An excellent HDTV with a Super Picture
Written: May 07 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent picture, true black, good selection of inputs and "stretch" modes
Cons: Built in line-doubler can leave 'stepping', Non-universal remote
The Bottom Line: This is an outstanding HD Television. I have no regrets for the purchase! Just beware: It'll expose all the other 'weak spots' in your home theater!
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| drpatpobox's Full Review: Sharp 34N WF5H 34 in. TV |
This Sharp TV is branded under the SharpVision nameplate which is normally their projection TV line, but don't let that fool you. Its direct-view, flat screen picture tube has an excellent picture. The 16:9 aspect ratio screen is a home-theater lover's dream, especially for those who don't have space for a rear-projection TV. The screen is bright, clear, and with a good input source (DirectTV, Digital Cable, and/or DVD), this TV is a dream. And if you hook it to a true 1080i HDTV signal, the brilliance, clarity, and color is truly amazing!
For conventional television signals (4:3), the set comes with 4 stretch modes, including Sharp's Smartstretch, which stretches the screen more as you get to the side edges of the picture. This minimizes the cropping and distortion that you get with more 'linear' stretch modes. For Wide-screen DVD's there's the 'Cinema' mode, which maximizes the screen area for the wide-screen picture.
The 5 inputs video inputs, and 1 output give you enough flexibility to connect to any device. There is also a the VGA connector for the RCA HD TV/Satellite tuner... a great way to start getting HD signals over the air.
There is no Picture-in-Picture. Instead there is the 'Twin Picture' which puts two 17" screens side-by-side. You can then scale them making one larger, and the other smaller or vice versa. The sound automatically follows the largest picture. It has two built-in tuners, or you can select from any of the input sources.
The speakers are side mount, which helps keep the vertical height of the box to a minimum. The speakers are shielded so they don't cause any distortion to the picture, and the black finish helps make the TV disappear in a darkened room.
The only downside I've discovered with this TV are the built-in line doubler and the remote. The built-in line doubler can create 'stepping' on some DVD's (Toy Story 2, for example). It's easily remedied with a Progressive Scan DVD player, and switching the component video inputs to 480p.
The remote is not truly multi-brand. It will only control 3 devices (TV, VCR, Cable/Sat), but only Sharp equipment.
If you like direct-view, and want HDTV, this is your TV. There hasn't been a moment that I regretted this
Recommended:
Yes
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drpatpobox
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