A very good TV at an excellent price
Pros:
Thin and stylish design. Plenty of inputs. Excellent picture when using a good HD source.
Cons:
Minor banding issues. No PIP. No 120hz refresh rate or true film smoothing technology.
The Bottom Line:
Although it lacks some cutting edge features, it has a very good picture within a stylish frame. Great value if you get it at a good price
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Background
After owning a rear projection LCD for a couple of years, I bought a small flat panel LCD for the bedroom. I instantly noticed the blacks were much deeper, giving the picture more depth, plus it didn't have the annoying sparkles (silk screen effect) present on the RP TVs.
I knew then I wanted a large flat panel LCD for my primary TV.
Research
I was tempted by the plasmas because of the deep blacks and cheaper per inch price. The deal killer was the reflective screen. What good is an excellent picture if it is obstructed by glare?
Looking for a deal, I considered a budget LCD. However with this large of an investment I didn't want to second guess myself and wonder what I was missing with the major brands.
Selection
I knew Sony and Samsung made excellent TVs, but the price was too steep. Sharp is a half notch below these and not nearly as expensive.
There was an excellent deal on the LC-52D64U so I settled on this TV.
Observations
The TV is very stylish, LCDs don't get any thinner. If you were to wall-mount it, the TV would look very unobtrusive from the side. From the front, it is nearly all screen with very thin edges that have a glossy black finish.
I am very happy with the three HDMI inputs as I have both a Blu-Ray and HD DVD player in addition to my HD Sat box.
I looked on the web for Adjustment tips and read that the colors were very accurate out of the box. This was great as I didn't have to mess with them. The main thing was setting the back light, contrast and brightness. There are some advanced settings, but I haven't played around with them too much.
When I turned the sat box on, the picture didn't look quite right, so I adjusted and re-adjusted. I was worried that I made the wrong choice with this TV. But when I popped in a HD DVD all my fears were gone. It looked great. The problem with a TV this big is that every artifact, or flaw, in the signal is magnified. I sit very close (7 feet) and it gets better as you move farther.
There are complaints of banding on large light colored backgrounds, and I do see this if I am looking for it. It is very faint and only visible during a tiny fraction of scenes. I am very picky, and this is not a deal breaker for me. The picture is still very good, and any time I question my purchase, I pop in Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest or Cars. These movies are stunning and show the TV in all its glory.
The speakers are a little tinny (I only tried them briefly), but I am used to my surround sound system.
The only reason I really consider exchanging this TV is because I am fascinated by the Sony XBR4 and Samsung 71 series with their 120hz film motion smoothers. I will continue looking at these and decide if it is worth the hefty jump in price.
