Sharp Aquos LC-32GD7E - LCD TV

As we’ve said elsewhere, looks are largely a matter of taste. However, the Sharp Aquos LC- 32GD7E has an imposing appearance, which is perhaps something to do with its stark silver colour, straight edges and the extra height from a larger-than-average speaker underneath the screen.

When it comes to connectivity, the LC-32GD7E covers just about everything other than DVI, which isn’t really necessary when you have HDMI and component for highdef input as well as VGA for PCin. Extra sockets include digital coaxial audio in and output – i n c re a s i n g ly useful as more component s , such as DVD players, games consoles and satellite boxes, use digital connections as the best way to take advantage of soundtracks.

It’s particularly relevant in the case of the LC-32GD7E, because that large speaker under the screen can pump out sound in Virtual Dolby Surround. Curiously, only one of the two Scart sockets is RGB enabled, making the set slightly less suitable for those with several standard definition components, such as set-top boxes and DVD recorders, that need plugging into the set.

This is a bit of a shame, because the picture over the RGB connection is pretty good, with deep blacks and nice detail.With our HD test source material, the picture was also excellent, although the screen lost a lot of its lustre if we didn’t plonk ourselves directly in front of the set. Sharp claims that the viewing angle is 170 degrees, but at an angle, there is less contrast in the picture, whether viewing HD or SD source. We also noticed quite a bit of motion blur. This might have something to with the panel’s relatively slow response time (16 milliseconds). An LCD’s response time is usually measured as the time it takes a pixel to go from black to white to black again.

The LC-32GD7E has both digital and analogue tuners but its slightly disappointing performance makes it hard to recommend, especially when it’s the second most expensive set on test.

[via: activehome]