Sharp Aquos LC32GD8E HD LCD review
| Design |
| Sharp have gone for elegance with the Sharp LC32GD8E. Now don’t stand too close or you will realise that the entire LCD is made from plastic, but at a distance you couldn’t tell a jot. The square frame comes in the standard matt black finish with a strip of silver at the bottom just to lift up the design. It’s this silver strip that also homes the speakers. The whole screen is sat on a sturdy swivel stand that is also in silver. All the connections are at the back including a single HDMI input, an AV input, a PC input, and two Scart terminals. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Basic set up is easy but there's a whole variety of settings for colour and brightness change which you might want to specify to your taste. |
| Features |
| So the Sharp Aquos LC32GD8E comes with 1366x768-pixel resolution which will accept both 720p and 1080i formats. It comes with high brightness 450cd/m2, and a high contrast ratio of 1200:1. The LC32GD8E comes with a 6ms response time which is pretty good for fast moving picture. As with any Sharp Aquos range the TV comes with Advanced Super View Black TFT which gives better viewing angles and low reflection qualities. The Aquos LCD comes with analogue and digital tuner and there’s also a CI card so you can top up your subscription to freeview. There’s loads of different settings to customise your TV to suit you such as black levels and colour adjustment and there’s also a nifty Optical Picture Control option that uses the light sensor built in to adjust the settings according to the light in your room – sort of an inferior version of the Philips Ambilight. The LCD also comes with NICAM/A2 Stereo and Dolby Virtual Surround Sound, eight days EPG and 60,000 hours Long Life Back light. |
| Performance |
| Considering the price of this Sharp TV we’re amazed at its performance. Picture quality was similar to other higher priced HD TVs we’ve tested like the Samsung R series for example. Picture quality was really good an colours were fantastic, particularly as you can change them to your specification. Black levels were good although they weren’t blacker than the night and seemed lean more towards grey than black, but detail and edge definition was pretty good. While normal TV was good, there wasn’t that amazing change when plugged into the HD box and image quality improved but to the same degree as other plasma or LCD TVs on the market. Sound quality wasn’t bad either for a TV that has a slither of a speaker on the bottom. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Sharp Aquos LC32GD8E LCD, remote control. |
| Overall Opinion |
| We’ve been going on about the price but this really is a cheap good quality TV. The Sharp Aquos LC32GD8E has good quality image, good sound and best of all doesn’t cost the earth. If you’re looking for a upgrade from your analogue TV to a HD plasma or LCD and aren’t really going to have lots of HD peripherals plugged in, then this is a damn good TV to purchase. |
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Pros + Very cheap + Decent picture + Freeview box + CI card slot |
Cons - Only one HDMI - Not best for HD viewing |
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Sound Quality 8/10
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Picture Quality 8/10
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Connectivity 7/10
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Future Compatibility 7/10
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Ease Of Use 8/10
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Overall Rating 
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By Babita Wakelin
23/10/2006 at 3:52:52pm
23/10/2006 at 3:52:52pm
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