Sharp AQUOS Quattron 52-inch LED TV - Gold Getter
Sharp spiced up their AQUOS LED TV series recently by adding a yellow sub-pixel to the conventional RGB formula, and the quad-pixel color technology is probably better known by its "Quattron" moniker. Is it worth its weight in gold? Leave it to us to determine if this 52-inch behemoth is truly capable of scoring livelier hues as advertised.
By HardwareZone Team -
The Fourth Element
Well, it looks like LED-backlit TVs are here to stay. We took a peek at DisplaySearch's Quarterly Advanced Global TV Shipment and Forecast report recently, and here are a few nuggets for you to pour over. Outlook for LCD TV shipments are expected to increase to 188 million units this year, according to the market research firm, propelled in part by the rapid adoption of LED-backlit models. Interestingly, the report also mentioned that TV manufacturers and suppliers were keen to roll out more LED-backlit units in 2010 but were unfortunately hampered by a shortage of component supply. If DisplaySearch's projections are to be heard, LEDs will eventually culminate as the primary type of LCD TV backlights by 2012. They've also foretold that 9 out of 10 LED-backlit models shipped in 2010 will be fitted with edge-type backlights. To us, however, this projected trend simply means the inevitable dawn of more sleeker displays to come; not that we are complaining though.
It is inevitable that 3D technology is still very much on consumers' minds, but Sharp has found a way to change the 2D equation with a little interesting additive of their own. Why yes, it is a yellow sub-pixel on their new Quattron range.
On that note, Sharp has not only waded into the popular edge-lit LED waters like the rest of big boys, but they've also added a fourth sub-pixel to their latest range of AQUOS HDTVs as well. We covered their where they explained to the media of their rational for this new approach. Christened as "Quattron", Sharp's quad-color filter now embraces the yellow element on top of the standard RGB combination. Their aim? To recreate every possible color in the world on a TV, and to reproduce "difficult" hues such as brassy gold and emerald green as they were meant to be. However, the LE820M didn't attain its flagship crown solely because of its yellow addendum. There's more. Sharp's X-Gen panel is supposedly able to achieve a brighter luminance, kudos to its larger aperture which allows more light through its panels. And let's not forget about their UV2A photo-alignment technology which presumably reduces backlight leakage. Given all that jazz, it is understandable why we were eager to determine if this Full-HD entry is truly able to live up to its marketing hype. Sharp sent to our labs a colossal 52-inch representation of the AQUOS Quattron LE820M. Find out how it fares in our scrutiny over the next few pages.
Design
The 52-incher is deceptively heavy given its thin frame, hence it's best to assemble the unit with an extra pair of hands. More importantly, Sharp has been busy at the drawing board, and the results are apparent on the new LE820M series. The AQUOS is a sight to behold, primarily for its posh and curvy presentation. The TV sports a slim 40mm girth, which isn't much of a surprise since it uses edge-lit LEDs. A matte silver accent surrounds the unit's perimeter, and to augment its high-brow tastes, physical aspects such as touch-sensitive controls, a chrome-colored spine and stylish glass stand are equally guilty of contributing to the Quattron's expensive demeanor. Unfortunately, the TV's panel is highly reflective due to the glossy coat. To minimize undesirable reflections, we'd advise viewing this baby with your room lights dimmed down, or better yet, turn them off altogether. On the up side, Sharp's latest LED installment boasts of a single-sheet design with a bezel that's flushed with the panel. This styling trend, if you recall, is similarly echoed by the likes of LG's Borderless design and Sony's Monolithic dress code. So as far as looks are concerned, Sharp has definitely following the trends.
Given its hefty weight and fragile glass stand, it's best to assemble the LE820M with an extra pair of hands. Although the manual recommends fastening the back-plate to the panel first, we'd recommend attaching the plate to the stand instead. It's much easier that way from our experience.
Slim is what the AQUOS Quattron is. The LE820M might have a massive diagonal size of 52 inches but it is merely 40mm thick, or just about four times the width of a ballpoint pen.
In our opinion, Sharp has scored the right mix with their Quattron's series. Yes, well defined lines and an elegant "boomerang" logo are a definite plus. The simple emblem lights up when the unit is powered on, though you can choose to disable it if illuminated logos aren't your thing.
A row of touch-sensitive controls add to the polished looks of the LE820M. Just next to it lies the remote control sensor and ambient light sensor. Also, notice that the bezel and screen are beautifully flushed with little difference between them.
Slender as it is, Sharp has somehow managed to pack the LE820M with a pocketful of connectors. An analog component input and RS-232C terminal sits below the back panel, while a string of four HDMI ports are flanked at the side. That's not all. The AQUOS also holds a USB port plus an Ethernet terminal for your home network. Additionally, this model is also engineered with Sharp's AQUOS Link, which runs on the HDMI-CEC protocol used to unify compatible AV devices. In front, the TV's remote control sensor is placed at the bottom corner so be sure to keep that spot unobstructed. You might like to know this TV swivels, 20 degrees both ways. Now, remember we talked about Sharp overhauling its designs? Well, the remote isn't spared either, but not necessarily in a bad way. The stick is now noticeably slimmer. Apart from that, we also spotted a couple of dedicated keys such as an OPC button to toggle its optical picture control on or off. By the way, the LE820M does not have any built-in digital tuners though we understand from Sharp that they might plan for one at a later stage.
Component inputs have been relegated to the bottom side of the back panel. Another rare inclusion is a serial RS-232C port which acts as a conduit for computer controls/updates and servicing needs.
You don't have to worry about a lack of HDMI ports; this Quattron has four. However, Sharp's recessed implementation makes them difficult to reach if the TV is wall-mounted. This might be an issue especially with its USB and Ethernet ports should you need to access them frequently.
Sharp made some tangible improvements with their remote's design if you were to compare it to the clunky old wand. The new stick is visibly slimmer and more refined. AQUOS Link controls are clumped at the top while the Menu button sits just above the directional pad.
Features
We have not have reviewed a Sharp display for a long spell, but it is evident the Japanese have finally made good use of the Quattron's Full-HD panel. On the LE820M, the menu interface is more refined compared to awkward graphics of the past. While its layout is visibly more attractive, it isn't exactly the most user-friendly. To return to the top strip, which harbors icons such as Setup and Link Operations, we had to hit the "Return" and directional buttons a couple of times before finding our way back. On the bright side, at least its layout does not interfere with what's on screen. There are eight whopping picture presets in all, including a "Dynamic Fixed" selection which is similar to the "Dynamic" preset except for locked-down image and sound settings. For the savvy, there are sufficient picture configurations to tinker with such as hue, saturation and color temperature adjustments. And like most modern sets, the AQUOS Quattron is also capable of shrinking your utility bills with its ECO features. This mainly reduces the backlights' brightness with Standard and Advanced options available.
There's enough configurations to please the adventurous and the savvy, such as a six-color adjustment system to increase or decrease the saturation levels of a selected color. However, navigation can be a little nerve-wrecking when you are toggling between the top strip and menu options.
The LE820M not only offers a wide range of advanced configurations, but it also comes with eight picture presets which is a little more than the norm. Head straight for the "User" preset if you'd prefer to fine tune every single detail. Also, take note of the unobtrusive GUI layout.
Oh, and let's not forget about media playback on the LE820M. Plug in a USB drive, and a pleasing "USB Media" screen appears in a jiffy. Furthermore, we noticed that the TV was intuitive enough to separate the video clips from non-video file formats upon selecting "Video Mode". While the Quattron does not favor NTFS partitions, its video support, on the other hand, was exemplary. The yellow fellow breezed through common AVI, MKV and MOV extensions without batting an eye, and codecs such as DivX and VC-1 failed to rattle its cage either. Coupled with DLNA functions, well, we can only tell Sharp to give themselves a nice pat on the back. On the other hand, you are out of luck when it comes to AVCHD video formats or WMA audio files. In short, we won't go so far as to say this feature is a perfect replacement for standalone media tanks, but the Quattron's USB Media functionality is definitely a huge bonus. Lastly, while the AQUOS offers an Ethernet port for home network connectivity, don't expect to find any online applications or widgets on this one.
The AQUOS managed to play most of the video file formats we hurled at it, and the Video Mode was also intuitive enough to separate clips from files with non-video extensions. What's more, its DLNA feature also makes it easy to stream content over your home network.
Calibration - Spyder3TV Report
To maintain a standard across our review units, we calibrated the AQUOS LE820M with the Spyder3TV Home Theater Color Calibration kit prior to our display tests. This is to ensure we assess the HDTV based on optimal display settings, and not purely on visual estimation alone. At this point, we've also disabled all the necessary bells and whistles such as color and edge enhancement features. After the calibration process, optimized values were as recorded as such: Brightness at -13, Contrast at 36 and Color at -9. Black and white luminance readings were measured as 0.133cd/m2 and 191.098 cd/m2 respectively. While optimal black luminance values should be close to zero, the LE820M's figures were still marginally lower than most CCFL-based LCD TVs. Note that calibration was performed based on the TV's "Standard" preset.
Spyder3TV Calibrated Values - Brightness: -13, Contrast: 36, Color: -9. We were unable to calibrate the TV's backlight values since the calibration application does not include that option. Black luminance levels was measured as 0.133cd/m2 which is considerably better than conventional HDTVs.
DisplayMate Tests
DisplayMate is an application which generates a sequence of test patterns to determine the capabilities of imaging devices like color and gray-scale accuracies for example. For our tests, we've hooked up the LE820M to our display test-bed PC via its HDMI connection. To be fair across the board, we have also disabled all visual enhancements on the TV in order to reduce the variables involved. Here are some findings based on the relevant and critical test patterns:-
Screen Uniformity
We have to be cautious with edge-lit panels since bleeding around a display's perimeter can affect the TV's uniform dynamic range. For this particular test, the AQUOS maintained healthy levels of uniformity with the brighter test patterns. However, uneven textures were visible on darker magenta and yellow hues, mainly around the screen's periphery where minor bleeding tends to be more prominent.
Dark Gray Scale
The LE820M kept a nice balance between deep blacks and bright tones. Darker gray blocks were visible without sacrificing black levels, although corresponding squares on the panel's sides are slightly lighter than those on the lower stretch, which may be due, in part, by the unit's backlights.
Color Scales
A natural knack for immaculate whites and confident color renditions were observed. Gradients along the 10 primary and secondary colors were mostly linear as well. As for viewing angles, contrast shifts was only apparent at 60 degrees past the center axis.
256-Intensity Level Color Ramp
Banding or compression artifacts are unavoidable with most LCD screens. Good news is, only a negligible amount was evident on the X-Gen panel. If you must, minor irregularities did appear but only on deeper hues of the blue band.
DisplayMate Color Scales Test - Rich colors and linear gradients are some of the AQUOS strongholds. Apart from that, little periodicities were present on the varying color scales. The TV similarly isn't too prone to contrast shifts, and wholesome viewing angles were held till 50 degrees past the center axis.
IDT HQV Tests
IDT's HQV Tests are designed to assess image quality and the handling of digital displays and players through a variety of video signal processing tasks which includes decoding, de-interlacing, motion correction, noise reduction and film cadence detection. We've programmed the Blu-ray player to playback in 1080i in order to stress the TV's video processor. This compels the TV's processor to convert interlaced signals into progressive to accommodate the HDTV's panel. Here are the results we noted on two of the most crucial tests:-
Digital Noise Filtering
Sharp scored top accolades for two tests out of three, and its noise filtering finesse is one of them. Without its DNR features, a strong dose of digital noise was apparent on the HQV source. However, the AQUOS approach in reducing noise levels was commendable without sacrificing image details excessively.
Diagonal Filter Test
Are modern TVs becoming more and more proficient in their de-interlacing capabilities? The LE820M's engine processed the 1080 interlaced signal with almost non-existent "jaggies" on the rotating bar.
Film Resolution Loss Test
For all its glorious moves, the AQUOS stumbled when it came to the inverse cadence decoding, or simply put, 24p conversion from film-based sources. Although three levels of inverse telecine options were given, namely Standard, Advanced (Low) and Advanced (High), stubborn strobing persisted on the SMPTE test patterns when we tested it with all three selections.
HQV Digital Noise Filtering Test - The video processor managed to preserve high levels of image details even with the DNR filters running at top gear. This feature is useful if you are unfortunate enough to playback a "noisy" digital source.
High Definition Tests
There are two Blu-ray titles we are fond of using to assess a TV's black levels. One is Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and the other is Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. If the panel is able to reproduce visible details with the "darker" scenes, then it must be worth some meat, yes? Now, Sharp might not tout a fancy name for its video engine like Sony's BRAVIA Engine 3 or Samsung's HyperReal Engine, but it does carry an X-Gen panel with UV2A technology for them to rave about. Taken together, Sharp promises "brilliant whites and deep blacks" if we may steal a quote their press release. The AQUOS did induce a few "ooohs" on Corpse Bride. For the most part, clarity and sharpness were impeccable with punchy contrast levels. If that isn't good enough, you may turn on the TV's "Active Contrast" feature which we believe is Sharp's alternative term for Dynamic Contrast. And like most LED backlit screens, images appear to have a life of their own with a nice vibrant sheen to boot. However, we had to fiddle with the settings in order to obtain a palatable picture with Batman Begins although black levels were satisfactory for an LCD TV. We had to bump up the backlight settings to "+8" in order to discern finer details. Also, Sharp has fitted the LE820M with an adaptive 100/120Hz panel, and we did spot minor instances of motion tearing without the frame interpolation feature (dubbed as Fine Motion Advanced). Fortunately, image fluidity and fidelity were restored once we hit that switch.
You can expect razor sharp visuals and brilliant clarity from the AQUOS. What's more, the animated "Corpse Bride" looks impeccably 3D-like on the X-Gen panel. You might have to enable the motion interpolation feature to smoothen the judders though.
That said, let's move on to the gritty Vantage Point plot. We know DisplayMate has warned against subtle tendencies for uneven backlighting. Thankfully, this chink isn't obvious when the TV is tackling brightly-lit images. If anything, picture quality was even and vivid for the most part. As objective reviewers, on the other hand, we have to guard ourselves against the "placebo effect", as in, seeing things which aren't meant to be there just because the manufacturer claims to be so. And for all its quad-pixel goodness, secondary colors such as gold and emerald didn't appear any more vibrant than what a typical LED-backlit TV is capable of. With due credit to Sharp, however, the new AQUOS is a valid contender for crisp visuals and natural skin tones. Our verdict? Rich and accurate colors, yes. Over-the-top hues? No. The LE820M didn't fare too well with 24p conversion as seen during our earlier HQV assessment. This result was further verified when we enabled the TV's "Film Mode", with occasional instances of motion judder, especially with camera-pans from scene to scene. Now, the LE820M might not score in every visual aspect, but it does pack a sound system which is immediately gratifying. Its pair of twin 10-watt speakers and subwoofer offered a clean acoustic wallop, while its SRS TruSurround HD also managed to decent spatial effect.
We don't know how sound our photoreceptors are, but golden hues appear "normal" as seen in this clip from "Vantage Point". Colors are definitely richer, but we won't go so far as to say this Quattron has increased the boundaries of the color spectrum.
One of High Definition's higher purpose is to reproduce greater picture detail, and the Sharp AQUOS achieves the same with great aplomb. Color temperature and skin tones were rightfully delivered as well.
Standard Definition Test
It's time to migrate from the 'rah-rah' land of 1080p to 480 interlaced lines of DVD playback. Disc of choice is X-Men: The Last Stand. To say the least, we'd like to raise our hats to Sharp's video processor and X-Gen panel for a job well done. We know that upscaled artifacts are almost unavoidable on Full-HD screens. On the contrary, the AQUOS Quattron managed to reproduce a very pleasing upshot instead. Unsightly video pixelation is present, we won't kid you otherwise, but with minimal effect. On the whole, picture quality was laudable given the panel's truthful color renditions and definition. Motion judder was a niggling issue, but not after some tune-ups. If you care to know, the movie was readily watchable after setting its Fine Motion Advanced tweak to "Low" and DNR feature to "Middle". We'll go out on a limb to say this, but Sharp's LE820M is one of the best in handling DVDs we've experienced by far. Another quirky feature of the AQUOS is its "Freeze" option. If you wish to ogle at that hot actor or actress for a little bit longer, simply hit that "Freeze" button on the remote. You have up to 30 minutes for your drool fest.
Cyclops is still Cyclops on a quad-pixel screen. However, we'd have to admit the AQUOS Quattron is rightfully up there with the elite when dealing with DVD sources. Keep in mind our Blu-ray player is set to output at 480i for this test.
Our Final Word
Did the Quattron impress? Fairly so, we must say. Judging by its form factor, the LE820M's svelte and refined figure is capable of giving any of its competitors' premium rivals a good run for their money. The glossy and reflective screen can be a minor quibble, but Sharp has redeemed its cause with an exquisite and seamless aesthetics. It may be a 52-inch monster, but it swivels, so let's not forget that. Features-wise, the AQUOS has a nice string of Eco and advanced configurations to begin with, although it does not boast of too many desserts such as online applications and funky widgets. However, DLNA and networking installations are something consumers shouldn't mind paying a little more for, and that's exactly what the AQUOS Quattron possess. What's more, its USB Media function is a wonderful asset if we may add, albeit a tiny lack of format support such as AVCHD and WMA.
It will take a little more from Sharp to convince us about its quad-pixel formula. But as far as this Full-HD offerings goes, the AQUOS Quattron LE820M is undeniably one of their most remarkable efforts to date.
There are a handful of HDTVs which require a little bit of help in producing the right picture, and Sharp's LE820M happens to share the same spotlight as well. We soon realized this TV is quite dependent on its visual features and advanced configurations, and more pertinently so when dealing with fast moving images or panning sequences. The LE820M is lit by edge LEDs without local dimming features, which you already know, although we didn't have a problem with that once we've nailed the appropriate picture settings. Black levels are satisfactory, while Blu-ray visuals are clean and vibrant as a whole. Most of all, this TV's triumphant rendition with DVD sources is a major plus-point we can't ignore. While Sharp's Quattron technology runs the risk of being overrated after experiencing it firsthand, we won't, however, discount this package as a mediocre effort, not by a long shot. In a yellow nutshell, we think this is easily one of Sharp's best work yet, though it might require some work on your part to tweak it to its best performance. Our only gripe is its rather demanding shelf tag which may turn consumers' heads the other way.
For those considering other screen sizes, the Sharp AQUOS Quattron LE820M series comes in 40 and 46-inch panel sizes in addition to the 52-inch model reviewed here. On a side note, the smaller brothers are more competitively priced than the 52-inch model if you know where to hunt for a good bargain.
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