Sharp LC-46LE831E review

Last year saw the debut of 3D TVs from major manufacturers, but one or two of the big brands lagged behind. Sharp, the biggest TV brand in Japan and maker of the LCD panels behind Sony Bravia TVs such as the KDL-40NX703 (to name but one of its customers), had an excuse for lateness; Quattron.

Updated to work on its first 3D TV, the Sharp LC-60LE925E , late in 2010, the technology sees its second generation on this 46-inch LE831 series TV.

For anyone who missed it, Quattron was a genuinely innovative attempt to take picture quality to the next stage. As the name just about suggests, Quattron is a four-colour system that adds yellow to the normal red, green and blue (RGB) mix in every pixel on a flat screen TV.

Four-play over, the Sharp LC-46LE831E has more to tempt in a relatively high-end package. Its chief attraction is 3D, for which Sharp favours active technology. That it's not prepared to sacrifice any detail by employing the potentially lower-res passive 3D tech is hardly surprising, considering its clear obsession with picture quality.

And while we're half expecting cheaper passive 3D sets to dominate the mass-market before long (more and more brands seem to be adopting it), the LC-46LE831E seems destined for home cinemas, and therefore can afford to use the more precise and pricier active 3D system.

Unlike a lot of manufacturers, most notably Samsung, which quickly abandoned Full LED in favour of a slimmer Edge LED array, Sharp has persevered with the former – and on the LC-46LE831E sees its work come to fruition.

Just 34mm in depth, the Sharp LC-46LE831E boasts a svelte design indeed. To our mind, that's slim enough, and not much of a compromise if it also means better contrast. This telly sports an upside-down 'V' in the centre below the screen and touch-sensitive controls in the bottom right-hand corner that light up when touched. It's a classy look indeed.

For now there is just a 40-inch LC-40LE831E sibling to this screen, but more screen sizes are expected to arrive later this summer.

Sharp LC46LE810 46" AQUOS 1080p LED LCD HDTV (LC 46 LE 810 UN) at ...

Sharp takes the lead in LED LCD HDTV technology with their swanky new 810 series flat panel televisions. Built with breakthrough technology like their Quad Pixel 4-color filter, a stunning new LED edge-light design, 4,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a built-in media player, plus full internet connectivity via their AQUOS Net service, the 810 series is winner-takes-all.

If you've found yourself improvising in order to get the full gamut of color reproduction out of your HDTV, Sharp has come to the rescue with their Quattron Quad Pixel technology. See, traditionally, the color spectrum is based on the "primary" colors red, yellow, and blue, the combination of which produces the array of secondary and tertiary colors. Unfortunately, the traditional HDTV color filter technology — based on red, blue, and green — failed to acknowledge that green is not a primary color. Green is a secondary color produced by combining yellow and blue. You may be mumbling under your breath, Get to the point copywriter, but think about it: how is your TV going to accurately reproduce yellow-green or yellow-orange hues if there's no yellow to start with? That's where Sharp's Quad Pixel comes into play. Quad Pixel filter technology adds yellow to the red, blue, green line-up. This means true yellows, golds, sea foam greens, marigolds, and tropical sea blues will be reproduced with a level of brilliance not seen before on an HDTV. And that's why you want an HDTV, right? Yeah, those yellow lenses may increase contrast and depth perception, but admit it, they're a bit ridiculous. Going thin to win

For the high-end LC-46LE810's, Sharp employs their proprietary AQUOS LED LCD system, comprised of the X-Gen LCD panel plus UltraBrilliant LEDs to produce a super-skinny cabinet with super-star picture quality. How do they do it? First off, they use Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as the light source combined with a unique "double-dome" light amplifier lens and multi-fluorescents. As opposed to the fluorescent lights used by standard LCDs, the X-Gen panels are able to serve up incredible color purity and detail. Also, because the re-designed LCD panel has less ribs than traditional panels, the pixels are better sealed which enables nearly all light to be blocked resulting in darker images. In fact, the LC-46LE810 offers an impressive 4 million to one dynamic contrast ratio, signaling the ability to reproduce deep blacks for sharp, fine detail. Also, indulging those of you who are looking to a flat panel HDTV for a clean, modern home theater aesthetic, the X-Gen series arranges the LEDs around the panel's edge rather than placing them directly behind the screen, achieving an ultra-thin panel depth of only two inches.

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Sharp Magazine October 2008