Sharp Aquos LC-32LE210E 32in LCD TV
Bedroom furniture makeover time?
Review I have to say, I rather admire Sharp for not becoming entirely obsessed with 3D TV, and focusing some of its R&D talent on its innovative four-colour Quattron picture technology. Moreover, the company hasn’t ignored adding features to its less expensive televisions, evident in the 32in Aquos LC-32LE210E.
Media friendly: Sharp's Aquos LC-32LE210E
Intended for smaller living rooms, or perhaps for use as a second TV in a bedroom or kids’ playroom Sharp’s LC-32LE210E has the ability to timeshift and record programmes onto an external USB hard disk or memory stick. You can buy the LC-32LE210E direct from Sharp for £599, but online prices tend to be around the £450 mark. The 37in model is about £100 more expensive but, oddly, lacks the USB recording option.
Initial impressions are quite favourable, as the LC-32LE210E is solidly built and neatly designed, with its edge-lit LED backlighting giving it a fairly slim, 45mm profile. It’s tempting to dismiss the 32in screen as too small for the living room – hence Sharp’s emphasis on bedroom use – but it’ll be a perfectly good choice for anyone that wants to upgrade from an old CRT set in order to get ready for the big digital switchover.
Its connectivity features are relatively modest, but cover all the basics, including three HDMI ports, one vestigial Scart for connecting older VCRs or DVD players, component video and stereo input, VGA for connecting a computer, and SP/DIF for digital audio output.
A variety, rather than an abundance of interfacing
There’s a single USB port and CI slot, but no Ethernet interface to provide any Internet or video-on-demand services. That omission is acceptable for a TV in this price range, but I was disappointed to see that the Freeview tuner is for standard-definition channels only, rather than providing Freeview HD.
COMMENTS
32" is plenty for most UK livingrooms.
I remember when we felt very chuffed with 28" of CRT goodness. It wasnt that long ago.
The word FAIL always pops into my mind when I walk into a UK livingroom that has a 40"+ TV in thats obviously way too large. That and folks that amusingly put the TV above the fireplace or 6 feet up the wall so you have to crane your neck to watch it.
But then I've always felt that your TV should not be the main focus/talking point of your livingroom. It's a bit sad if it is.
Dear oh dear.
quite
The idea that 32" is 'compact' almost made me choke on my bacon butty. I was expecting to read next that it was good enough for the nanny's flat.
no freeview HD?
come on, its late 2010 and about to rollout everywhere. this is a major #EPICFAIL
i was tempted by this set , actually for bedroom use...but ultimately 2 things killed it for me.
firstly, the lack of freeviewHD in the set - I'm not going to buy a separate STB for that thanks!
secondly, lack of ethernet port for local media streaming or net content. the second requirement means , as reviewer says, i have to go up-market a little but with the USB media capabilities I was going to make a small sacrifice. oh well
Chocolate fireguard?
My Panasonic telly supports USB record.. it's completely useless of course, you have to have the TV switched on for a start and you have to leave it on the channel you want it to record, timed or live. So, it's got to play to either an empty room or you've got to watch it recording. It would be useful for pausing live TV though.
The reason the reviewer couldn't transfer it to a PC was nothing to do with Linux filesystems, it was because the Sharp has encrypted the volume so it can only be replayed on that telly, even another Sharp LC-32LE210E wouldn't play it. Same goes for the Panasonic I own.
Getting there...
Getting there... but I'd really like a nice, simple all in one device that has frevview HD (DVB-T2) and built in DVD (or even Blu-ray, but don't care too much) with recording a nice but not required extra.
This device will then remove the need for a separate ugly decoder box, a separate DVD/Blu-ray player and the mess of Scart and power cables that inhabit the spaces between such setups. i.e. it'll then be ideal for a bedroom or somewhere else where you don't have a dedicated cabinet to hide the mess behind the TV.
