32in LCD Picture Sound Features Usability Value Solid but uninspiring budget performer from Sharp. HD Ready: yes Resolution: 1366 x 768 Rating: 82%

 

Reviewed: 12 February 2008

Design

With a glossy black frame and lower bezel that echoes rather than copies the high end Aquos screens, the LC32AD5E belies its status as a budget LCD TV. Finish is well above average for a sub £400 screen.

Features

With 2 HDMI inputs along with 2 Scarts (1 RGB) connectivity on the LC32AD5E is adequate rather than impressive. Joining the aforementioned are the usual Composite and Component inputs along with Integrated FREEVIEW Digital Tuner and D-Sub PC input.

	Screen: 32in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1366 x 768 Contrast Ratio: 1200:1 Brightness: 500cd/m2 Other Features: Integrated FREEVIEW Digital Tuner. Sockets: 2 HDMI, 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input.

 

The budget status of the LC32AD5E reveals itself with the absence of Sharp TruD picture processing Engine, although Surprisingly, given the TV's price, there are noise reduction and black level adjustment options available.

Unsurprisingly, you will not find 100Hz processing or Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution on this screen, although you will find a manual backlight adjustment (rather than the more advanced automatic adjustment).

Add film mode which adjusts progressive scan depending on whether the source is 'film' or 'video' based along with picture presets based around specific source types, such as sport or games and the LC32AD5E begins to look quite interesting.

The LC32AD5E boasts 2 x 8w speakers fed by a pseudo surround sound mode, plus a Clear Voice feature which has been designed to make voices appear stronger.

Performance

Although a certain amount of tweaking with the manual backlight adjustment will improve the black level performance of the LC32AD5E, there is a niggling residue of greyness permeating the picture. Its not a huge problem, but compared to more advanced LCD TV's this screen falls short in this respect.

What did come as a surprise was the Standard Definition (SD) performance of the LC32AD5E. Again, its no match for the best 32in LCD TV's, but in the sub £400 category this screen has no equal. There is a certain amount of video 'noise' and a little clouding, but for the price, the performance is outstanding.

Switch to a High Definition (HD) source, and if you have not witnessed the performance of a high end LCD TV you will be impressed. Pictures are sharp and vibrant with excellent levels of detail. Place the LC32AD5E alongside even a medium level screen however and you will realise that pictures can and should be that much sharper and more vibrant.

Audio is all that you would expect from a budget TV - adequate but uninspiring. We felt that the pseudo surround system added little to the acoustic experience, and to be fair to Sharp equivalent systems from other manufacturers perform no better.

Conclusion

It is hard to dislike Sharp's LC32AD5E as it puts in a solid performance in all areas, and is one of the best budget LCD TV's on the market. There are no Achilles heals, although the overall performance left us a little flat.