Sharp LC-52LE700E 52in LED backlit TV

Also, I wasn’t really a fan of Sharp’s EPG. The predominantly grey colour scheme is visually depressing and, despite the high-resolution text, you can’t easily read the names of some programmes with short run times in the default layout. This can be alleviated somewhat by switching the EPG to a different zoom setting, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem.

The uncluttered remote is nicely designed

The LC-52LE700E’s picture presets are pretty garish too, so you have to do a bit of work to tone them down before you really see what the set’s capable of. However, at least the picture controls are comprehensive. Even the simple mode gives you control over the backlight level, while the advanced menu let’s you tweak more complex settings like colour hue and saturation.

LED backlit sets are generally better at rendering deeper blacks than other LCD screens, so you’d expect the LC-52LE700E to perform well in this area. Thankfully, it doesn’t disappoint as it delivers some of the deepest blacks I’ve seen this side of the very best plasmas.

The EPG looks rather drab and the names of shorter programmes are often hidden

What’s more, it manages to do this without toning down bright whites in the picture, as some lesser screens do. Colours also manage to look strong without becoming cartoony and it handles skins tones with impressive finesse.