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Sharp LC-52LE700E 52in LED backlit TV

Viewing it large

Review The LC-52LE700E is the largest set in Sharp’s current range of affordable, LED backlit TVs. Many may baulk at describing a telly that costs £1,300 as affordable, but given the vast expanse of screen real-estate on offer here and the fact that it uses direct LED backlighting, the asking price actually falls towards the more reasonable end of the big screen spectrum.

Sharp LC-52LE700E TV

The big picture: Sharp's Aquos LC-52LE700E

A telly of this size is bound to draw attention to itself, even if it’s sitting in the corner of a room switched off. And while it isn’t as pretty as some of the latest LED models from LG and Samsung, the glossy black finish and blue tinged panel, that runs across the bottom of the set, at least lift it out of design mediocrity. However, we’re used to LED models being exceptionally slim, but that’s not the case here as the LC-52LE700E is rather big boned, measuring a whopping 10cm deep.

With so much space on the back for various ports, it’s no surprise that the set is not found wanting when it comes to connectivity. You get four HDMI ports – with one side mounted for easy access – alongside two Scart sockets, a set of component connectors, a composite socket and a VGA port. There’s also a digital audio output, so you can feed sound from the Freeview tuner to your surround sound system.

Unfortunately, on the digital media front, the TV lags somewhat behind the times. The LC-52LE700E does have a USB port on the side, but it only lets you play MP3s or view slideshows of pictures. It can’t play any video formats at all, so you can’t even watch movie files captured on your digital camera. With no Ethernet port nor Wi-Fi support, you also miss out on Internet video services and media streaming from a PC.

Sharp LC-52LE700E TV

With four HDMI ports, you shouldn’t have any problems hooking up your HD kit.

Setting up the TV is pretty straightforward although the tuner does take a while to grab all the Freeview channels. However, as you only really have to do this once, it’s hardly a big issue. When the channels are tuned, you’ll find that the LC-52LE700E’s menu system offers comprehensive control over pretty much all aspects of the TV. However, its structure could be improved and the presentation could do with a bit of a facelift, as it looks rather drab.

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