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Sharp's 46-inch Quattron LE821E HDTV and its integrated Freeview HD DVR make reviewers gush
Now this is more like it. Instead of chewing on another underwhelming 3D display, the Tech Radar crew have pulled in one of Sharp's hot new Quattron sets -- distinguishable, if you look really really closely, by the addition of yellow to the standard RGB colors in each pixel -- and their experience has certainly been something to write about. Describing the LE821E's color response as "utterly spectacular," they go on to praise the LCD's improved brightness thanks to the yellow sub-pixel's higher transparency, confident upscaling of standard def pictures to Full HD resolution, and "inspired onscreen menus." Counteracting the good stuff were mildly disappointing black levels and a £2,000 ($3,053) price for the 46-inch model. Sure it's steep, but with Freeview HD and an 8GB HDD built into the box, we can think of a few ways to justify the expense. As ever, the source link will give you the unabridged verdict, so read on. [Thanks, David]
Sharp's $16,000 1080p 57-inch AQUOS - LC-57D90U reviewed
When money is no object, it usually rings true that bigger is better, but in the case of the extra-large $16,000 Sharp AQUOS display, those blinded by bragging rights may overlook the unexpected lack of quality. While the general consensus has held the AQUOS lineup in high regard, the 57-inch LC-57D90U 1080p LCD HDTV has somehow missed the mark, or at least failed to reach those stratospheric expectations created by the pricetag. Although we can't imagine this thing looking awful -- or even bad, actually -- Home Theater Mag stated that it "couldn't be taken seriously" considering the "inexcusable faults" on the "most expensive TV it had reviewed in years." The most glaring fault in the erroneously-priced set was its apparent inability to accept a 1080p signal over HDMI (ahem), while several other sets way below this price range currently can. Reviewers were also annoyed by the unparalleled 10+ second lag time experienced when the display attempted to lock up to a 3:2 sequence, and the "inaccurate color points" seen when viewing HD DVDs. While the list of issues probably overshadow the boons, the set did manage to "bring out a lot of detail" in 480i content, and no one could argue with the speedy 4ms response time. Realistically, however, a display this expensive is presumably expected to obliterate any prior efforts of TV manufacturers, and to be frank, it failed -- so if you'd been saving those pennies benjamins just waiting for this to drop, you're probably better off just picking up a less expensive model (and a new commuter car while you're at it).[Via HD Beat]
Sharp's AQUOS LC-37GE1E
CeBit is great for product announcements, but this one is slightly underwhelming. While the big boys are building 100-inch LCD screens, Sharp adds to their AQUOS line with the LC-37GE1E, a 37-incher. The big claim to fame for the new AQUOS is full 1920 x 1080 resolution in a progressive format, not to mention a backlight with a fourth color: crimson-red. There's a built tuner, 1200:1 contrast and a 6 ms response time along with dual HDCP-compliant interfaces (we're guessing HDMI). No price or availability as of yet.[via Engadget]
