HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was very good. It did a very good job displaying the fine detail of HD content. We did note some added edge enhancement processing, but it wasn't distracting. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Lack of contrast gave images a somewhat flatter appearance with little depth. Depth of black level was below average, with darker scenes in particular looking hazy, with little contrast. Image brightness was only fair, dimmer than most even with the backlight turned up, and is not the best choice for a bright room. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model did a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. Film mode operation for HD film-based content was excellent, with no visible jaggies along the edges of objects during motion scenes. Deinterlacing was very good, with minimal jaggies visible when converting 1080i video content, such as from cable, to the display's native resolution.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Sharp has a wide viewing angle overall, better than that of most TVs. It will provide the same picture quality, with fewer problems than most TVs, for typical viewing conditions -- say, if your family is seated across a long sectional or in chairs off to the sides. With dark scenes this model didn't fare quite as well. When viewed from the sides, the depth of black levels varied depending on the vertical position of the viewer's head. As we moved closer to the screen this limitation became even more apparent, especially if seated on the floor looking upward where black levels brightened significantly.
MOTION BLUR. This Sharp TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. This model does not include a blur reduction feature.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. Though not as mirror-like as on some models, this screen surface is glossy and therefore susceptible to reflections from a nearby lamp or window. It does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast in a brighter room environment.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has fair sound quality with below average performance. It's acceptable for typical programming, but shortcomings become obvious with movie soundtracks and music. Bass was lacking, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was on the bright side, thin, and a bit closed in. The speakers produced a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments, but quality does degrade at high volume settings. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be distracting on some audio content. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system -- but if this smaller-screen set is a secondary TV, you might find its sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. The dark labeling of the connections on the TV console is very difficult to read. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. Sharp includes a traditional button keypad remote for control of basic functions. Buttons are on the small side with labeling that is not very high in contrast, so the remote is not so easy to read in a dimmer viewing environment. Consider the TV's stand is 29 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
CONNECTIONS. This model has two HDMI inputs and one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time). It also has one USB port, an optical digital audio out.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.
