Sharp LC-52X20E review

It's on sale for £2099 on the official Sharp website, but we've found this TV far cheaper, hence our £1600 price tag – a middle ground taken from various reputable retailers.

You should be looking to find it even cheaper still before you splash the cash on this 52in.

The LC-52X20E does the basics right, offering a 1920 x 1080 resolution panel, quite happy to receive the best quality 1080p/24fps HD Blu-ray content through an HDMI input – of which there are three.

There's a component and two Scart connections too, alongside the usual lower quality video and audio connections, while you'll also find a digital audio optical output and a Top-Up TV card slot.

This set also includes a ‘dot for dot' mode which allows you to watch your source content without your TV doing any scaling, or ‘as the director intended'.

It's also worth noting that this is a light and very thin set, measuring just 9cm deep – ideal for mounting.

We use our reference BD player to send some HD content. The brilliant sound and video workout that is Corpse Bride is our weapon of choice, and we find a slightly lacklustre image greets us.

While detail levels are okay, and colours aim for a natural palette, the overall image is soft and lacks the three-dimensional feel we'd expect with such a high quality disc.

A little weak-willed all round
We switch to the DVD of Rocky and find the Sharp struggling to deliver true, deep blacks, while again displaying a lack of detail and sharpness.

And it's not just the picture that's a little weak-willed, sound quality from the speakers is thin and flimsy.

To cap off an average performance from this Sharp TV, the digital Freeview tuner – there's an analogue one, too – suffers from noise and blocking more than any here, detracting from the otherwise likeable colours.

With some cheaper, better performing sets around, we're struggling to see how this Sharp can rise above the competition.