I have used this TV for a week now. I ordered it from Amazon, but shipped by Audio and Video Center. I now use it in India.
First, about the vendor who sold the TV. I had never even heard about Audio and Video Center, but they were offering the best price on Amazon for this TV. I called them a couple of times to verify the price and how/when they would be shipping the item. Their customer service folks were courteous and informative, and they shipped the item the same day I ordered on Amazon. It arrived some 3 days later in top-notch condition. I would use them again, and I have put them on my list of trustworthy online retailers.
Now, about the TV. I was looking at both LED-lit LCD as well as plasma models. I would have picked up a direct LED backlight LCD TV, but I couldn’t find any in the 60″ range. The reviews of edge-lit LED TVs all mentioned issues of uneven backlighting and black-level deficiencies. The plasmas I looked at on the other hand had high power consumption (almost twice that of regular LCDs) and were heavier by 30% – 40%. Plasmas also seemed more fragile during shipping – I saw a number of cases of cracked front panel being reported, which was not good for me (as I wanted to move the TV to India). Overall, I was looking for a TV with great picture quality at a reasonable price in the 60″ range, and I took a leap of faith on this Sharp model based on the (few) reviews I had read here in Amazon and elsewhere.
I am glad to say that so far I have found the TV to be extremely good – true to the reviews I had read. It still needs a few refinements, and I would have given it a 4-1/2 star rating if possible. Spefically, the good parts:
- Picture quality: It took me some time to tweak the settings and get the kind of picture I like, but the end result is excellent. With 1080p 24Hz sources (blu-ray movies), the picture is outstanding, with deep enough blacks, natural colors and even backlighting. I do not notice any 3D effect, but even at low backlight settings, the picture is bright enough for me. I have since gone to local stores and looked at edge-lit LED TVs (Sony, Samsung, etc, set to showroom level super-bright pictures). I feel that the PQ of this TV is no less in comparison.
- User interface: Is elegant and simple. There are many settings to manage the PQ and there are several pre-defined A/V modes. You’re most likely to be happy with one of the pre-defined modes with some tweaking. I found it useful to both use the settings on the TV and those on the Blu-ray player to get the optimum quality for my tastes.
- Power: The TV can be set in automatic power save mode, which adjusts the backlighting based on ambient light. This works well most of the time. The rated power consumption is 390W at the highest level, and I think most of the time you’ll be using much less than this. You can also set the TV to turn off automatically based on no input signal or no activity.
- Advanced features: Active Contrast (which automatically adjusts picture contrast based on the scene) is very useful. I don’t find any visible improvements with the 240Hz “Fine Motion” setting. The picture is generally smooth, and where there is very minor motion blur, the 240Hz setting doesn’t seem to help. A number of color adjustment settings are given, which one finds best to leave at default values. The “Film Mode” setting – in conjunction with a 1080p 24Hz source – seems to produce smooth picture.
- Panel: The X-gen panel in this TV is dark black (not grayish). This is a different kind of panel than the one in my 4-year old Sony Bravia, which doesn’t reflect any light at all. The Sharp panel does reflect some light, but not anywhere close to plasma glass panels. I haven’t found this to be an issue, even though the TV is in a room with a lot of ambient light (large windows and glass patio doors).
- Looks: With the dark black panel, the piano-black glossy frame, and the (color-matched) sturdy stand, it looks very nice and classy when it’s not running. The speker positioning makes the frame looks slim. The back of the TV is also nicely rounded and very slim.
- Remote: Remote is pre-programmed, universal type, with minimalistic design. Nothing extraordinary about it. Some keys can be lit by pressing a “light” button.
- Unexpected bonus: This TV supports the PAL color system for two of its (composite) video inputs. This is a great feature for me to have in India, where the cable and satellite programming is in PAL. Another bonus is an excellent comb filter, which shows clear picture even with composite video input (which is the case with my satellite box). The TV, however, doesn’t have univeral power supply (100-240V), which would have been nice. I have to use a step-down transformer (240 to 120V), but otherwise the TV works fine.
Now for the areas where more work is needed from Sharp:
- Picture: Although Sharp claims a wide viewing angle – and many people have said that the viewing angle on this TV is better than the Sony EX models – the black level does get affected as you move from the exact straight line from the TV. Specifically, you can see the picture getting lighter even from a few degrees to the side. This is not a big concern in a family room setting, but the folks sitting right opposite get the best picture as per your setting. Also, in a fully dark room, you can see the border areas around the movie frame as grayish. In other words, the black levels are best with some ambient lighting and not in a dark room (perhaps as to be expected in a LCD TV).
- Sound: The TV’s sound output is weak, but usable in a moderate sized room. There is no bass at all to speak of, and the audio settings like simulated surround and bass enhancer are useless. The speakers in this TV are recessed (behind the frame and down-firing), and this doesn’t help the cause of good audio either. I use the TV’s speakers only when watching Satellite programming, and find it to be tolerable.
- Build quality: While the stand is solid, and the back is well-done, the frame has a loose feelng when you press it (with some movement). Sharp could have done this better.
- Lack of swivel: This TV cannot be swivelled to suit your sitting position. This is a drawback due to the picture issue mentioned above.
- No S video input: A minor irritant. But with the excellent processing of composite video signals, this doesn’t seem to be a big issue.
- No earthing in power cord. Not sure if this is a problem. The power cord supplied is also very short.
The AQUOS® LC-60E88UN 60″ Class (60-1/32″ Diagonal) is a high-performance large screen LCD TV. With Sharp’s Full HD 1080p X-Gen Panel and true 240Hz Fine Motion Enhanced, it produces a breathtaking picture quality that is second to none. The LC-60E88UN has built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners and 4 HDMI® inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, as well as 2 HD 1080p component inputs. It features a sleek piano black cabinet and subtle recessed bottom-mounted speakers. read more.
