Sharp TV has always been a big name in the TV industry, it has always been. It was the first to manufacture and sell Japan-made TV sets back in the 1950s. Sharp has broken the record for the largest ever LCD TV time and time again and Sharp was the first-ever company to create a commercially available 8K TV.
Its sets may not be the go-to TVs that they once were back in the day, but they’re out there and available for sale in both the UK (Currys) and US (Best Buy) and at prices tempting enough to turn your eyes from big (and pricier) TV brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony.
If it’s panel inches per pound/dollar that you’re after, then look no further. Sharp TVs are 4K, HDR-supporting, and fitted with the very popular Roku TV platform in the US.
But of course, buying a TV is about much more than just specs. So, should you buy a Sharp TV or shouldn’t you?
If you’re buying a Sharp TV in the US right now… you might not actually be buying a Sharp TV at all.
The Sharp Corporation of Japan sold its rights to make and sell TVs under its name in the Americas (apart from Brazil) to Chinese TV company Hisense back in 2015 when Sharp was in considerable financial difficulty.
So, for now and for the last few years, if you’ve bought a Sharp TV in the US, you’ve really bought a rebadged Hisense.
In May 2019, though, under the new Taiwanese parent company Foxconn, Sharp had financially turned itself around enough to buy back those rights from Hisense and Sharp-made Sharp TVs are expected to be back on sale in the US since the end of 2019.
Best Sharp TV Deals
Below you will find some of the best Sharp TV in the market including the latest Record-breaking 8k TV Unveiled by Sharp. It has been unveiled but not yet released into the market. So Lets Dive in and see what Sharp has in store for us
1. Sharp LE650 LCD
The Sharp LE650 boasts better overall picture quality than most competing LCD TVs.
Black levels and shadows are dark and detailed, color is accurate, and the image maintains fidelity well in a bright room.
They have compromised sound quality in pursuing a smaller cabinet; some slight black uniformity issues; cheaper big-screen TVs are available.
The 650 series is Sharp’s entry-level model and does without some of the more involved features like a 240Hz refresh rate, 3D compatibility, and the four-color Quattron system found on step-up 2013 models like the 7 series and 8 series.
The TV has an edge-lit display but lacks local dimming, and I wouldn’t be surprised if only the electronics (and not the LCD panel itself) received an upgrade over the LE640.
Other features include USB and DLNA media playback and built-in Wi-Fi.
The LE650 sports a new “Wallpaper Mode” that you can use to display preinstalled artwork or photos from a USB drive when the unit is powered down.
It’s a nice touch, and the muted backlight level makes the image look less like a TV left turned on and more like room decor.
Sharp assures us the power draw is minimal.
A carry-over from previous years is Sharp’s excellent live help service, Aquos Advantage. Included is a full onscreen manual, complete with a table of contents.
The Sharp LE650 series sets the big-screen LCD TV value bar high with very good picture quality for the price.
2. Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD
The picture of the Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD LED TV delivers deeper black levels and better contrast than any other LCD or plasma on the market.
Unlike other full-array local dimming TVs, it maintains its superior picture from normal viewing angles and blooming artifacts are virtually nonexistent.
Color is relatively accurate, shadow detail is excellent and video processing does everything we expect. The screen maintains black levels well under ambient light.
No-nonsense styling, best-ever energy efficiency and a nearly-complete feature set, including two pairs of 3D glasses, ice the cake tastefully.
Even with its superb performance, it’s impossible to call the gratuitously expensive Elite a good value.
Blue/green areas are less accurate than we expect from a TV of this caliber, uniformity and off-angle aren’t quite as good as plasma, and its screen creates relatively bright reflections.
The overpriced Sharp Elite LED-based LCD produces the second-best overall picture quality of any TV we’ve reviewed since 2008.
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3. Sharp 120-inch 8K TV
Sharp’s 120in 8K display won’t be turning up at your local electrical retailer any time soon.
For now, at least, it’s merely a prototype designed to secure headlines and attract interest – and in that sense, it’s mission accomplished.
The current IFA technology show in Berlin has presented the burgeoning world of 8K televisions with two new extremes.
At the small end of the spectrum, Samsung took the wraps off the first commercially available 55in 8K TV.
However, the new – and frankly more exciting – record for biggest 8K ever goes to Sharp, with its new 120in monster.
4. Sharp Quattron+ Beyond 4K TV
For now, at least, we’re inclined to roll our eyes whenever a brand starts talking about 8K. After all, the industry still hasn’t established 4K yet, at least from a content perspective.
The reason Sharp is trying to claim a 4K TV can actually deliver 8K-like pictures is its Quattron+ technology.
First introduced at last year’s CES as a way of getting a 4K-like resolution from a 2K native pixel count, Quattron+ essentially splits each of a screen’s four (red, green, blue and additional yellow) sub-pixels in half horizontally, doubling the perceived horizontal resolution.
The technology really could deliver more detail than a normal HD TV, but the effect was’t up there with a true 4K image, and areas of very small details looked quite noisy.
Also, of course, Sharp’s pseudo-4K option was coming out at a time when there were already lots of genuine 4K TVs around, so it just seemed like an unnecessary compromise and source of confusion that the market didn’t need.
5. Sharp LC-60UD20
The single most remarkable thing about the 60-inch 60UD20 TV sat on our test benches today is simply that it’s branded by Sharp.
The last time a Sharp TV burst through our doors was almost exactly a year ago, in October 2013, when we somehow managed to get to grips with the 90-inch 90LE757.
With such a long gap between Sharp review models we can’t help but wonder how well the company has kept up with its much more prolific rivals.
Though the fact that the 60UD20 has a native 4K/UHD resolution is certainly a good start.
Are Sharp TVs Any Good?
It’s important to preface this by saying that we’ve not reviewed many Sharp TVs at What Hi-Fi? over recent years and all the advice we have to offer is based purely on specs, design, on-paper features and our vast experience in the TV sector.
Looking at the Sharp TV website, there are certainly some very interesting Sharp Q-series sets out there.
The Q8000U, Q7500U, Q7000U, and Q600U TVs are 4K sets, with HDR10 and (depending on the range) Dolby Vision support, all with smart TV platforms of one type or another and built-in Google Assistant voice control.
Note that these are still 2018 models and are only sparingly available in the shops.
Instead, the main focus for the US market is the more mid-range Sharp Roku TVs which come in sizes between 24in and 58in, priced between $99 and $550, and stocked mostly by Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon.
For the UK, the Currys selection is, again, focused on the budget end of things with the BJ3, BJ4, and BJ5 4K TVs but, at the time of writing, it’s only the BJ4s that are in stock.
There are also BC5, BC2 and BE0 HD Ready sets as well as the Full HD BG2.
Frequently Asked Questions
QUES: Where can I find the model and serial numbers for my TV?
ANS: The model and serial numbers are located on the back of the TV. You can also locate the model number on the front cover of the User’s Manual and Quick Start Guide.
QUES: Can I use a universal remote with my TV?
ANS: Yes. If you prefer to use your cable set-top box or satellite receiver as a universal remote, please refer to the manual that your cable or satellite service provided. It will include instructions on how to program their remote to work with your television.
QUES: Can I remove apps from my TV?
ANS: You can only remove (uninstall) apps that you downloaded to the TV. Factory-installed apps (such as Netflix, etc.) cannot be uninstalled.
However, you can remove the TV from accounts for factory-installed apps. If you do, remember to contact the app service provider to let them know billing should be stopped.
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