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Sharp HDTV
Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U At a Glance
Every HDTV model has its own pros and cons, which are both worth considering when shopping for an HDTV. The Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U, for example, consumes less electricity than most models but produces black levels which are not too deep. It has other pros and cons, as well, which you should look into before buying one.
One of the best features of the Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U is its excellent 120 Hz video processing system, which allows it to display up to 120 frames per second – five times the film rate of 24 frames per second. It also has a frame-interpolation algorithm called the Fine Motion Enhanced setting, which inserts alternate frames into the actual frames to create smooth motion transition and sharper moving images.
The LC-52D85U also has an automatic backlight. All LCD televisions have either a fluorescent or LED backlight, and in most cases, you have to adjust its brightness to suit different lighting conditions, just as you do with the LCD screen of your computer. With the LC-52D85U, however, the backlight adjusts automatically so you won’t have to change anything. You don’t even have to keep adjusting the contrast ratio because this is something the LC-52D85U does automatically, as well, to produce clear images with great colors.
The LC-52D85U comes with an adequate, if not excellent, number of inputs and outputs, as well, though not as extensive as some high-end models due to the absence of a USB port, LAN port and SD card slot. It has five HDMI inputs – which is more than most HDTV sets offer – along with two component video inputs, 1 S-video input, four audio line-ins and several other popular ones. It even has a VGA input so you can connect any computer you have and use the HDTV screen as your monitor.
Aside from these, the LC-52D85U uses a 10-bit LCD screen for smoother color gradations, and offers a color management system so you can control the hue and saturation of the primary and secondary colors. You can even control your other HDMI-capable devices, turning them on and off at the same time by pressing just one button, which is made possible by the Aquos Link feature of the LC-52D85U.
As for the cons, one of the areas in which the Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U falls short is its design. Like many HDTVs, the LC-52D85U has a glossy black frame with no accents to set it apart from the rest of the crowd. In the same way, the remote control looks like several others, with buttons that are too small and difficult to distinguish from each other in the dark even with the backlight on, since the labels are on the body and are not illuminated.
The LC-52D85U also fails in terms of user-friendliness since its manual does not have an index and its on-screen menu presents many problems. One such problem is that it remains on the screen while you are making adjustments, making it difficult to see and tweak the images. It is also difficult to tell which input is which on the menu, since all are listed and appear only as Input 1, Input 2, and so on and so forth, instead of being labelled as AV or HDMI. To be fair, you can rename the inputs to the device they are connected to so you can have an easier time remembering them.
Like its design, the audio quality of the Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U also fails to impress, lacking depth and clarity which results in poor dialogs, which is why it is best paired with an excellent surround sound system. In spite of all these, though, the Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U is still a great purchase for its price – which is lower than some 50-inch sets – so it is still worth considering.
About the Author
Chris Malone is an electronics expert who writes Sharp LCD TV reviews. To learn more about the Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U, visit HDTVReviewLab.com.
