new piece of high definition kit, the full sumptuous beauty of high definition images are displayed, quite often larger than life. The 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio is ideal for both movies and gaming, as well as a growing amount of HDTV programming.

The quality of High Definition programming is unprecedented in the world of home television, having previously being restricted to movie theatres and specialist applications. The Aquos brings it into your living room and onto your screen with an elegance that is hard to better.

The Aquos range of televisions are beautifully styled, perform well with standard definition pictures and look stunning when in high definition mode. In general, connectivity and set up is very simple and the customer support service is excellent. The 42" model reviewed here may be a little over-sized for casual viewing or for use in smaller rooms, but for the dedicated viewer and those with space to spare, this is an excellent choice of television.

Tim Burston

HDTVExpert.co.uk

mail: tim@hdtvexpert.co.uk

web: www.HDTVexpert.co.uk

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