Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69304 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sharp
• Model: LC32AD5E
• Released on: 2007-05-10
• Dimensions: 41.89 pounds
• Display size: 32

Manufacturer's Description
AD5 series

Built - in DVB - terrestrial tuner
High - fidelity sound
Surround Sound and NiCAM / A2 Stereo
Auto volume controls equalise volume levels on programmes with various sound sources
Clear voice automatically differentiates voices and music to deliver clearer voices
A dvanced digital interfaces with 2 HDMI inputs (1 HDMI input LC - 20AD5E), PC input (D - sub 15 pin)

Crystal - clear LCD picture quality
High resolution XG A LCD panel (1,366 x 768 pixels)
Wide viewing angles horizontally / vertically 176°
High brightness of 450 cd / m2 and Panel Contrast ratio of 1,200 : 1
High - speed 6 m/sec. (42" /37" / 32" / 26"), 8 m/sec.(20") response time for reproduction of moving images
3D Y/C comb filter

Environmentally conscious
Long - life backlight and eco - oriented materials and a design convenient for recycling

More TV entertainment
Picture and Text function
EPG

Box Contents

• Remote Control Unit
• AA size Battery x2
• Operation Manual
• AC Cord
• Cable Clamp
• Stand Unit

Customer Reviews

Best of bunch under £400
I had been looking for a new LCD TV for 4 months prior to purchasing this model. My research involved trolling a dozen AV specialty websites and forums (both UK and US) for feedback, photographs and reviews; visiting stores to view the screens in person and also viewing screens that friends and family had purchased.

One thing that can be said is the Built-in Freeview is superior to those found on some £600+ TVs I had seen. I have not experienced any channel-switching lag which is common in pricier Samsung models; nor have I spotted any ghosting or 'red halo' effect that blight such sub-£400 sets like the Hanspree and Mirai. Of course, the picture is only as good as the signal it's being fed and you will likely find that the screen shows the flaws of some poorly signalled channels.
Overall excellent Freeview capabilities in medium to strong Freeview signal areas.

As with all 720p LCD sets - it's with HD material that the TV truly shines with SkyHD, Xbox 360 and HD-DVD presented in crisp, clear and vibrant colours. Again, no ghosting visible from any viewing distance. I cannot praise this screen enoough in this respect - you would be forgiven for thinking you were watching a screen costing twice as much!

Functionality that's lacking is the 1:1 pixel mapping (sometimes referred to as Just Scan Mode), and the Film Mode is not available for all inputs. The Film mode doesn't make a great deal of difference and you will likely find that time spent configuring your set to your bespoke settings will give better results than just switching on the Film Mode - but the Film Mode does make the out-of-the-box settings deliver a better picture to get you started. But as with all LCD screens, you will be rewarded for time spent properly adjusting the set from the factory settings.
Another minor drawback is the sound which can lack depth, but this is hardly suprising considering the small footprint of the TV and the price bracket it's in - therefore this can be forgiven. Indeed, most potential purchasers will likely have some form of HiFi / Surround Theatre system to connect to their source making this a moot point.

As with all LCD screens of any price bracket, it is very important to use the best connections for HD sources (and Cable/NTL/Sky for that matter!), and every effort should be made to use a good quality HDMI cable or - in the case of the Xbox 360 - a VGA cable. Take it from me - you really will see the difference! It is also worth reiterating that the default settings will need some adjustment to get the perfect picture and to allow some time for the screen to 'bed in'. (My personal opinion was that the default settings for sharpness were set too high and are best around the 0 to +2 mark).

I can also reply to previous reports by an earlier reviewer that the screen delivered to me by Amazon is not an 'inferior' TNT panel, and I have no problems at all with backlight bleeding nor the displaying of colours. I also know of many more indivduals who purchased this TV after months of similar research to me and have not recieved a TNT panel and have not experienced any problems mentioned by the previous reviewer.

I would have given my review 4 stars simply due to the lack of 1:1 pixel mapping functionality and slight lack of audio depth, but as others have said, the lacking of these is entirely acceptable given the price and I'm inclined to agree. It is also worth noting that the TV set is better looking than the display picture suggests having a deeper 'piano black' look and feel to it adding to the perception of class and expense.

In summary - my main considerations were Freeview and HD playback quality and for this I came to the conclusion that the Sharp LC32AD5E was the best 32" LCD TV for under £400. Yes, you can get better, but not at the sub-£400 price bracket...

So much for buying a Sharp
A word of warning about this TV: It's NOT made by Sharp. It's actually made by Orion who are a budget TV maker and really low end.

Also, it uses a TNT panel, which are the cheapest panels available. They were only invented because companies needed panels which could be mass produced at as low a cost as possible. These panels suffer from backlight bleed, have awful viewing angles and can't display colours properly.

As far as I'm aware the LCAD5E series and its America equivalents (LC-32SH12U, LC-32AV22U, and LC-32DV22U) are the only 32" TV's Sharp outsource to Orion to make and it really shows. I know they outsource practically all their TV's under 32", but just these ones in the 32" category.

I recommend Sharp TV's as they make some of the best LCD's in the world, but stay well clear of their LCAD5E series. Ask this question at any TV forum and they will tell you the same.

It's not just Sharp who do this though. Samsung, Sony and many others do this aswell. So don't be put off Sharp completely, just don't get this TV.

To buy or not to buy?
Once out of the box, the first thing you notice is the style....very nice.
Setting up is very easy, the Sharp LC32AD5E freeview gives a good crisp....and forgive the pun...a sharp image on the screen. With a good DVD player with HDMI will give you a wow factor when you have those nights in to watch a good movie, but to do this you must setup the tv from the menu using the user mode....once you do this the tv looks great. The preset functions are ok but tend to have ghosting when a image is close up and moving on screen.
But and there is always a but.....using sky+(scart)with the tv, it seems to leave ghosting....more so when the setting on the screen is in a dark room and sometimes close up shots like of someones face,it seems that an eye or nose stay in one place even when the head moves.I have found these tend to be more on the recorded shows than from the shows not recorded, I did setup the tv to a SkyHD box(HMDI)and played back the same recorded shows that were on the Sky+ and found that there was some ghosting but not much.....this again was made even less when setting the tv in user mode.The sound is very good in fact it is great and with so many inputs you can use the tv for anything,ie.....a gaming tv (which by the way is very good)...a PC screen, again this is also very good...and last but not least a TV. It takes no time at all to master the controls and you will at first keep tweeking the tv to get it just how you like it and once you have done that it makes you feel like you have a high-end tv.There is a large cable cover at the back of the tv, so when you put all your leads into the tv you just put the cover back and the cables are not in the way or seen.
For the money the LC32AD5E is a good buy,I have not giving the tv a top rating as that would be a lie.....it is a very good tv for the price and makes other 32" TV's that cost the same if not more look and feel cheap. I have been looking for for a new 32" lcd tv for a time now and after a lot of reading,made my mind up this was the tv for me....I could not find any reviews for the LC32AD5E but after reading the tec info,I knew this was the tv for me.
I have had many makes of TV's over the years but never a Sharp TV, I know that my next Tv will be a high-end Sharp,when i can afford it that is. (I just love high tec)