Sharp Aquos LC52D85U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My new Sharp Aquos LC52D85U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV arrived in 4 days, and 3 days early from the Video & Audio Center, in perfect shape. The courier helped me unpack, set up and place this monster on its stand. Great service does not get any better than that. I first plugged in the HDMI connection to my RR HD-DVR and then the power plug, sat down & and struggled to find the HDMI connection I had used in the onscreen menu - there were so many inputs it was trial and error(didn't read the manual, no time!). Finally I landed on input 4 which was the live HDMI connection - the channel was set to a full HD channel and had a Fleetwood Mac concert recorded in 2004 playing in full glorious 1080i. I could see every strand of fly away hair and split ends on Stevie Nicks. Frankly I almost soiled myself because I was not expecting THAT degree of picture quality. I am still getting goosebumps from this beauty. This HDTV is just magnificent. The picture is bright, crisp and free of any banding issues. I can say without a doubt this TV will please even the most finicky of consumers. Tech types can tweak away at the hue and saturation controls to their hearts contect, color temperature, active contrast, fine motion are all customizable. The set even makes 480i HBO broadcasts look almost like HD quality.
I have been reading online reviews and customer experiences for over 3 months on all brands of HDTV's prior to pulling the trigger, and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this HDTV. I am reluctant to touch the fine tuning picture controls for fear of messing with the already perfect, gorgeous picture right out of the box! One of the reasons I ruled out other brands such as Samsung was the lack of a matte screen to combat reflective glare, as my living room has two banks of floor to ceiling windows & also with cathedral ceilings, facing south. Thus I was concerned with buying just an expensive mirror. It is so sunny in my viewing area an old CRT set was unwatchable during the brightest morning hours - not so this Sharp HDTV. The anti-reflective surface completely eliminates any bothersome reflections. The viewing angle is just about as advertised, I can stand almost 75 degrees to the side and still can view the screen. Just an amazing set. I liked the way the TV will indicate the screen resolution upon changing to a new channel, I find this to be a nice touch. I really liked that the user can alter the range of the OPC and power saving feature so as to limit the degree that the set will automatically reduce brightness in a dark room.
An aggressive price, & free shipping just clinched it for me; I had already decided on the Sharp. This a just a great HDTV, if you are considering this set at all, just go for it.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Sharp Aquos LC52D85U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Click here for more information about Sharp Aquos LC52D85U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Read More...

Sharp AQUOS LC52LE700UN 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was a bit hesitant to buy this TV as I was waiting for a price drop on the Samsung LN52B750 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV with Charcoal Grey Touch of Color for several days. Then, at Fry's I saw Sharp's new LC52LE700UN standing next to Samsung's LN52B750 and they both looked quite similar, though Samsung's screen was slightly brighter. The picture quality appeared to be the same. I grabbed the Sharp's remote and changed the picture settings and I was able to increase the backlight up to match Samsung's level while still maintaining amazing contrast ratio and black levels.
By the end of the day I decided to go for the Sharp TV, and I had it for almost a week now. The picture looks really great at any time of the day, when the room is dark or lit (we have a side window facing south). The TV's sound is pretty good and clear, but I decided in advance that I'd like good external speakers to match this great TV.
The TV features also a VGA input (there's also an S-Video input), which is handy for connecting a computer or laptop. I tried connecting my MacBook Pro yesterday and it was able to drive it at 1344x756 (16:9) and 1344x1008 (4:3), but I couldn't get 1920x1080. The picture looks sharp, and it was good enough to watch Hulu on it.
If there's one thing I don't like about it, it's the remote, which is not really stylish to say the least (Samsung's glossy remote looks much better). That's not a deal breaker, since most common function (Power, volume, input selection) can be done by almost any Blu-ray remote anyway (I have Samsung BD-P3600 blu-ray player remote, which looks great).
Overall, this is an excellent TV for the price and the picture quality is comparable to higher-end Samsung TVs which cost few hundred dollars more.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sharp AQUOS LC52LE700UN 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV

Click here for more information about Sharp AQUOS LC52LE700UN 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV

Read More...

Sony XBR-52HX909 52" 1080p 240Hz 3D LED LCD HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I recently decided I was going to purchase a new TV. I went online and spent a lot of time researching everything. It seemed like the Samsung UNC8000 was a well liked set by most reviewers. It is a edge lit LEd set with the added feature of local backlight control.
So I go to BB to look at this set. I'm in a relatively bright area and I see flashlights in the bottom corners. No guessing where the light source is located. I think to myself, "self, how terrible will this look in lower light?" So I go into the Magnolia room and spot the Samsung UNC9000, the flagship. Really beaytiful looking set. Turn it on and it is flashlighting also. I ask the guy to turn on the other TV in the room. We are watching Beowolf and the scene goes black. The Samsung turns dark gray with corner flashlights and the other TV goes pitch black. I can't tell the bezel apart from the screen. "Oh my God!", I said, asking what TV I was looking at. Turns out it was the Sony HX909. I didn't remember reading much about it. More about the PQ. Gorgeous is all I can say. The colors were dead on. The trumpet in Beowulf was gold like a trumpet should be. Turn around and it is dull yellow on the Samsung. The dark blacks of the Sony create so much contrast that all you can say is Wow! I really tried to get the Samsung to match the Sony. I lowered the backlighting, made sure it was in cinema mode and that it had its backlight control on. It still looked terrible compared to the Sony. I then tried to make the Sony look bad. I put it in torch mode and there was no flashlighting and it was still pretty impressive.
So I knew I need to research a little more. Turns out what separates this set from the masses is its full array back lighting. Said another way, Most sets use LED lighting along the sides. This allows for cheaper manufacturing costs and thinner profiles with the downside of poor screen uniformity and annoying flashlights and waterfalls of bright light on a dark screen. The backlit sets puts the LEDs in the back behind the display. This adds the benefit of a more uniform appearance and much better black levels. The only downside I have heard of with these is the cost and halos around bright objects on dark backgrounds. Last year several manufacturers made full array sets. Samsung made the UNB8500, which cnet rated as one of the best sets they ever tested. Now all they make are edgelits. It seems that Sony, LG, and Vizio are the only makers left. Rumor has it that Sony is getting out of the game. Having seen the two technologies side by side, The full arrays are worth every penny. Better get one while you can as it looks like the manufacturers are taking a step backwards in PQ and focusing more on thinner, gadgets, and 3D. I guess that they are too expensive to make and thus hard to market and sell.
I have not seen the Vizio. The LG 9500 IMO is a really nice set but did not have as nice of blacks as the Sony. For the Sony...Televisioninfo.com rates this TV very highly except for its MSRP of $3,500. Cnet also rated it very good, criticizing it for some blue tones on black and also for its price. My set is calibrated (You can get very good settings for free off of AVS forums) and I see no blue tones on black. If you look around you can find this set for $2,300 online, which in my opinion makes the best LED out there at a good value.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony XBR-52HX909 52" 1080p 240Hz 3D LED LCD HDTV

Click here for more information about Sony XBR-52HX909 52" 1080p 240Hz 3D LED LCD HDTV

Read More...

Samsung LN52B630 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After spending way too much time researching and viewing these TVs at big box stores, I eventually bought this set from Amazon, and could not be happier.
I was in the plasma vs LCD debate for a while and decided that I needed/wanted the brightness of an LCD, didn't want to worry about any burn in issues (I know they are almost non-existent today anyway). I wanted 1080p and most plasma sets with 1080p are close to this price point as well. I debated for about a month between last years ln52a630 and the ln52a750, and which one to buy. The matte screen on the 630 was its highlight for me, but there was a sacrifice in the contrast ratio and other miscellaneous little "bells and whistles". The A750 being the more expensive model, the price point dropped so much, it was now pretty much an even swap. Hearing about the problems associated with the 750 including glare, halo and TOC flaking issues, I decided the 630 with its matte screen was the TV for me.
So, I price shopped the A630 for a few weeks until I stumbled across the new version of the set, the ln52b630. A little more money is WELL spent when upgrading to this TV. The contrast ratio is double 40,000:1 vs 80,000:1, and even dominates last years 50,000:1 A750's contrast ratio. Again, this TV also has the MATTE SCREEN! Almost no glare issues in my very bright viewing room, that has multiple windows and a sliding glass door.
The TV's picture quality is the best my friends and I have seen so far from an LCD. Deepest blacks and brightest brights are the comments I have been hearing when people see this TV in operation. The clarity in blu-ray 1080p with 120hz is breathtaking, you almost don't want to take your eyes off the screen. I have it connected to Dish Network's HD service and the PQ in 1080i is also superb, a slight loss in clarity and blur in fast moving sequences that is non-existent in 1080p. Standard def programing also looks great as well.
As far as audio, I have it setup through surround sound, so I cannot comment.
I have yet to connect an ethernet cable to use those features as well.
**UPDATE** I have attached the ethernet cable and the "infolink" features do work as advertised. It is a nice feature, news stories, temperature/weather, stocks all positioned in the corners of the screen. Will i ever use it, probably not. But, it works as advertised. I wish it was a way to update firmware for the TV rather than for these features.
The USB media port is another excellent feature. It allows you to play movies, music and pictures directly from the side of the TV with a USB flash drive or external hard drive. It will play almost any codec you throw at it, supposedly even x264(HD), have not been able to test this.
The remote is nicely designed and easy to use. Samsung eliminated the dreaded "click-wheel' on this years new models.
Delivery: Pilot was my shipping service, and I cannot say anything bad about the service. The delivered early and made the necessary phone calls to arrange delivery. The box was in great shape, as well as the TV inside.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung LN52B630 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

With Samsung's LN52B630, you're connected to great HD entertainment and up-to-the-minute online info. Enjoy a Full HD feast for the eyes, courtesy of the 1080p resolution and 52-inch LCD screen. Check sports scores, stock quotes, weather and other update able RSS content at just the touch of a button on your remote, with the InfoLink feature. Samsung's Auto Motion Plus120Hz technology keeps even the fastest on-screen motion smooth and natural. Enjoy bold black tones with an impressive 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Four HDMI inputs give you fast and easyconnection options for your Blu-ray Disc player and gaming system. And the stylish yet subtle Touch of Color design adds a red accent to the bezel's border – perfect in any modern home.

Click here for more information about Samsung LN52B630 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

Read More...