Sharp 700UN as monitor: Quality & Performance Review

Ryom

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 11, 2006
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My 37" Westinghouse HDTV that I had been using as a monitor developed a very bad mottling problem and I chose to replace it. As many of you know the Westy was an INCREDIBLY popular HDTV to use as a monitor, driven mainly by this forum. It was an excellent performer, save for black levels. Thus replacing it turned out to be quite difficult. I settled on the Sharp 700UN series as my replacement. Since many others are reporting quality issues with their Westys similar to mine I'll outline my thoughts for its replacement here for other interested parties.

First off, a link to a professional review at AVS forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16971626#post16971626
Notable from that link: Excellent black levels, Excellent ANSI contrast, Excellent Calibration options, Excellent power consumption, Color is good.

My subjective experience and grading using this HDTV as a monitor:

Text rendering on the Westy is flawless. Certain bold colors can look fuzzy on the Sharp (saturated red/blue text on a dark background for example). Cleartype can help in certain situations. Standard text colors are fine.
Westy text: 10 out out of 10
Sharp text: 7 out of 10


Black levels on the Westy were very poor, one of my peeves with the set. The Sharp has the best contrast available outside of local dimming sets and the best black levels available outside of top tier plasmas.
Westy blacks: 4 out of 10
Sharp Blacks: 9 out of 10


Input lag on the Westy was an acceptable 33ms. Input lag on the Sharp in "game" mode is almost non-existent. Running the set in 120Hz mode (creates new frames to smooth actions) gives high input-lag (as with all sets with this feature). I do not recommend running 120Hz for gaming, the game mode with "Fine Motion Enhanced (this is not the 120Hz feature) is the ideal setup.
Westy input lag: 8 out of 10
Sharp input lag: 10 out of 10


Response time on the Westy was acceptable, but occasional smearing can be seen. The Sharp has excellent motion, and a specific feature called "Fine Motion Enhanced" that changes the overdrive function to optimize for fast movement. Fine Motion Enhanced is not an intermediate frame creation algorithm (120Hz) but simply a change in the way the set drives the pixels.
Westy response time: 7 out of 10
Sharp response time: 9 out of 10 (it's still an LCD)


Miscellaneous: Power consumption on the Sharp is EXCELLENT. The LED backlight allows for sub 100 watt usage for the 52" model, with even less for the smaller screens. The Westy used a standard CCFL backlight and could use several hundred watts of power depending on your setting. The Sharp screen is also lightweight, about 60lbs for the 52" model. The base for the 52" model is VERY deep, ~16", so make sure you have room or wall mount it. Also the backlight buzzes when not at full power, it is high pitched and fairly quiet but it's there. EDIT: I had this set replaced under warranty for hot pixels and backlight buzz, the replacement set backlight DOES NOT buzz.

One of the biggest cons of the Sharp: I do not know if this is endemic to all the 700UN series displays, but the 52" model has a very long power on time. From when you press the power button until you see the screen power on can be upwards of 10 seconds.

Summary: For gaming and movies the set is STELLAR. For every day use it is acceptable.

Some photos for reference:
http://trickingq3.com/misc/photoshop/forum_posted/Westy/Sharp_700UN-1.jpg
http://trickingq3.com/misc/photoshop/forum_posted/Westy/Sharp_700UN-2.jpg
http://trickingq3.com/misc/photoshop/forum_posted/Westy/Sharp_700UN-3.jpg
 
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Hey Ryom, thanks for the review.

The Westy comparison should give everyone an idea on how good that Sharp really is. After all, everyone was gaga over the Westy for the longest time, so those looking to upgrade actually have something to "upgrade" to. Or even those looking for a traditional TV set, that professional AVS review you linked ought to enlighten them a bit.

I notice the LE700UN Sharp comes in a few sizes: a 32" a 40" a 46" and the 52", so there's an option there for nearly everyone.


For those looking for similar monitor performance at a lower pricepoint, you can check out the Sharp E67U series (no led + 60hz) or the E77U series (120hz interpolated but no LED). More monitor related info on these models posted here.
 
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I assume that is the 40 incher?

So from your use so far the only thing the westy has over the sharp is the displaying of colored text?

Seems like a no brainer upgrade then :) When my Westy hits the floor I may need to look into this Sharp.

Thanks for the review!
 
So from your use so far the only thing the westy has over the sharp is the displaying of colored text?
Going by other reviews i've read, it's only certain specific colored text, otherwise most colored text should appear normal.
 
I assume that is the 40 incher?
Right, only red text in particular is tough to make out Ryom?

I have the 52" and Red is the bad one, bright green can bit a little fuzzy. Haven't noticed any other colors doing it yet.



One more thing I forgot to mention that is important. The base (for the 52" at least) is MASSIVE. It's a good 16" deep, so be aware of that. I'm going to be using a tilting wall mount and losing the base.
 
Tough sell at $650, with Bing Cashback you can get if for nearly the same price online, around $670 shipped, or so (BUY.com, B&H photo, Amazon whse + possible coupons + bing cashback).

Prices drop so darn fast sometimes, not a bad thing for the consumer of course.


When is the 32" model coming back to newegg.!? :(
Newegg is not the only place to buy electronics ;)

Search Google + Bing shopping for the LC-32LE700UN, and remember to use Bing cashback and any coupons the store may have to offer.
 
Price lowered...as low as I can go (didnt realize these came down in price soo much).

I have the 46" version too, but I am keeping that one for the home theater. Kickarse display if I say so myself! \m/

:)
 
From an amazon review:

"Average input lag. Using Guitar Hero 3 lag calibration tool, I was able to get 48 milisec in Game mode, and between 90 - 130 milisec in other modes. "

Doesn't sound that impressive on the input lag section. Also what is the pixel structure on the panel like. Many Sharps I've seen use offset pixel structure and not standard. If you have no idea what that means, it means the text will not be as crisp as a $100 TN panel.
 
Funny I have this TV and I always thought the fine motion enhanced setting was the 120hz setting. I guess game mode is the only way to turn it off then? I better go RTFM lol.
 
From an amazon review:

"Average input lag. Using Guitar Hero 3 lag calibration tool, I was able to get 48 milisec in Game mode, and between 90 - 130 milisec in other modes. "

Doesn't sound that impressive on the input lag section. Also what is the pixel structure on the panel like. Many Sharps I've seen use offset pixel structure and not standard. If you have no idea what that means, it means the text will not be as crisp as a $100 TN panel.
Good thing we don't rely on amazon for the more technical info ;)

There's a huge thread on this TV over at AVS, plus some of the internals + panel of this model are shared with a couple of other models (but not all Sharps share the same parts obviously).
 
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Funny I have this TV and I always thought the fine motion enhanced setting was the 120hz setting. I guess game mode is the only way to turn it off then? I better go RTFM lol.

Film Mode under Advanced in the menu is 120Hz processing. Fine Motion Enhanced changes the pixel-drive method to support fast movement on screen for lower apparent response time.

As for input lag, I can't feel any. Others have run tests and come to the conclusion that the panel is one of the best available. I have no desire to confirm this directly because I can't detect any sort of lag in game mode. It does have noticeable lag with 120Hz processing on, but that is to be expected.
 
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700UN-text1.JPG


700UN-text2.JPG
 
That's wierd. Film Mode for me is only selectable when I'm watching interlaced stuff. Also when you run the Demo Mode under options, it has a demo for 120hz Fine Motion Enhanced with Video, thats why I figured that was the 120hz setting. Either way, great TV. According to the Sharp site, these sets all have the "vyper drive" game mode they used to charge a bundle for a year or two back.

Here are my settings as far as calibration goes. I got them off someone in the AVS forum a while back and they seemed to work well for me. At first these settings look a bit odd coming from the factory scorch mode but once your eyes settle, you'll find movies look more natural as far as flesh tones and games look fine as well. I always use game mode with these settings. Each set is different so you can tweak to your liking, but this might be a good starting point.

Backlight- STD
Contrast- +25
Brightness -3
color+1
tint+6
sharpness 0

CMS Hue
r-8
y+9
g0
c+5
b-20
m+8

CMS Saturation
r-13
y0
g0
c0
b-12
m-15

CMS Value
r-1
y+6
g-11
c0
b-30
m-1

color temp low
r0
go
b-10
red gain +20
green gain +30
blue gain -30
finemotion off(games) on movies/TV
active contrast off
gamma -2
film mode -off
no dejudder feature on 32inch
digital noise reduction off and OPC off.
 
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Yeah the fonts look great imo too. I've been thinking about getting the cheaper panasonic 32" (non led of course) but I've heard the text isn't all that great on it and it looks like text will be great on the Sharp. If I buy it I'll probably be using it as my primary monitor if I can get use to it. I'm on a 23.6 1080p screen right now.
 
One of my main gripes with my current monitor is backlight bleed and this tv looks like it has none at all. MMMMM

(picture taken from avsforum.com)

I need to get my hands on one now!
 
Yeah the fonts look great imo too. I've been thinking about getting the cheaper panasonic 32" (non led of course) but I've heard the text isn't all that great on it and it looks like text will be great on the Sharp. If I buy it I'll probably be using it as my primary monitor if I can get use to it. I'm on a 23.6 1080p screen right now.
I have the Panasonic L32S1 you are talking about, and the fonts are as perfect as the Sharp.

The only difference between the Sharp and Panasonic is the Panasonic has trouble with red and medium blue fonts, whereas the Sharp has trouble with red and light green fonts (as per Ryom).

Pick your poison because every LCD TV will involve some compromise ;), but the panasonic and sharp have proven low input lag and that's what many of us want.

Most name brand TV's don't have backlight bleed btw.
 
Well I finally mounted this to make room my NEC's and now that I have to view it from a lower angle I notice some faint horizontal banding towards the bottom 2/3's of the screen and only during grey, black, or dark scenes. These horizontal lines go all across the screen and are about 1 cenimeter thick. I see them regardless of input or content. Sharp is not being very helpful either. Dell says they will replace it under my extended 3 year, but only after the sharp one-year expires...... I thought these LED models weren't affected by previous banding issues but I guess i was wrong. If you like this monitor I would suggest buying it at a B&M so that you can return it without a hassle.
 
Anyone knows the input lag on this ? Im considering selling my Dell 2209WA for this... the dell has excellent low input lag for me @ 60hz

Also, im guessing even tho it states 120hz... Nvidia Vision 3D wont work right ?
 
It cant take a 120hz signal, so I doubt it would work. As far as input lag, this monitor is excellent. If you read the thread at the AVS forum, people have tested it side by side with a crt and have posted results between 16ms and 25ms only while in the Game mode setting. I have crazy mouse lag in every other mode, but once I put it in game mode it goes away and acts just like a pc monitor. I cant tell the difference between this and my 2 NEC23WMi.
 
Cool :) im almost sold

So the 120hz don't help for shit ? In gaming ? In movies ?

Asuming its just for PS3 and PC
 
120 hz might help with fast sports, some video content like animation and possibly games that are not twitch based. As others have said this set (along with every other 2009 model) cant accept discrete 120hz, which is required for 3d.
 
Cool :) im almost sold

So the 120hz don't help for shit ? In gaming ? In movies ?

Asuming its just for PS3 and PC

From what I know,120hz should reduce motion blur and give you a smoother picture. There's nothing wrong with the technology, it just hasn't been implemented well in the past. In the past, the main benefit of 120hz have come from watching 24fps films (24 divides evenly into 120). Another problem is that past 120hz monitors aren't true 120hz monitors. True 120hz monitors not only have a 120hz refresh rate but they also accept 120hz rather than 60hz from the source. I think computers remain the only 120hz source available.

For gaming, the problem is that some people aren't turning off the set's motion enhancement technology. Motion enhancement is almost certain to increase input lag.
Complicating matters is that many gamers are not playing games at over 60fps.
 
After more extended use I have noticed that dark on dark colors (say a dark gray object moving across a black background) tend to smear during movement. I think the Fine Motion feature has some effect on this.
 
Is anyone else using this as a PC monitor? If so, can I get you to run a quick test for me?

Open an image editor or document program, fill the page with dark gray (about 10-15% up from black) and then move a dark colored object across the screen (blood red or deep blue for example). Does it have a long trail?
 
Can I get anyone with this set to help me out. I'm noticing some really bad ghosting for dark on dark tones (dark red on gray for example) and wanted to know if this was endemic to the set.

I'll attach some pictures of what I'm seeing. Anyone else get ghosting like this? You can see in the Just Cause 2 picture that the reticule actually doubles because of the ghosting.


Sharp sent a tech out about this and the tech replaced the boards in the TV. This did not fix the problem I am having. Can anyone else see who has this set connected to a PC see if they can replicate my problem?

http://bitjumble.com/files/pc/response_time_test.psd

Download that file and open with an image editor such as Photoshop, The Gimp, or PS Elements. Drag the red square around... the gray section may have very bad ghosting but the white and black sections should be fine.
 
A professional calibrator who is well respected member of AVSForum has tested many HDTVs including the 700UN.
FYI, the 700UN was ranked 11 out of 16 due to inaccurate color, poor shadow and limited viewing angle.

http://hdtvbychadb.com/reviews.htm
 
A professional calibrator who is well respected member of AVSForum has tested many HDTVs including the 700UN.
FYI, the 700UN was ranked 11 out of 16 due to inaccurate color, poor shadow and limited viewing angle.

http://hdtvbychadb.com/reviews.htm

Did you read his review? He thought the 700UN was a great performer.

Regardless, you're missing the point about this monitor. The 700UN is one of the few LCD HDTVs with proven low input lag. Quite a few TVs he tested are plasmas. And of the other LCDs he tested, none of them have low input lag. There's no question that if you're buying a TV just for movies, there are better TVs out there. There's a reason Sharps have not been that popular in the past couple of years. They have been overpriced for the performance they offer.
 
Did you read his review? He thought the 700UN was a great performer.

Regardless, you're missing the point about this monitor. The 700UN is one of the few LCD HDTVs with proven low input lag. Quite a few TVs he tested are plasmas. And of the other LCDs he tested, none of them have low input lag. There's no question that if you're buying a TV just for movies, there are better TVs out there. There's a reason Sharps have not been that popular in the past couple of years. They have been overpriced for the performance they offer.

+ 1 million

Also, he reviewed the Pioneer Freaking KURO, of course it's going to make every other screen look like crap.

Also, sharp screens are very nicely priced nowadays, they are going for a more bang for your buck approach which is why there are huge user-based threads over @ avsforum.
 
Did you read his review? He thought the 700UN was a great performer.

The review is positive overall but the 700UN is not without its flaws. Nevertheless, the 700UN is a good LCD but not as great as pointed out in the first post of this thread (where the 700UN is compared to an outdated low-end LCD).

Also, he reviewed the Pioneer Freaking KURO, of course it's going to make every other screen look like crap.

The chart compares 16 HDTVs and only two are Kuro units...
 
The review is positive overall but the 700UN is not without its flaws. Nevertheless, the 700UN is a good LCD but not as great as pointed out in the first post of this thread (where the 700UN is compared to an outdated low-end LCD).


Exactly, it is as great as pointed out in the first post, for a MONITOR that is suitable for PC Gaming with extremely low input lag and fast response time. Which as already mentioned, is a great replacement for the aging Westinghouse monitor even though the sharp is technically an HDTV.

Edit:

I don't see the guy measuring and comparing input lag or response time or gaming on them? Right, because you are comparing two different market. Hence the title to this thread: "Sharp 700UN as monitor" not "Best HDTV for movies only".
 
...and fast response time...

I'm the OP; After some time with the set I have noticed that the low value gray-to-gray response is not so hot. Response times against black or white are very good, but I'm seeing unacceptable smearing for dark gray to gray transitions. I may down-grade that score in my first post if Sharp support doesn't have a fix for me. I'm currently working with them to try to eliminate the ghosting.

That said, this is still the best set I could find to replace the Westy. If the low gray-to-gray smear can be eliminated everything is dandy. The black levels and contrast are REALLY nice coming off the Westy :p

This post will serve as a review of Sharp's customer support. The first set I received had 2 hot pixels center screen and a line of dead pixels lower right. The backlight buzzed if not set to maximum and the HDMI audio display lingered for too long on startup. Sharp replaced the set with a new (not remanufactured one) and every problem I had noticed at first was fixed. This was done within a week.

The second set had no noticeable dead or hot pixels, the backlight is utterly silent, and there is no lingering HDMI audio message on startup anymore. I noticed later on while playing Just Cause 2 however that the low tones were smearing. I replicated this problem in a PSD file (see previous post) and got on the phone with Sharp support. They had me send pics in then sent a technician out to replace the two circuit boards in the set. This did not fix the problem and Sharp escalated my problem to their support supervisor and I'm waiting to hear back.

Examples of blurring:
http://bitjumble.com/files/pc/sharp/_MG_1515.jpg
http://bitjumble.com/files/pc/sharp/_MG_1517.jpg
http://bitjumble.com/files/pc/sharp/_MG_1519.jpg
http://bitjumble.com/files/pc/sharp/_MG_1485.jpg
 
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The review is positive overall but the 700UN is not without its flaws. Nevertheless, the 700UN is a good LCD but not as great as pointed out in the first post of this thread (where the 700UN is compared to an outdated low-end LCD).

Nobody is saying the 700UN is the perfect monitor. I only responded to your previous post because it is unfair and potentially misleading. It seems like you only read the chart and came on here to post.

If you read the original post, this thread, and heck the thread title, you'll know that this thread is about the 700UN as a computer monitor. The respected reviewer in question does not care about the 700UN's performance as a computer monitor or its performance as a gaming monitor.

Again, I think you're really missing the boat here. You mentioned that the 700UN has inaccurate colors. When does the reviewer say this? In fact, if you read the review or even the footnote, you'll see that the 700UN measured perfect but subjectively the reviewer found fleshtones to be a bit artificial. You mentioned the 700UN has poor shadow detail. Look closely, the reviewer gave it a score of 4, the same as 5 other monitors on this list. The ones that are better include two Kuros, Panasonic plasmas, a Sony CRT, a Sony LCD, and Samsung plasmas. You mentioned poor viewing angles. Again, look at the monitors above.

Price aside, are the other monitors with a higher overall rating better HDTVS? I don't doubt that. Are they better monitors for PC and gaming use? I highly doubt it.
 
Does anyone else know of any other good replacements for a Westy? I got a 37'' Vizio but it has very small horizontal lines that make it unacceptable for computer use.

$700 for a 32'' is just a tiny bit steep, or can you get this for any less?
 
Does anyone else know of any other good replacements for a Westy? I got a 37'' Vizio but it has very small horizontal lines that make it unacceptable for computer use.

$700 for a 32'' is just a tiny bit steep, or can you get this for any less?
TV's suitable for monitor use are discussed in this AVS forum thread, the guys there are extremely helpful in case you decide to post: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1131464

edited
 
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