Sharp Aquos LC-60LE847U LED TV Review

Introduction

The LE847U is equipped with all of the features that are required for high-end HDTVs these days. 3D? Check. Internet? Check. Fancy technology that may or may not do anything useful (Quattron)? Check.

What we really care about is how well a TV can handle basic functions like watching a movie or a sports game. The Sharp LC-60LE847U (MSRP $2,700) can do that, but this behemoth runs into trouble in areas like color quality, 3D crosstalk, and its Smart TV platform, SmartCentral.

Design

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Sharp keeps this big TV slim.

We were pleasantly surprised when we saw how thin the 60-inch 847U is, which measures in at a mere 2.2 inches thick. Aside from its slim figure, this Sharp Aquos is just average looking. The TV could benefit from having thinner bezels, but with so much screen real estate, its hard to complain about looks.

The Sharp LC-60LE847U has ample ports. There are four HDMI ports, two USB ports, a VGA port, an Ethernet jack, an analog audio input, an analog audio output, a digital audio output, two composite inputs, one component input, and an RS-232C port, which is used for home automation systems.

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Smart TV Features

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Sharp’s lack of content holds back the SmartCentral platform.

Sharp’s interface is very basic, and not in a bad way. When the menu button on the remote is pressed, it brings up a menu bar on the top of the screen. There is another vertical bar on the right-side that shows each menu category’s options. The whole menu interface navigates very smoothly. There is no lag when switching between options and everything is clearly labelled. The text and some of the colors used in this interface have an unintentionally retro feel to them. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since it does not affect the overall performance of the interface, but it would be nice to see Sharp update their menu for the 21st century.

Sharp’s smart TV interface, called SmartCentral, is an overly simple approach to the whole “internet on a TV” concept. There is a featured app section which actually contains every app available. This is not as difficult as it sounds since there are only 12 apps total.

Even though Sharp is in desperate need of apps for their platform, my experience with SmartCentral wasn't completely negative. Navigating the interface is smooth and easy and key players like Netflix and Hulu Plus are represented. If Sharp can solve its content woes, SmartCentral could evolve into something great. For the time being, it can’t compete with the likes of LG and Samsung.

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Picture Quality

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Contrast and viewing angle excel, while everything else is quite average.

Images produced by the Sharp Aquos LC-60LE847U are good, but not great. This TV has some color issues, specifically with color accuracy. Blue colors do not transition from one shade to the next properly, while images generally have a cooler tone to them.

Conversely, the LC-60LE847U has a great contrast. Blacks are very dark on this TV and white levels are decently bright, which means that more detail can be shown in blacks and darker colors. The viewing angle—an important attribute on a large screen—is also modestly wide.

The basic motion performance on the LC-60LE847U was average. We noticed some motion artifacting, such as blurry images and straight lines turning jagged when moving across the screen. While none of these effects were horrible, they weren't anything to brag about, either.

3D

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Good quality 3D is hampered by crosstalk.

Sharp’s active 3D technology produces a decent experience: there is added depth and images frequently appear to pop out of the screen. We would describe this 3D effect as great if it were not for the appearance of crosstalk.

Yes, crosstalk makes an unfortunate appearance here. A ghost image can be seen at times and it does hold back the otherwise good 3D. Another thing that Sharp should address in the future is their bulky 3D glasses. While they are large enough to fit over prescription glasses, they feel too loose and they definitely won’t win an award for their looks. Samsung has done an excellent job making lightweight active 3D glasses—other companies should take note.

Conclusion

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A decent LED TV, but there are some issues that need to be addressed.

The LC-60LE847U runs into problems in three key areas: color quality, 3D, and its smart TV platform. The colors produced do not justify the asking price of $2,700. The 3D experience is decent, but there is some image ghosting and the bulky 3D glasses do not make the experience any more pleasant. Then there is SmartCentral, Sharp’s internet TV platform. It looks clean and performs well, but it has a severely limited amount of content that will hinder its usefulness in the long run.

This Sharp is not all cloudy days, though. The contrast ratio was excellent and the audio was decent for built-in TV speakers. For $2,700, though, there are better options available. We would recommend that you look around first before settling on the Sharp LC-60LE847U.

Science Introduction

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The LC-60LE847U did not produce mind-blowing results. The contrast ratio was an excellent 4434:1, but the color quality was not great. Sharp utilizes a yellow sub-pixel in this TV and calls it Quattron technology, which is supposed to produce amazing colors. We found that this simply isn't true.

Quattron Technology

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Does a yellow sub-pixel really matter in display technology?

One of Sharp’s selling points on the LC-60LE847U is the Quattron LCD display. The fancy name may be marketing, but Sharp explains the technology behind the screen as having a “four color pixel for more colors and a brighter, more vivid picture.”

What is this “four color pixel” technology? Normally, TVs produce the colors red, green, and blue, which can be mixed together to produce a wide array of other colors. Sharp claims that they add a fourth color, yellow, to their Quattron branded TVs, which is supposed to give you that “brighter, more vivid picture.” Yellow is made by mixing red and green—something that TVs do automatically. Creating this yellow sub-pixel is an exercise in futility.

For an in-depth look into Sharp's Quattron technology, check out this article by Dr. Raymond Soneira, creator of the DisplayMate software that we use to calibrate and test TVs.

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Contrast

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Deep blacks are present on this Sharp.

The LC-60LE847U had a great contrast ratio of 4434:1. This LED TV was able to get a really deep black level of 0.05 cd/m² and was modestly bright, with a peak white level of 221.70 cd/m² . More on how we test contrast.

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Color

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The range of colors that this Sharp produces is exaggerated.

The Sharp LC-60LE847U has oversaturated reds, greens, and blues. This means that all of the primary colors used will look more vivid, giving images on this TV an exaggerated appearance. Traditionally, that kind of color result is to be avoided. More on how we test color performance.

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Other Tests

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