Sharp LC-37B20E review

As we've said before, Sharp certainly doesn't struggle when it comes to the aesthetics of its TVs. It's another extremely slim set – just 95mm at its thinnest point – and boasts an equally slender frame, making for a sleek profile.

The angular remote control remains a pimple on the otherwise smooth skin of this set, but all told it's a covetable package.

While we're griping about the control, this set does prove a little sluggish as we navigate our way around. The Freeview tuner takes time to tune in and once it has, we're left underwhelmed.

It's more susceptible to digital noise than most and lacks sharpness to edges, but nevertheless the colour balance is fine, motion is handled smoothly and there's a decent amount of detail recovered.

Watching TV, we are alerted to the rather lacklustre sound, which lacks weight and substance, while dialogue could be clearer, too.

Black levels are less than impressive
We move on to Tropic Thunder on DVD. The film's rich colour palette is relayed well, although the Sharp looks overcooked at times, lacking the range of colours and subsequent subtlety to deliver a sense of realism.

As so often is the case with LCD screens, however, it's black levels that really let the side down. Low-light scenes have us peering at the screen in an effort to see all of the action, while what should be solid black objects cause the Sharp no end of problems.

It's more of the same with Blu-ray content, which while colourful and clean, lacks the finer nuances of detail and sense of three-dimensionality that we've come to expect from HD content.

Despite three HDMI inputs, 1080p/24fps capability and a svelte profile, this Sharp is left languishing by the competition.