Derbyshire UK, April 2007

The 52" model is the largest flat panel LCD television currently available from Sharp, topping off the Aquos range. The screen is massive even by today's standards, but the full 1080P High Definition (HD) specification provides an excellent experience when connected to an HD source. The 52" Aquos also delivers a good picture from Sky, Freeview and DVD, with rich life-like colours, excellent contrast and a booming sound system. As with the other TVs in the Aquos range, it also looks great in terms of overall design, the screen being set in a slim piano-black frame and complimented by an elegant stand.

• 52" Flat Panel LCD TV
• Model number LC-52XD1E
• Full 1080P High Definition picture format
• 4ms response time
• Integrated Freeview decoder
• Includes desktop stand, multiple AV connectors (HDMI, SCART, Composite etc.) and remote control

Size isn't everything...

Be prepared to make this TV a central feature of your room. At 52" (measured diagonally across the screen) the sheer size can take some getting used to. As with all screens this size, it is worth considering the arrangement of your furniture. The Aquos boasts a wide viewing angle, so you can comfortably view it from a range of positions, but it does look best when viewed somewhere near face-on. The most important thing is to make sure you are not sitting too close to it! However as with other TVs in the Aquos range, the sleek black frame is beautifully slender and therefore adds little to the overall dimensions. The basic controls (On/off, menu, channels and volume) are neatly tucked out of view, behind the top right corner.

Installation 9/10

Ideally you need two people to set up this TV, due to its size and weight, but you can just about manage alone. Setting up and installing the TV in its supplied stand involves laying the TV face-down on some soft cushions. This is a little unnerving, but 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 as with the smaller Aquos models, connecting an XBox 360 games console in High Definition mode is a little more challenging.

The XBox can be connected in one of two ways - either a standard resolution AV input, or High Definition mode via separate RGB cables (these are supplied with the premium edition version of the XBox console). The RGB connectors on the XBox's cable need to be attached to a separate RGB to composite cable that comes supplied with the Aquos.

Disappointingly this only results in 1080i HD mode, not the full 1080P that the Aquos and XBox 360 are both capable of. Sharp say that future models in the Aquos range will address this problem, but for the moment, this is the best that's available.

Overall Picture Quality 8/10

It's worth reiterating that this 52" 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. It certainly has a "wow" factor! However the technology driving this TV produces a picture that adequately fills out the massive screen, to produce a bright, vibrant and lifelike image.

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. It is worth delving deeper into the TV's controls via the simple menu system. This reveals a Backlight setting that can be turned down to a more comfortable level.

Unlike the 42" model (also reviewed on this site), the LCD screen has a semi-matt finish which reduces reflective glare to a certain extent. This reduces but does not eradicate the irritating reflections experienced on other TV sets. Due to its high luminosity, the screen is also quite watchable even when in full sunlight.

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 52" 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. "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 46" and 52" Aquos models have a 4ms refresh rate (unlike the 6ms of models further down the range). This reduces motion blur by keeping each pixel illuminated for a shorter time.

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. However you can still expect horizontal black bars ("letterboxing") on movie studio output as this is filmed at an aspect ratio beyond the 16:9 standard.

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.

Sound Quality 9/10

The built-in speakers, though not visible from the front of the TV, produce a really vibrant sound with deep bass notes and excellent overall tonal quality, on a par with many stereo sytems.

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 52" 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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