Review: Sharp Quattron LED LE821E Series

Overview

The new Sharp Quattron is one the new breed of ultra-thin LED's that has hit the market recently and boy is it stunning.  However it's more than a pretty face too, with networking, next-gen picture processing and Freeview HD tucked away inside it finally looks as if it's no longer a simple decision to choose your next LED TV.

If you have seen the latest Sharp TV adverts you'll have probably come across George Takie aka Hikaru Sulu from the Start Trek, explaining why Sharp's newest line of Quattron High Definition TV's, are so impressive. Instead of just announcing a load of new 3D LED TV's they have been hard at work re-inventing the wheel by adding a fourth pixel colour.

Normally there are three colours within a pixel, but with the Quattron there are now four. They have managed to add a fourth colour, Yellow. Which gives it the ability to create millions of new shades of colours. Especially apparent when watching natural coloured scenes like nature programs, you can really see the difference.

Sharp are so confident in this new technique that they firmly believe that the new pixel will help generate a better picture. They have even gone as far as saying that they think Sony and the other big guns will be employing this new technique in their new TV's in 2011.

We got hold of one of these Sulu approved Quattron TV to give it a real hand-on review and to do this we thought, we gave it a hammering on a HD Sky, a Xbox 360 and of course a Blu-Ray player. To see how well it handles all the latest HD content the average family will require.

Review

Functionality

Before we give you the low-down on the new Quatttron Aquos, we need to give you an idea of the panel's functionality. All Sharp's new screens are 1080p HD-Ready and incorporate Sharp's UltraBrilliant Edge-lit panel technology, which gives it some very impressive brightness levels and even picture throughout.

The sound for this panel is actually much better that some of the other TV we've seen. As they get thinner and thinner so does the quality of sound, but the 46-inch model we tested have some impressive built-in speakers. Yes, it not 5.1 but it is Dolby Digital Plus 2.1 channel system.

The review model we got our hands on features 4 HDMI connections, 1 USB and digital audio in and component HD connection. The new panels are DNLA certified so you'll be about to stream files from your Windows 7 computers and sadly there is no MAC support with DLNA, so take note Apple owners.

Each of Sharp's new panels come with Freeview HD which is a welcomed inclusion for those of you who are starved of High Def content with BBC HD and ITV HD available for free.

The design of the panel is light-years ahead of their previous models and would be pride of place in anyone's lounge, especially as it is 39mm thick and is finished with a sexy silver bezel and has some nifty touch sensitive buttons if you should ever loose your remote.

For the green TV lovers you'll be glad to know the new LED screen features an impressive range of energy saving modes, making it substantial lower consumption than its older LCD cousins.

Setup

With most High Def TV's you need to go into the setup mode to really get the best out of the screen as they tend to come with a lot of the image smoothing functions like 100hz enabled, but if your going to use the panel for gaming, we would recommend you taking these option off, as they can often have some undesirable effect.  Once we set the TV up to our personal preferences we fired up the Xbox 360 we were more than impressed by the picture quality.

Gaming

Most noticeable was the deep, rich colours, thanks to the new sub-pixel. We for one were really impressed by the colour spectrum on offer and for gaming we were very impressed - we would go as far saying it's equally as good as any Sony/Samsung panel we have seen and this is something Sharp should be really proud of. They have been playing second fiddle to the big two, but no more.

Blu-Ray

Next we fired up a Blu-ray of the Dark Knight, which is a great film to really test a high def panel. And we were impressed again. Initiate the film mode and image-smoothing mode and it was more like looking through window into Gotham city rather than watching a TV. The picture quality and smoothness was truly breath-taking and with most Batman films it gives you a good idea how the Sharp Quattron can handle some really dark images, where a exceptional contract ratios are crucial, we are pleased to say that it performed admirable and produced some very impressive deep black levels.

Features

We tried to use a USB next to play some files directly onto the panel but we kept getting a error saying that USB wasn't being recognised, whether this is because it doesn't work with MAC file format or whether it was just a slight issue with review mule, were not sure. So we can't confirm how it performs with various file formats but according to the press release it can play Xvid, DivX and MKV, which is more compatibility than you could ever need

Some disappointing omissions come via the lack of Internet apps, which is a new function that Samsung have been tinkering with. In some cases it allows users to check YouTube, Twitter and even play the BBC iPlayer. Not seeing their own version of this on the Sharp was a bit disappointing especially for the premium price, but it is not a game changer in our opinion.

You won't get any 3D capability with the Quattron, which does seem a little strange; it's not available on this range and will probably be available next year.  But again for the price it does seem a glaring omission.

We Say

Apart from a couple of niggling omissions this is by far the most accomplished Sharp TV they have ever made, and if it had a few more options it would probably best in class. The picture quality and colour spectrum is really impressive. The new sub-pixel is a fantastic new feature and is a major reason why you might buy this screen.  We for one can't fault this top-of-the-range TV for picture quality and looks it is truly stunning to look at and watch in equal measure.

Gaj-it Rating 8/10

Price £1400 – £1600

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