Home > Consumer Reviews > Sharp LC46XD1E - 46" Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD TV - With Freeview

On the whole I have been happy with this TV (owned for 2 years). It has a good HD picture quality.

However, the reason for this review is to point out a flaw in the software which is responsible for the freeview setup.

I live in the Border TV region which is the first to go through the digital switchover. On switchover day the TV would not install any of the new digital channels (picked them all up before the switchover day but the set up changed on switchover day.

I immediately contacted Sharp who said that the TV needed a software upgrade and they would arrange for an engineer to attend to carry this out (fortunately I had a 3 year warranty as result of a promotion when I purchased the TV). The enginner duly arrived and upgraded the software but the TV would still not install any digital channels.

The latest I have heard is that they haven't sorted the problem and don't know when they will. I have given them 28 days to come up with a solution - either a fix that works OR a replacement TV.

Fortunately, I have a Humax Foxsat freesat system so I can get most of the channels I want.

However, a major electronic company such as Sharp who have known (or should have known) about the changes and not be prepared is very disappointing. What is more surprising is that I have another Sharp TV, consirably older, which has undergone the digital switchover with no problems.

BTW: The enginner that came out told me that the problem isn't confined to Sharp - Sony and Panasonic models also suffer from these problems.

PLEASE make sure that if you are buying a digital because of the digital switchover you get a guarantee that it will work after the digital switchover date for your area as the installation will change significantly on that date.

this tv was purchased online for £1400 back in April, and at todays price makes it a bargain for 1080p at 46" screen size. i have to say at the time i was looking at the current samsung,sony w and x models which were a lot more money and only 40" screens.
this tv is connected to sky hd which gives a great pics on footie etc and movies come with 5.1 sound also.

also upscaling dvd player which again produces good results even when playing low res divx movies.

the ps3 is fantastic in blu ray and the lcd is a fantastic monitor for games something the pioneer isnt.also connected to an amp and surround brings it to another level.

as with many lcds the standard def can be average to awful but hey you are buying it for digital inputs arent you??

great tv at a great price with no niggles.... buy it

and just seen the newer model thinner and still looks sweet out of the box and even better hanging on your wall.

I don't ever write reviews, but having read Mr Kingston's review below, I felt compelled to respond:-

Out of the box:-
"Awkward and lengthy process of attaching the stand" - This took me 10 mins at the most. If you're wall mounting it, this isn't applicable anyway, so moaning about this is just ridiculous!

Set Up & Menus:- "Remote buttons must be pressed 2-3 times" - Do they!?? Mine works fine first press, every time. Did you use some old batteries/ drop-kicked the remote a few times?

"The on/off button must be pressed on the tv before you can use the remote" - What!!?? No, you don't! Clearly you just can't use a remote...

Picture Quality:- "The LC46 produces dreadful standard def images" - Are you kidding? You bought a £2k HD tv, and complain the analalogue aerial picture is poor!? You deserve to be shot if you buy a state of the art tv and then run low-def images through it - did you watch Betamax videos on it too!?

Sound:- "scratchy and tinny" - If you spent about 2 mins reading the instructions, you can adjust the sound settings, including a 'loudness' button (like most Japanese equipment). Hence the reason 'What Home Cinema' magazine said this had the BEST sound on any LCD/Plasma panel they have tested!!!

Overall:- Okay, I agree the Pioneer PDP5000EX is better. But it's nearly 5 times the price!! That's like saying a £150k Lamborghini is faster than a £30k Subaru Impreza - it's true, but debatable whether it's worth all that extra money, if all you want is a 'fast' car?

Overall, I'd say go for this Sharp if you want a quality HD tv for a bargain price. If you want to watch analogue tv and videos on it, keep your old tv, because NO LCD or Plasma can magically convert a poor input into a spectacular HD picture.

I have had this LCD TV for about 6 months, since getting a Toshiba HD-DVD player. The images this TV produces are amazing with great colours which are rich and vivid (especially the reds and greens) and it's amazingly sharp. As with most LCD's the blacks can be a little grey but with a bit of adjustment with the brightness/contrast etc this can be fixed.

The remote isn't the best in the world but nothing to grumble about.

The normal TV images aren't great but this is not so much to do with the TV, it's to do with the quality (bitrate and compression) of the transmitted picture. It's like taking a photo on a 1MP camera. A small image looks fine but when you blow it up to say a 10"x8" it looks blocky and seems to lose it's colour. If you have Sky HD or a HD-DVD/BD player you'll love this TV. It's priced MUCH cheaper than some rivals (in some cases nearly £2000 cheaper) and performs just as well.

There still aren't that many 1080p TV's out there and at this price you'd be daft not to get one.

The fact that this tv has one of the highest specs on the lcd market draws many buyers' attentions towards it rather than other widely known tv manufacturers such as Panasonic and Pioneer. The top spec is also accompanied by an attractive price tag, which interests lower budget buyers. However, the truth is that this tv falls far short of expectations.

Out of the Box: When the LC46XD1E is removed from its box it makes a positive first impression. The appearance is striking and the buyer often can't help but feel proud to own such a sleek and sophisticated looking lcd tv. Unfortunately, the jaw-dropping admiration is short lived, as the awkward and lengthy process of attaching the stand must be carried out before set-up. On most occasions this operation requires more than one pair of hands. Whilst lifting and manoeuvring the tv, there is a sense of weakness and vulnerability about the tv and it feels poorly manufactured.

3/5


Set-Up and Menus/Features: The Set-up/installation is very impressive. It is quick, easy and stress free. The menus are reasonably easy to navigate and simple to understand. Some of the unique features such as auto volume and Optical Picture Control are often incompetent and irritating (I just disable them). On the other hand TruD and action mode do appear to enhance image quality significantly. The remote control is amongst one of the worst I have ever come across in my entire life. The level of unresponsiveness is enraging. On average buttons (excluding arrow buttons) must be pressed 2-3 times before the tv responds to the command. In addition to this the manual buttons on the tv itself are even worse. The on/off button must always be pressed before you can actually use the tv via the remote. It must be pressed at least 3 times before the command is registered. Normally, using the tv is very awkward.

2/5


Picture Quality: Picture quality is arguably the most important feature of a television. In this area the LC46 is very inconsistent. Standard definition quality is absolutely dreadful to say the least. Colour contrast and black levels are a mess, and pictures in general are very blurry and hazy. At times, the tv is very uncomfortable to watch. (I have often considered returning to my old tv for standard def viewing, as any crt will beat the LC46) This is very disappointing considering the majority of broadcasting viewed will be standard def, and 1080p viewing is scheduled for the distant 2012. However, when viewing ordinary dvds the picture quality increases and not all faith in the tv's ability is lost. Dvd quality is just as you would expect any consistent, competent and clear standard def picture to be. If this tv is accompanied by a PS3 or upscaling dvd player, normal dvd pictures may be enhanced. When this tv produces high definition pictures they would generally be expected to be outstanding due to such an impressive spec sheet. This is not always the case. Sometimes the quality is mind blowing, at other times it is not so. The tv allegedly boasts good black levels... This television does not handle dark pictures well, full stop. Annoyingly, visible blue and purple tones appear and wavering becomes noticeable. There is an option to disable blacks but the image then becomes unbearably bright and lacks detail and depth. (The next point is key, however it is VERY difficult to explain so I apologize if it is hard to understand) Throughout every image a furiously distracting crusty/dotty/jittery effect is present. Although not tooooooo serious it is noticeable and disrupts viewing. Brighter images with little darkness are where this tv excels. Image detail and clarity improve and suddenly the buyer's opinion of the tv increases. Although the LC46 may sound completely unsatisfying it can certainly produce some eye-popping pictures especially when broadcasting at 1080p. One thing this tv is perfect for is gaming (I am a serious gamer so feel free to trust me on this). Any high def game is lapped up and the results are insanely beautiful. There are no signs of blurring, haziness, uneven contrast or doggy black levels. Images are clear, crisp and darn right legendary. The tv may also be used as a computer monitor (I haven't actually used it in this way so I am unable to comment). The LC46 produces dreadful standard def images and the hi def performance is rigged with inconsistency.

2.5/5


Sound: Many tvs' sound systems are, well...terrible. The LC46 is no different. Sound is scratchy, tinny and speech seems to boom out from under the speaker grill. When listening to music, on occasion the sound can be painful (slight exaggeration) to listen to. (If you really wanted to attack the sound you could say there was a hint of am radio about it). Even though the sound may be dreadful, it is nothing some decent speakers won't fix if there are extra funds available to the buyer.

1/5


Conclusion: In summary, the Sharp LC46XD1E is a low quality tv which has inconvenient features and is unable to produce decent quality standard definition images or sound. The hi definition performance is on occasion masterful but on the whole, largely disappointing. Simply, a very average tv. If you are looking for a quality tv for program broadcasting I would look elsewhere. For a high performance long-term investment, very reliable tv ranges such as Panasonic Viera or Pioneer PDP would normally be safe roads to success. For an unbeatable, high quality television I would purchase the Pioneer PDP 5000EX, however, you will need around £4000 - £5000 to spare. I would strongly recommend the LC46 for gamers in need of a hi def experience who will rarely use the tv for regular television.

Overall 2/5


I hope this review is helpful