What is the Sharp LC-60UI7652?
The UI7652 is part of the AQUOS line-up with the Aquos Net+ Smart TV system, Active Motion 400, ACE PRO ULTRA engine, Harman/Kardon sound system and HDR10 playback.
So what kind of performance can we expect from a Sharp TV at this price point in 2019?
Sharp LC-60UI7652 Video Review
Design, Connections and Control
The rear-facing connections are a further two USB and HDMI ports along with an optical digital output, Ethernet, stereo audio RCA and Component RCA inputs.
The remote control supplied with the Sharp is what we would expect at this price point. It is a grey plastic affair with a logically laid out arrangement of buttons. There are direct access keys for YouTube, Netflix and Net+ Smart TV and while the remote feels plastic, light and cheap, it fits with the rest of the package and should last the life of the TV.
Features
The TV also has video processing for upscaling of lower resolution content, as well as a fast response panel and both Dolby and DTS audio support, with a decoder for DTS surround. Audio is handled by a sound system from Harman/Kardon with downwards firing speakers and a woofer on the rear of the set.
The NET+ smart TV system is rather basic in nature with only a handful of apps with 4K available such as YouTube and Netflix. BBC iPlayer is also available but we had a real issue with loading any content from the player throughout our time testing the Sharp. There are far better systems available on competing TVs from LG, Sony, Hisense, Samsung and Panasonic.
Measurements
We see absolutely no point in assessing and reviewing TVs in only the best-calibrated picture modes as this doesn’t reflect what the vast majority of buyers will experience with this TV. Calibration and measurement are important for the overall assessment of the TV, but we don’t only focus on the calibrated performance here at AVForums. So just how close does the picture get to the standards out of the box?
The most accurate picture mode on the Sharp is Movie, which changes to Personal when you make any adjustments. We used gamma set for 2.4 and colour temperature of Warm.
Moving to the HD Rec.709 colour gamut (top right) and again we have a reasonable amount of accuracy at this level of the market. There are errors in hue and saturation which we can see within this saturation tracking chart, but the errors are in areas where they will not impact too much on actual viewing performance with film and TV content. Magenta has a large hue error and blue has issues with saturation, but everything else is within acceptable tolerances. With actual viewing material, we doubt many normal viewers would actually see the errors on-screen without a far more expensive reference image next to this Sharp. As such, the out of the box viewing is fairly decent and somewhat towards the standards. We have to mention that while most other UI7652 models will also measure close to our review sample, at this level of the market, panel variance will be present and can affect image quality.
Moving to the greyscale first (top left) and using the single point greyscale controls, we did our best to balance out the tracking to get DeltaE errors as far under the visible threshold as possible and in doing so not add any new errors, like too much red in the blacks. Thankfully, we were able to do just that with all errors at two and under, which means they shouldn’t be visible to the eye. Gamma also tracks close to our desired 2.4 curve but the clipping is still happening at 10% brightness, which means shadow detail will be lost. Given the lack of control for the white balance, we are satisfied that the results obtained with the greyscale are entirely acceptable and cause no visible issues with image quality.
After correcting the greyscale white balance, we remeasured the rec.709 colour gamut (top right) and with some slight manipulation with the CMS at certain points, we managed to get extremely good results. Colours at 75% saturation and below track well at their given points and as such we find DeltaE errors are all under one, which is well below the visible threshold meaning errors are unseen to the eye with film and TV content viewing. This is a very good result for such a budget TV.
Looking at the PQ EOTF results, the white balance is very good with the EOTF tracking on the standard yellow guide until rolling off from around 120 nits to a hard clip. This means that bright highlights will just be solid without any detail within the specular highlights, and peak brightness is only 245 nits, so there is a lack of dynamic range.
We measured the BT.2020 coverage as 55% XY and 58% UV, with P3 coverage at 76% XY and 80% UV. Contrast performance was 2526:1 with SDR and 2848:1 with HDR.
Sharp LC-60UI7652 Performance
The first thing we noticed was the poor viewing angles on the Sharp which affect image contrast and colours as soon as you start to get off-axis, especially from 20 degrees onwards. This will mean that any seat in your living room that is not directly in front of the screen will not be getting the best possible picture. We also noted that black levels were also quite poor and more of a dark grey, with no shadow detail visible in the near-black areas of the image. Instead, those areas were just clumps of dark grey that you can see when compared directly with the Panasonic. The Sharp also has too warm a tint to images, with a distinctly yellow tint even after calibration to the correct white point. This does make skin tones sometimes look too yellow and unnatural.
Upscaling of SD and HD images is decent but there are signs of edge enhancement that cannot be switched off and it also appeared that some noise reduction or filter was being applied behind the scenes as well. This did give images a slightly processed look and while with normal TV programmes it wasn’t really an issue, it did become more apparent with film and movie content. Motion was also decent with 50Hz content and, with 24fps, there was a small amount of induced judder and frame drops every now and again, which were noticeable if you are looking for them. Panel uniformity was also quite poor for a direct LED backlit VA panel, with patchy blotches across the panel visible as Dirty Screen Effect (DSE) when viewing content, such as football, with large areas of one colour during camera pans. There is no local dimming on the Sharp so this is there at all times.
HDR performance is also a little disappointing on the Sharp with no real dynamic range to images. The poor blacks are once again an issue with black bars never reaching a decent level of black and some blooming can also be seen from time to time. Plus, if it is a black or dark scene, the black bars are the same level as blacks within the image and the whole screen can at times become one grey mass with no image details visible, which are clearly seen on the Panasonic next to it. This lack of dynamics and contrast does make HDR content look flat and uninspiring. Colours are also a struggle and the yellow tint seen after calibration with SDR images is also present here in HDR content. We also found that images again had a false sharpness to them at times and there was no way to dial that out in the settings, pointing to back door processing being added.
Taking into account the price point of the Sharp UI7652 and the fact that this is a budget TV built to a price point, we do feel that overall the image quality is still not what should be on offer, especially when compared to the Panasonic GX800 which is only £100 more at the time of the review. The difference in picture performance feels a lot more than that.
The Sharp is built to a price point and is clearly a TV we couldn't recommended to AVForums readers who are looking for image accuracy. It is a mass market TV that does have a few features added, but doesn’t offer the kind of image quality we think enthusiasts will want, even in a second or third room TV. There are far better examples out there from Hisense, Panasonic and Samsung in this market sector.
Conclusion
The Good
- 4K 60-inch screen size at the price point
- Decent out of the box SDR
- Decent colour accuracy for SDR when calibrated
- Some calibration controls available
The Bad
- SDR and HDR picture quality is lacklustre with poor contrast and black levels and back door processing
- Poor panel uniformity and viewing angles
- Limited smart TV apps and features
- Better value for money elsewhere
Sharp LC-60UI7652 LED LCD TV Review
The remote is a plastic affair that has all the buttons you would expect and, again, it fits the budget price point in terms of materials and finish. We get three HDMI connections on the rear which are HDMI 2.0 in nature with one ARC compatible.
The menus and calibration controls are also minimal - but then again we doubt anyone buying this TV will get it calibrated. Picture quality in the best Movie setting is fairly accurate when watched directly in front of the TV but other attributes do impact on that performance. The VA panel used has a distinct yellow tint, even when calibrated, which is obvious when viewing in any of the picture modes. Viewing angles are also very poor, with contrast and colour shifts as soon as you get off-axis. We also found the black levels and overall contrast performance, even directly viewed, to be poor when compared to the competition from Hisense and Panasonic. Shadow detail above black is nonexistent and behind the scenes picture processing adds noise reduction and edge enhancement that cannot be defeated. This is not a TV for anyone looking for image accuracy to the standards and decent dynamic range for HDR content.
The Sharp UI7652 is a budget TV built to a price point and it shows in the fit and finish, along with the lacklustre image quality. It will find a market with consumers looking for the latest features and for a large amount of screen real estate at a cheap price. And that screen is big for the money being asked. For AVForums members looking for a decent screen at this level of the market, there are much better TVs out there from Hisense, Samsung and Panasonic, to name three.
Scores
Contrast/Dynamic Range/Black Level
Screen Uniformity
Colour Accuracy
Greyscale Accuracy
Video Processing
Picture Quality
SDR Picture Quality
HDR Picture Quality
Picture Quality Out-Of-The-Box
Picture Quality Calibrated
Sound Quality
Smart Features
Build Quality
Ease Of Use
Value for Money
Verdict
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