LCD TV Reviews Blog

Sharp LC46E77U 46 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Black

The AQUOS E77U series sets a standard for large-screen flat-panel TVs. With full HD 1080p resolution and an elegant design, this series produces a breathtaking picture quality that is second to none. The E77U series utilizes Sharp’s proprietary advanced super view superlucent/TFT panel with spectral contrast engine XD, providing high contrast ratio, 4ms response time and wide viewing angles (176?H x 176?V). In addition, E77U models include 120Hz fine motion enhanced for the ultimate in fast-motion image processing. This model is HDTV with built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners and includes 5 HDMI inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, and 2 HD 1080p component video inputs. The E77U series features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle recessed bottom-mounted speakers. The included table stand features swivel capability for viewing angle convenience, and is also easily removed for wall-mounting applications.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Bargain winner
Just purchased this gem a few days ago and its performance has been spectacular. Setup was quite easy and multiple tweaks allow you to view the picture according to your individual taste. Blu-ray movies are as clear as you could possibly want, and baseball and football games on high def cable are equally enjoyable to watch.

With this set, you don’t need to spend big bucks to obtain superior performance. It’s a bargain winner.

5 Stars Several pros, some cons.
I got this LCD to replace an Aquos 42D65U; mainly because of my old set lacked a 10-bit panel and 120Hz video processor, features that are present with this set.

I am kind of picky regarding features and while some people might think Im a bit exaggerated regarding details this review is to address anyone whom needs to know specific details to help to decide about getting this set.

PROS:

-There are a lot of options in the menu that let you fine-tune the calibration of the image. If you own a calibration DVD or Blu ray you can easily achieve a perfect image and color balance that can also be tweaked to your personal taste.

-Input lag in GAME Mode is practically inexistent; I read that some brands have severe input lag while other brands also offer some sort of GAME mode to reduce such lag, but after personal comparisons SHARP manages it better.

-120Hz processing gives you a very smooth image and not as exaggerated as displayed by other brands and also NO artifacts!

many people turn this option off because it sometimes look unnatural, and I agree. Watching a movie that looks like a soap opera its not cool and sometimes it looks just plain silly and eerie, but this set manages it without going to the extreme and looks smooth and natural…and you can just turn it off if it bothers you.

Also note this: NO artifacts!

CONS:

note: I repeat, Im picky, maybe you wont notice these CONS and if you do you may not give a lot of thought to it as they are not catastrophic faults.

-that 10-bit panel promise of smooth transition between colors is not quite true. While it certainly alliviates some instances of color transition, that step between different shades of the same color are still present, not a deal-breaker issue, maybe you even havent noticed it.

-Light Banding, If you dont know what banding is, dont look for it, dont go fishing for problems. Old Aquos set had this problem and VERY more noticeable than it is in this set; also not a deal-breaker but mildly annoying if you look for it and visible only in specific panning scenes.

-Transitions of skin tones in faces sometimes look a bit posterized, or softened. Im stubborn and picky I want to see the pores on averyone faces, be able to count the eyelashes! But if you watch TV from the recommended distance then its absolutely no problem and also it might be a matter of personal taste for some people since professionals recommend to set the sharpness of the picture at low settings. Turning down the Fine Motion and dejudder settings dont alleviate this issue, but as I said, its only somewhat visible in skin tones at close-ups, otherwise the details of objects are spot-on.

MOVIE and GAME modes are my recommended settings since I found both DYNAMICs, STANDARD, PC and USER modes more of a chore to calibrate and ultimately pointless since movie/game work perfect for me.

The picture is gorgeous, Blu Ray movies look amazing and both Xbox and PS3 also have excellent image quality and no lag. The price is really accesible compared to other brands and it might not have LAN connectivity or included content as weather widgets or cooking recipes as competing sets but you might already have several devices that offer those functions and its not a big deal.

So if you are disappointed in looking around the web or forums for those very specific details regarding this LCD I hope this helps you.

4 Stars It’s good “out of the box” but not perfect
I decided to take the plunge and get this TV after my last TV (a HDTV CRT) had its tube burst on me this summer. My requirements were pretty straightforward:

- 1080p (have to be future proof)

- 46″

- 120Hz or greater refresh rate so I don’t have to deal with blurring when I’m watching sports

I’m happy with my Sharp LC46E77U with one exception: I think I’m seeing some blurring. Not a lot of blurring by any means, but I wasn’t expecting any blur from a 120Hz TV. To be completely honest with you, I’m not sure if it’s due to the broadcasts I’m watching or the TV causing ghosting effects, but it is a little bothersome right now.

The TV is great for almost all my daily viewing needs. We’ll just have to see if the small amount of blur bothers me during football season.

4 Stars Very fine TV
Quality

I had another LCD Sharp for four years before this one. That one has survived two cross-country moves and the pixels are still perfect. My feeling is that Sharp’s panels tend to have fewer dead pixels than their competition. Also, there are many fewer complaints about the sets suddenly not turning on after two months (in stark contrast to Samsung). So I regard Sharp as a high-quality but relatively cheap LCD TV maker.

Picture

The picture quality is fine (I’m not a videophile) and HDTV really is lovely. Imagine being able to see the food served on the Food network… to say nothing of a football or golf ball. I like the 120MHz motion de-juddering, but I have it turned to low rather than high. It really is quite unnatural in the high setting – everything looks like an episode of the Teletubbies. Maybe I’ll get used to it. The “OPC” thing is annoying, but you can turn it off and/or stop the little leaves from appearing every thirty seconds. I think it has something to do with dynamic contrast, which takes the ambient light in the room into account, but I can’t be sure. Suffice it to say, the picture is pretty good.

Sound

Also fine – how loud do you want it? Actually, the bass is a little overdone, but I’ve hooked up a soundbar and everything sounds great now. Nicely enough, this set acts a bit like a receiver: all my audio signals get channelled into the TV through HDMI connections and then I use a digital audio output to send it to my soundbar. I don’t need multiple wires to connect my soundbar. I thought that was a nice feature.

Set-up

Easy. Clear manual. Good menus. Functional remote control (which also operates my other Sharp TV and looks almost identical!).

Why buy?

The styling is fine. It’s not as thin as the latest Samsungs but it’s only 40 lb (that’s considerably lighter than last year’s D85U, which this replaces) and the design works well.

It’s energy efficient. Again, only the much more expensive Samsung LED-based LCDs are better, but they don’t have even lighting across the whole screen. Oh, there’s a Philips Eco-TV, too, but I never saw that in the shops.

It’s high quality and does the job. Basically, it’s a brand name product with the latest technology at a no-name price.

Why only 4 stars?

I wanted an LED set! No, seriously, this is a great TV with plenty of inputs (9 by my count, of which 5 are HDMI) and it’s energy efficient and light enough to transport or wall-mount. It’s not the lightest or the brightest or the loudest or the fastest, nor is it the cheapest, but it’s a good compromise on all those things.

5 Stars Very pleased with our Sharp LC46E77U HDTV
We have had the LC46E77U for about a month and we are very pleased. We have the LC46E77U hooked to a Tivo HD box and digital cable. The combination is a true joy.

Setup is very easy. I really didn’t have to do much. Setting up the picture was surprisingly simply… the picture was practically perfect out of the box. We have a 26″ Samsung HDTV and setting up the the picture on that TV took a lot more tweeking. The controls were easy enough to use and I had a picture I was happy with in no time. The Tivo set up the channels for me, so no fuss with that.

I have the LC46E77U set to adjust automatically to the picture source and all HD and SD channels are clear and proportionate with side top bars where needed and the picture is never stretched, deformed or unclear.

HD channels are stunning. Very sharp, colors are just right. I have noticed that the quality of HD content can vary depending on the source. Some content seems to be shot and/or processed by better equipment. The very best HD content looks almost 3D. Series Equator and Planet Earth are so clear and vivid that I can’t take my eyes off of it… and that’s just on cable. I haven’t even tried Blu-ray yet.

Sports on the LC46E77U look fantastic. I wanted the 120Hz feature for this reason and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s baseball season (the greatest sport ever invented) and it looks wonderful. I’ve seen some car racing, Tour de France and X-games and they all made me feel like I was right there at the event. I can’t wait for football to start!

SD channels look very good. Of course we are hooked on the HD channels, but when we do need to watch something which is SD, it’s really pretty good.

Viewing angles are very good and screen glare reduction is good. I have a sliding glass door in the room which is very bright in the morning. This is the only time I see reflections and they are not that bad. My old tube TV was much worse. The LC46E77U can automatically adjust to the light in the room and this seems to work well.

Sound is OK. I didn’t expect much from a flat panel TV since the speakers have to be pretty small. There’s really nothing wrong with the speakers; they are loud enough and don’t sound tinny, but they do not have a very rich sound. I have the TV’s analog audio output going to a pretty old stereo and the sound is quite good. I’m sure it would be even better with the optical audio output hooked to a more modern sound system, but I’m happy.

Watching DVDs with a Phillips DVD player which upscales to 1080P looks as good as the HD channels from cable. I don’t have a Blu-Ray player but it’s hard to imagine that it would look much better than the upscaling DVD. I think I can wait for the Blu-Ray prices to drop some more before going that route.

I have hooked a Macbook to the LC46E77U (via an HDMI to DVI-D cable) and it is amazing. The LC46E77U uses the full 1920×1080 from the Mac. We ran slide shows of our digital photos off the Mac and we were blown away by the perfect quality of our photos displayed on the 46″ monitor. Photo viewing will never be the same at our house.

The cabinet is very attractive and well built. The gold champagne accent at the bottom of the bezel is subtle and nice. The swivel base is very handy if you want to reach around the back hook up an input.

There are plenty of input and output connectors on this TV. I can’t imagine anyone would have a need for more. Having several connectors on the side is very nice.

Overall I am very pleased and really can’t think of anything negative. For the price, quality and features, I don’t think this set can be beat.

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