Sharp Aquos LC-52D62U Review

The green light.
Many husbands know what I'm talking about when it comes to big technology purchases. It's the grudging approval one gets from one's wife when you've finally managed to convince her to spend the income tax refund on something you want, but don't really need. For me, it came in the form of a Sharp Aquos LC-52D62U LCD TV. Here's my story:

Shopping Around
I've been a mystery shopper for years. While this hasn't made me an expert on every model of TV out there, I can safely say that I've shopped for a large-screen television hundreds of times. Imagine the anguish of always taking the purchase right up to the threshold of saying, "Yes! I'll take it!" but being forced to decline the salesman's overtures, time and time again. Well it was on one of these "shops" where I came upon the 52D62U. It was on an end-cap and it seemed to be calling my name. I literally did a double-take.

The clarity was like nothing I'd seen before. It didn't hurt that they had it plugged into a blue-ray high-definition DVD demo but still--I had seen LCD Projections, DLP, Plasma, SXRD, and other LCD flats--but this one really seemed special. I knew from that moment onward what model I was going to want, when the time came.

Where to buy...
If you live in the Northeast, I'd highly recommend purchasing the unit from IBuyDigital.com . Reason: you can drive down to their warehouse in New Jersey and pick it up. Doing some research on MySimon.com, it looked like the best deal I could get on a new one was through these guys but I was a bit leery on getting anything that sensitive shipped to us (not to mention paying $300 for delivery). Even if I did have it shipped though, the price still would have been at least $1,000.00 less than a "big box retailer."

So we drove down one weekend and picked it up. My excitement was tempered by the traffic over the George Washington Bridge, but we eventually made it home and got it unpacked, and set up.

The World through a 52" Screen
A unique feeling flows through new high-def TV owners the first few hours they have it up and running. It's like some illicit drug--until you've tried it, you can't really describe it well to others. It would be fairly un-original to say we spent those hours doing what most probably do: flipping through all the high definition channels and saying, "wow that's really a great picture." But that's exactly how we felt for those first few days and as much as I wanted to rush to writing a review, I knew I couldn't be half as objective as I should be while in that fog.

It's been about a month and the second phase of ownership has now set in (wondering how we ever got by without one before). Those old 27" tube days are slowly disappearing into obscurity and it's only a matter of time before my subconscious decides to repress the entire span.

But Really... that IS a Great Picture!
The LC-52D62U is not the latest model Sharp has to offer. In fact, it's probably only a matter of time before this one gets phased out. That's not to say it's not worth every penny though while it's still around. Its image quality on high-definition signals are fantastic. I'm not a super-techy and I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about with azimuth, contrast ratio, and all that other jargon. If you're like me, all you want is a nice bright, sharp picture--and that's what you'll get with this unit.

Had I taken the time to read the manual, I probably would know just where to set the particular image levels but the menu interface is simple enough to move your way around without needing instruction. I flipped on two features I thought would be helpful (a high-speed setting and a brightness enhancement), and it as smooth sailing from there.

Burnout? Lines?
If you look deep into other web reviews on this model, you'll find that there are a handful of very angry owners. These are people who had poor experiences with "banding" - a nasty effect that causes horizontal (or sometimes vertical) lines to appear in your image. Unfortunately these usually trace back to an issue with the manufacturing process and there's little that can be done other than replacing the unit completely.

I look at it this way - no matter what technology you get, there's going to be a risk that you get a lemon. Cover your bases and spend the extra couple hundred bucks on the extended warranty. The last thing you want is to get stuck with a bad piece of equipment and have to foot the repair bill yourself. Chances are, if you haven't had a problem by the time the warranty has gone by, you won't have one in the years to come.

But as for the LC-52D62U being particularly bad, I don't buy it. Regardless of the company, service, or even travel destination, you're going to find very vocal people who have been wronged in one way or another. The thing to keep in mind though is that for every 1 negative review, there's probably 100,000 good ones that folks never bothered to write and share. It's human nature--we feel inclined to commiserate when things go badly, but not so much when things go well!

Bottom Line
I highly advise this television to anyone looking for a large flat-panel LCD. In addition to the image quality, the viewing angle is fantastic and even low-definition channels are "watchable" (meaning, they're not so pixellated that they send you running for the high-def spectrum). Sound quality is good, but expect some echoing effect if you combine the audio with that of a receiver (could however just be how I set it up, with speakers being too close to each other). Lastly, at only 90 lbs and a few inches thick, the television can easily be wall-mounted--a nice option we may someday take advantage of.