Customer Reviews

Sharp Aquos LC52D62U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Have owned this set for over a month, and overall am very happy with it. I carefully compared this to competitive Sony and Samsung models, and felt it was the best choice available on the market today. But it is by no means perfect...

Strengths:
-picture quality in all modes is excellent. Upconverting of standard def and 480p DVD's is best I've seen. 1080i from satellite box is simply stunning in clarity. 1080p via HDMI from PC is beautiful. Fast motion is handled without smearing. Don't be afraid of sitting close to this beautiful screen; I went with the 52" for an 8 foot viewing distance and it looks great from that distance even with SDTV.

Weaknesses:
-only two HDMI inputs. With Satellite, PC, high-def DVD and game consoles all ideally using HDMI, would like to see at least 3, if not 4 HDMI inputs.
-remote control. It's not really "universal". Doesn't control any audio except Sharp. Doesn't learn. Doesn't include DISH satellite codes. Has backlighting, but a lot of the buttons have the labeling on the adjacent, unlit surface of the remote, so in the dark you can't figure out which button is which.
-on-screen input labels. Sharp has improved this vs. my older 37" set, by allowing user to select from about a dozen different possible names for various inputs, eg. to replace "Input 2" with "DVD" or "Satellite". But inexplicably they didn't include among the choices "PC" or "Game", so two of my four inputs had to be left with generic labels.

And finally, the big issue with this set is the prevalence of very faint permanent vertical and horizontal "bands" in the image. This has been widely reported on other websites, so it is not just my set; it appears to be an instrinsic characteristic of the way the set is designed and/or manufactured. The bands are so faint that in most viewing situations you will not notice them. In fact the other members of my family aren't even aware of the issue, and I'm not about to point it out! But if you use it as a computer monitor where you frequently have a solid color displayed on the screen, you will notice a faint but clearly defined, almost plaid pattern of lighter and darker areas where you should see completely uniform brightness. The pattern doesn't move, suggesting that it is somehow related to the physical construction of the panel, perhaps the way the backlight is distributed, or maybe the way the panel is held in place. In any event, once you know it's there, you begin to notice it occasionally during normal viewing when the screen displays an area of solid color. I don't want to overstate this issue: my older 37" sharp doesn't have any "bands", but it also doesn't have the color richness, the deep blacks, the wide viewing angles, the fast response that make this new set so great. So on balance, I'd say even with this minor defect, I still consider the new set to have much better picture than the old one. But there is room for Sharp to raise the bar even further, hence the 4 stars instead of 5.

This TV has an absolutely outstanding picture. The picture will blow you away. It works wonderfully in a brightly lit room. I have it connected to a Dish Network 622 HD DVR and a Samsung Blu-Ray disk player that supports full 1080p. 1080p + BluRay = WOW! The Aquos replaced an older Hitachi 1080i HD rear projection set. The difference is astonishing. The change is easily as dramatic as going from an old CRT computer monitor to a flat panel LCD.

There is no sign of the horizontal banding that everybody is talking about. The set was purchased on the 10th of December. Apparently this is an issue that has been fixed. I even connected it to my PC and displayed various solid colors to see if there was any banding. There is none on my set.
RECENT EDIT:
After having this TV for a while, and being paranoid after hearing the comments regarding the horizontal banding, I have to admit, that I have noticed slight "banding" on very dark scenes, that are black or almost black (Like between commercials). Also, noticable in dark scenes is some vertical banding caused by backlighting irregularities. Let me emphasize that these bands are slight and are simply slight brightness variations. Under "normal" viewing, the picture looks perfect. The banding only appears between commercials when you don't care what you are watching anway. Still a great TV, especially for the price.

The high points are:
1. 1080p - Need I say more?
2. LCD - No burn in, 60,000 hour backlight
3. Good response time on LCD for fast movement (sports)
4. Good over the air HD tuner. Locks in stations that my Dish 622 can't
5. Beautiful, bright picture.
6. Flat (duh)
7. 52" for a "almost reasonable" price. The price was low enough for me to blow a bunch of bucks on one. Comparable price to plasma of lower resolution. The 57 and 60" LCD sets are 2 - 3 times the cost.

If you want to be very picky, I have a few gripes..
1. The backlight is a bit inconsistent. It is only noticable on almost completely black scenes where you can see 4 vertical, not as black, bands. Again, the only time it is noticable is on a almost completely black picture with the backlight intensity cranked all the way to the flame thrower setting.

2. The response to the remote is a little slow. It seems at times that the processor, or whatever is in there, is doing something else for a second or two when using the remote. Sometimes when I press a button, and don't get an immedate reaction, I press the button again, then I get the effect of pressing the button twice. The problem is with the set, not the remote, for I get the same response using a universal remote. This isn't a big problem, though, because I rarely go into the menus.

3. Channel surfing using the built in tuner is slow. I think the set is locking on to the digital signal or something. This slowness results in tedious channel surfing because there is maybe a 2 second delay between channels. I only use the built in Tuner to receive over the air brodcasts that my satellite provider does not give me, so this is not usually a problem.

4. This set only has 2 HDMI inputs, but also has 3 component inputs. I would prefer another HDMI.

5. The built in sound system sounds... a bit flat. It's not as good as my old rear projector with that nice big cabinet and big speakers. But, this set is usually running through a surround system anyway. A nice feature is the digital audio output to connect back to a surround system.

Despite these few shortcomings... I very happy with my purchase.

I purchased this set thru Amazon after reading the usual reviews. Delivery was quick (before Christmas despite being told it may be until January). Delivery was by truck with two fellows unloading and offering to remove the TV from the box, take all the junk, and deliver the set inside. I was very pleased with the delivery.

The TV was mounted on a wall and worked perfectly for the first two days. Beautiful picture. The colors were accurate, blacks very acceptable, and no hint of "ghosting" with movement. We tried cable TV (our HD is not yet installed), video games and DVD's. Picture with each was very good, especially the DVD.

However, on day three a green vertical stripe, about four inches wide, appeared on the right side of the screen. Also, the color on the right half of the screen is distorted. In addition, a slight purple band sometimes appears to the left of the green one. Fine vertical lines were very evident separating the bands.

I called Sharp and was told "They are aware of a banding problem with this TV", so this problem is not the imagination of other reviewers. I was instructed to take digital photos of the screen and email them so their engineers can determine what to do. I am now awaiting contact from Sharp as they determine what the problem is before dispatching repair service.

I am disappointed that this problem has occured, and it may be isolated problem. Perhaps I was just unlucky to receive a defective unit. I am waiting to see how rapidly Sharp can resolve this. I was told that I am eligible for in-home service.

My new Aquos arrived on February 2, 2007. Delivery was delayed because the TV was out of stock. Sharp dispatch called me twice explaining the replacement delivery delay and the date of delivery (although I had to wait a half hour on hold each time I called them)

The delivery truck driver and I unloaded the box, unpacked the new Aquos, and repacked the old one.

The new set works perfectly (one week) with no hint of banding.
I love this set because I have large windows opposite the wall it is mounted on and there is little or no reflection (unlike the plasmas I looked at)
I am very pleased with the Aquos and would now give it 5 stars *****
My only gripe is the difficulty of attaching cables once the Aquos is mounted on a wall.

Okay, so after reading all the reviews and hearing the horror stories on support, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge with the Sharp. I was on the fence between the Aquos and the Sony but went with Sharp to save a few hundred $$$. (Stay with me here...its worth the read). So I shopped online and found an outfit (not Amazon) to purchase from who looked like they had a pretty good return policy. When I got the unit, I was blown away by the picture but hmmmm....oh no....I'm seeing these veritcal bars (3 to be exact) that everyone talked about. It was almost as if the TV were divided into 3rds and I could distinctly see the lines. So I call the web store (again NOT Amazon) and although friendly, they told me something different than my sales guy had told me. Essentially they said "pursue with Sharp and if it doesn't work out 'we'll make it right." Oh no....I've read the horror stories of Sharp's Support but here goes.

So I call Sharp's standard support line and get to speak to somebody pretty quickly who takes down all my info, gives me a case number and tells me they'll call me the next day with a plan. They don't call. So I call back, get another person, give them my ticket number and they start asking me 50% of the questions I answered the day before. When I ask why, they say "Its not all in here for some reason". So I re-explain the problem and they ask if I can take some digital pics. I told them "it didn't show up well on the digital pics". They say they'll call back later that day....they don't. (Why am I giving them 4 stars? Keep reading). I call back the next day, same story.....they have 50% of my info and reask all the same questions. Only this time, they say they're going to send out a local service tech and provide me the local company name and contact. So I call (proactively...I'm not waiting for him to call me) and they say "so when do you want our guy to come out and take the digital pics to send to Sharp?". I say "huh? You're sending a repair/analyst guy right?" They say "no...Sharp says take some digital pics....that's all we're doing." (Okay, so right about now Sharp is failing miserbly (0 stars). So I call back again and start telling them I want to speak to a manager. But this guy is different....this guy says these magic words: "Have you called our special, new Aquos support number?" I tell him no and ask why I wasn't asked this before. He says "Oh, its so new (this was 2nd week of July 2007) that some of our own people don't know about it. Here's the number, they'll take care of you. (this is where we go to 5 stars....but I'm only giving them 4 due to the pain). I call this number and its like a different company. A very helpful person takes all the info (yeah...again) and convinces me to send the digital pics even though they're not great...just so she can get me past that step. I go home that night and take the pics (which, by the way, showed the flaw better on camera than to the naked eye). I email them to her at 9:00 a.m. and by lunchtime, I've got a voicemail back from them saying "it looks like a bad panel to us. We've got a brand new TV on the way to you. Should be there in 4-5 days." New TV arrived, they took the old one back and blamo problem fixed. There are no vertical bars or "light blotches" like I experienced before. They even called me back a week later to inquire about the new TV. If you call the special Aquos support number (call the main number and ask), they're awesome. I think there was so much bad publicity (likely all true based on my experience with standard support) that Sharp decided they had to fix that if they were going to be in this market.

Now that the support issue seems to be fixed, let me talk briefly about the TV itself. I'm suitably impressed. LCD isn't perfect but after having it for a couple months now, I have to say I think I got my money's worth. Its not as cool as the $5k plasma I see at Circuit City but its better than the $1300 50' plasma my friend just purchased. I look at his and think "mine blows that away". I still notice "the screen" when the camera pans up or down....almost like you can see the "white" of the screen more. I never noticed that in the store but I've also never had another LCD in my home for a couple months to closely scrutinize. There's no doubt if I'd dropped $4-5k on a plasma it would look better than this but, at $2600 this is a good buy. None of my friends have noticed these 1-2 quirks that I suspect are LCD issues and not 'Sharp" issues. As a matter of fact, most people comment that its the most awesome picture they've ever seen and wonder why their 50' LCD from whatever other brand isn't this cool. Hope this helps somebody out there.

I bought this TV because its specs and price made it look like a good value. I also wanted an LCD because our room has lamps that show up as a reflection in the screens of Plasmas. This TV is a great value when compared to its competition.

Now the bad. My TV had "banding" issues like so many other people's sets. I was prepared to send the unit back to Amazon when I noticed the box for the set had instructions to call Sharp instead of returning the product. BIG MISTAKE!!! Here is why:

First, it will take a good 20 to 30 minutes to get to the "dispatch" department at Sharp in order to file your warranty service request.

Second, Sharp will promise you a replacement TV (in my case) within 2 to 3 weeks. This was discouraging because the TV was bad right out of the box. I figured this was about as long as it would take to exchange with Amazon, so I continued.

Third, when your TV does not show up 4 weeks later, you will need to wait on the phone 20 to 30 minutes to find out why your replacement TV did not show. The answer will be..."we will send one when we get one." Turns out there where LOTS of people ahead of me. While Sharp continues to put TVs in the store, they do not send out warranty units very quickly.

Long story short, I ended up calling sharp half a dozen times demanding resolution only to be told there was nothing the warranty (dispatch) department could do. Going up through the management does nothing. Dispatch claims to be on an island of sorts with no way to signal the mother land. So, I ended up waiting for 5 MONTHS to get a replacement.

So, I ended up paying December 2006 prices to have a TV at the end of MAY 2007. I will NEVER buy a Sharp product again. While the replacement working TV is ok (looks washed out compared to Plasma or Samsung LCD) I feel like Sharp has made it clear that the end consumer is of little/no importance. They are much more concerned about putting new units into Best Buy stores than supporting the customers who have already bought their product.

I'll never buy a Sharp product again, but I'm sure they won't miss me.

If you do decide to take the risk of buying a Sharp product, make sure you can and DO return it to the place you bought it in the unfortunate case of a defective unit.

Good luck, you will need it.

After many nights of reading post here and running to bestbuy to check out the Sharp 52" LCD, I bit the bullet and picked up one yesterday. I did all the home work got the best price and went to bestbuy and they beat my best price. I ran home with my set and me and my brother set it up and BANG..... I could not believe my eyes. I hooked up the HD cable and my new Sony upconvert dvd with HDMI cables and played with the set all night. I even used Video Essentials dvd to calibrate the colors. Now if all the suspense is killing you, now you see how I felt for the last two weeks. LOL.. Here is what Bang means:

The Picture is excellent
The colors are excellent
Everything works as the manual states.
The Price ($3150.00) + tax is right. I got 52" for what a 46" Sony cost and a good picture.
The blacks are excellent.

and now for the info you have been waiting for>>>>> Drum roll...

Serial number X611xxx did not have any banning. I used test screens that the Video Essentials dvd had and I used the service menu. The only way to get the 3 very faint bands is to turn the backlight and brightness and contrast all the way up while a grey screen was on. I am not calling anyone a liar but the set when watching tv or a movie is excellent. I would like to take this Video essentials dvd to bestbuy and run it on a Sony XBR 3 and put the controls all they way up and see if I see bands? Gray sold color patterns are the only place you can see the bands. This message is for anyone on the fence, get the tv. It looks nice, it plays nice and move on with life. By the Way I do not work for sharp and If you are not happy take it back, mine is a keeper.

I went to my local electronic store and knew what I wanted, a samsung LNS-5296D, 52"lcd, then I saw the Aquos, I came back home did my research and returned 2 days later to purchase it. First off I got a great price for this big of an LCD $3,030 plus tax. This TV offers so much.

1. 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, the highest available
2. 4ms response time, faster than others, the closest I found was the samsung at 8ms.
3. Easy set up and great to get out of the box.
4. My entire room looks and feels better with this TV in it.
5 I do not yet have my HD direct TV receiver hooked up and the picture is unbeleivable, watching a dvd in 1080 you will see things on movies you have never seen before, I also have my xbox 360 hooked up in 1080p, its simply amazing.

I am still playing with the adjustments, which is very easy. This TV does offer an OPC? adjustment which automatically adjust the backlight for the lighting in the room, I howver turned that setting off as I felt it was too dark for my taste, but the option is there.
I have found no signs of banding, this TV is as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. I'm very happy with my purchase and would recomend this tv for anyone looking for a great LCD tv.
UPDATE: January 8th, still no high def sat receiver apparently Direct TV is out of receivers. The picture clarity is as good as it can be trying to put a analog signal into a digital TV, I purchased a set of $40 High Def rabbit ears ant and was able to pick up alot of High Def channels and even at Mid 60's antenna strentgh the Crispness and clarity is unmatched of any other TV I looked at. I have been watching it alot and still no banding or any other problems. Also this TV does not show glare on the screen as someone else has indicated, he must have a spot light pointing at the TV. The only reason there is a glare on the picture I submitted is due to the camera flash.
UPDATE: February 9th, I finally got my direct tv HD dvr, after getting it set up, the PQ is simply amazing, on solid black screens or if you decide to go looking for them in the service menu, I do have slight horizontal and vertical banding, its not noticable while watching tv, I've heard of people going through 5 of these sets only to get one with worse banding so I'm keeping mine unless sharp comes up with a fix...In most cases if you dont go looking you will never see it. Its a great TV

I bought my 52" Aquos in late February. It worked great for the first month. The picture was fabulous, especially when watching PS3 Blu-Ray movies. Shortly thereafter it started to seriously malfunction. That is when the nightmare started. The image on the screen would suddenly become pixelated, ghosted, distorted -- yes all of the above -- to the point of being unwatchable. If you cycled the power, the problem would go away for a while but return at random intervals -- usually during the best part of a movie. This was independent of any input or source -- cable box, PS3, DVD, made no difference. HDMI or component video input made no difference either. The malfunctions became more frequent and now the TV has failed completely. When you turn on the TV, the pixels light up like a X-mas tree and that is all you see.

I demanded a replacement TV from Amazon, but they said I had it too long and had to deal with Sharp. I called Sharp repeatedly and sent them photos of the malfunctions. After weeks of over-the-phone troubleshooting, they finally decided it needs a new mainboard. The local TV repair shop is scheduled to pickup the TV for repair. God only knows when I'll get it back. I paid big bucks for this TV. I am really upset. I have major buyer's remorse!

I purchased this TV and it was delivered yesterday and I already have a dead/hot pixel. It's a spot on my screen that is permanently white. I called the place I bought it from and also the manufacturer and neither of them will do something because they say it is impossible to make a perfect screen, so up to 2 dead pixels per quadrant of the screen is within acceptable limits. Of course no one told me that before I forked out three grand for this TV. I'm very disappointed.

Secondly, and I think this will get better as there is more HD options but anything that isn't broadcast in HD looks terrible. I kind of knew that might happen before I got it though, it just sucks because some of the cable channels I watch the most are available in HD yet.

Finally, people and redish/pinkish things look too red/pink. This is something that might be fixed through various settings but I haven't figured it out yet. However all the other colors look fine, and the color settings seems to affect all colors, there isn't a separate setting for red, green, blue.

[...]
The down side is deliver guys did't help me to put my TV on the table, the excuse is "the tv stand is not install yet, it is not our job". I know most lcd or plasma TV come with stand already installed. I wish the deliver guys would help me install it. This TV is big and heavy, don't try to move it by yourself.

Qualities:
1. Gosh, unbelieveable, I got more channels with this tv than my old analog TV. I am using Antenna and I got so many channels. Nice...
2. Sound is awesome, I feels like i have surround sound system but you still need sound system for Base, otherwise the stock speaker is already good. Can't complaint for the speaker! good job SHARP!
3. Banding problem? i don't have that. =) guys, when people got a problem, they always post it but when they don't have a problem, they never post anything. Don't worry too much about banding problem, this TV is great!
4. Analog channel? acceptable.. =) I am not a picky guy, for me it is good.
5. price? ow yeah.. $1000 cheaper than competitor brand. hehehe.. ^_^