Sharp AQUOS LC65E77UM 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Gold Bezel

Review by Steven Addair for Sharp AQUOS LC65E77UM 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Gold Bezel
Rating:
I have had this TV for a couple of weeks now. I waited a month from the day I ordered it to the day it finally arrived.

This TV is not heavy and it was easy putting it up on the wall mounted rack. I was pleasantly surprised.

Let me get this straight to anyone who is concerned, the gold bezel is like a faint gloss on the bottom of the TV. Hard to notice. I am not certain why they put that light color on the set, but you have to strain to notice it. When set up on in my theater room, this is not noticeable in any way. Don’t worry about it if you are dithering on purchasing this set because of the gold bezel.

The picture is stunning and excellent. It is the best picture I have ever seen on a set. It’s got some interesting features, for example the TV has a built in ambient light sensor which ramps the brightness of the picture up and down based on the light surrounding the TV. Turn it off. It dulls the picture quality in darkness. I have found no way to make it useful.

Folks, this TV has two major flaws but there is a work around for the first so bear with me. The second issue, only time will tell.

First, the TV seems like it is designed to be the hub of all of your HDMI components. The folks at Sharp assume that everyone will rush to buy a Sharp AV receiver, Sharp Blu-Ray player, etc. and have them work together with their Aquos Link. They are dreaming.

In my setup, I use a Pioneer AV receiver, a Panasonic Blu-Ray player and a DirecTV DVR, Satellite Receiver. All is HDMI and state of the art.

I wanted to pipe all of my HDMI components through the Pioneer AV Receiver and send an HDMI video signal to the Sharp TV. Works fine except the Sharp TV pops up a message “An Incompatible Audio Signal Has Been Received, etc., etc.”.

Folks, I turned off the audio of the TV (selectable from the Sharp Menu), turned off the Aquos Link and I still got the message. Turns out, the TV REQUIRES PCM audio NOT HDMI only!!!! Even if you turn off the speakers on the TV, it still pops this silly message up.

Interestingly, there are only two ways to get this message off the bloody screen. First, you can turn the volume off the Sharp TV down to zero. Voila! The message goes away. The other way is to find a way to disable a pure HDMI audio signal from your AV receiver.

Okay, I found a work around by turning the volume to zero, but you would think that Sharp would be more interested in working with different HDMI components that are not Aquos Link. Nope, they don’t. Very disappointing.

There is a second flaw that I do not know if it will fix itself or not. The bloody set “pops” loudly every few minutes or so. It’s like the plastic is settling when it heats up. It’s a strange noise but seems to be reducing over time. I don’t like this problem as I don’t have a work around. Time will tell.

Hindsight being 20/20, I think I would get a Sony or Samsung 65 inch LCD knowing what I know now. They are more expensive by 25% or so, but these two issues should not be in a high end TV.

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This is an update to my earlier review. One month after ownership.

Couple of things I would like to report. I have downgraded this TV to two stars.

1. The “popping” sound hasn’t gone away. It’s still popping as often as ever. This is very annoying.

2. I have 4 pixels that have gone bad. They are very noticeable on the screen. they appear as white lights on the screen on a dark background.

3. The screen wants to adjust itself when it thinks it is too bright a picture. Even when I have this feature supposedly turned off. When moving from scene to scene, this “adjustment” is visible and annoying. It distracts you from the movie.

4. One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier review, I attempted to pipe all the HDMI components into the TV (as Sharp seems to think this is the best way), then pipe the sound output to my Pioneer AV receiver via a fiber optic digital (can’t output HDMI from the TV). The TV DOES NOT pipe the native sound through from the components. The result was a downgraded sound from the TV to the AV receiver. This is why I decided to keep the AV receiver as my component hub because I wanted to enjoy the surround sound as the sending component (Blu Ray) meant it to be heard.

My observation / advice is: don’t buy this set. Sharp needs to work on the end product for a year first. Too many issues. Again, the picture is excellent. No complaints about the picture quality other than the dead pixel issue and goofy auto brightness feature that won’t turn off.

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More info on the dead pixels. Just had a warranty person from Sharp come by and he found 10 more dead pixels on the screen that are not as bright or noticeable. Hopefully sharp replaces this beast as that totals 14 dead pixels.

As far as the popping sound. I am told I will have to live with it.

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Latest update – Sharp replaced the set quickly (they paid shipping both ways). Their shipping company helped take the defective set down and put the replacement set up.

Only one dead pixel on this set. Much better and acceptable.

No popping sound either.

I am much happier with the Sharp now that I replaced the defective set. One thing to remember is that my defective set was one of the first ones out of the new manufacturing plant. This replacement seems to work fine.

Thank you.

Review by Audio-Video Nut for Sharp AQUOS LC65E77UM 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Gold Bezel
Rating:
The picture of this set is beyond compare to the other LCDs and Plasmas. The HD is 3-D like. Actually I can see the variations in HD Camera quality as I switch HD channels. I have mentally created a list of HD channels(Sports/Movies/etc) with the best picture quality. The set’s sound quality is OK, but if you have surround sound system like I do, nothing to complain about. Another issue with surround sound systems built in, is the total lack of high SPL BASS(20 Hz or lower) to be realistic. I’ve had this TV since 10/06/09 and have not noted the quality issues(popping noise and dead pixels). I did find though some of the HD cameras that some of the stations are using have dead pixels or need to be calibrated(Used Blue-Ray and switched HD Channels). Picture and Sound quality aside, the best feature I love about this set is the OPC. This feature controls the Brightness and Contrast in the viewing environment. With a huge skylight in my Family room, the ability of this set to mitigate a very bright environment and use so little power is amazing. With the OPC showing 2 green leaves at 12 noon, the set consumes 330 watts. When the sun goes down, the OPC shows 8 leaves and consumes 130 watts. Wow! Thats like having your cake and eating it too! Totally amazing!

Review by 996driver for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P65S1 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black
Rating:
I looked at this set and the TC-P65V10 in Best Buy before I purchased it here. Using the same input I could not tell more that a tiny marginal difference in the V10’s 96hz 24p feature and this set without. I also looked at the 60″ KURO and while it did look better calibrated, it was not worth the more than “double the price” premium. I could tell a difference in the price though and back in my in home all I can say is, “WOW what a picture”. This performance available at this Amazon price point is the value of the year in television IMHO.

I bought the new TC-P54G10 in early September and also have a 720P 50″ TH-50PX80U model. While the TC-P65S1 Panasonic does not have THX, I was not as impressed with the THX settings as I thought I would be and prefer to use the custom settings. In my opinion this is still by far the best picture of the three sets I own. It shares the same Neo-PDP glass as the 54G10 but at 65″ the 1080 ability really shows through. Even at the 54″ size I cannot tell the difference with the 720 sets but this 65S1 shines like a star. I watched the Thursday night college football game on ESPNHD and spent more time being amazed at the picture than at the game and it was a darn good game.

This set is in a big room, 19′ x 26′, 12″ ceiling with lots of glass windows behind it and sliding doors. The anti glare works well, really great.

They need to add the ability to use Netflix right from the set and add more picture control ability for fine tuning and calibration of the picture.

Panasonic really knows their stuff. I can’t wait until they come out with a 100″ or better Plasma that folks who are not a Rap-Star can afford.

Don’t hesitate to purchase through Amazon!

Review by Chi Huynh for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P65S1 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black
Rating:
I bought this TV on August 30 and got it delivered on Sept 10. It’s a big set that needs to be delivered on trucks, not UPS. The seller communicates via email to update the status of your order. A day before the delivery date, the truck guys will call and confirm the hours, typically a four-hour window for them to show up. Now, there is something that I think a prospective buyer wants to keep in mind. TV of this size is not easily transported. So it’s the policy of the vendor, and probably industry-wide (because I’ve checked several vendors and that they all said the same thing), that you CAN’T RETURN IT if you don’t fell like it. In other word, don’t just buy it because you just want to check it out. The vendor will take it back if and only if it is 1) defective or 2) broken. So it’s crucial that once it’s delivered and while the delivery guys are still there, please open it up. Plug it in and make sure it work. In other word, do a thorough inspection. Because once these guys leave, you pretty much own it for good.

Now, comes the TV. This is a great set par none for its price. A quick walk through your local Best Buy will tell you that. I’ve seen TV’s a lot smaller and much less sophisticated got sold for prices very close to this set’s. Some of those are not very well known brands. The TV is not that heavy at all. The listing weight, according to Amazon is 175 shipping and 145, is not correct. Although I don’t know its shipping weight, the set itself is 90 lbs (yeah..this isn’t a typo). I’m a fairly small guy (5’7) and my brother’s (5’8), and we both were able to pick it up and set it on the console without breaking a sweat. The hookup is straight forward. Just find the right connection and plug it in. Very much self-explanatory. The remote doesn’t look that intimidating either. I mean if you’ve played around w/ electronic equipments, you don’t need to read the manual. Play around w/ a few keys and you’ll get it. It’s realllyyyyyy simpleeeee. I had mine hooked up to Direct TV w/ the premium package (Football package). So I’m able to watch fairly large number of HD channels. And …yes….it is…………awesome..yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh…

As with plasma TV, I’m sure we all know that it should be in a dark room because plasma screens tend to reflect light. Mine is a bit close to the window. Although I try to shut down all the blinds when I watch football on Sundays, a tiny bit of reflection is still visible. The best show is at night. Dim the lights and you will be amazed at its clarity. As for the speakers, don’t bother. You’re not buying this TV for its speakers. So why even bother to turn it on? All TV speakers sucks. Period. If you were willing to spend this much dough on a TV, do yourself a favor. Go big w/ speakers. Speakers nowaday are relatively cheap. You can easily get a decent pair of speakers for a couple hundred dollars. I currently have mine set up w/ the Yamaha speaker bar. It’s not the best, but decent enough for both regular TV reviewing and some action movies. The real nirvana will come when I save enough $$$ for a pair of Martin Logan.

Go ahead & Buy it. I guarantee you won’t regret. Be sure to buy it from Amazon. Their service is great.

Review by David Hofmann for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P65S1 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black
Rating:
To put my review in perspective, I work for a major Hollywood studio and am pretty much a high quality freak when it comes to watching movies. I have about 500 DVDs at home, 150 of those are bluray.

I upgraded from a very decent 58″ DLP so I really wanted something that wasn’t just big, but also had great quality. I did a lot of research and frankly when reading through reviews I get the impression many of the positive ones are from people who upgraded from very old TVs and were just impressed that their new one was so much nicer. Not very helpful IMHO. So I went to several stores and looked at anything I could find to get a real overview of what is the standard today rather than comparing it to my 3 year old TV.

After weeks I finally ordered this unit and was still a little worried. Now that’s its up on my wall and hooked up to my system I have to say I’m 100% happy! The image quality is stunning, crisp and shows every little detail you can get from a good bluray disk. Slow and subtle motion is smooth and fast action has no artifacts. When using a PS3 (which does a great job upconverting) even standard DVDs look pretty good. I’m not saying this is the best screen on the market, but let’s be fair and consider the size and the price. I don’t think you can find a better quality 65″ screen for this price.

Another aspect I was a little worried about was the noise from the 4 vans on the back, but they run at such low rpm that you will not hear them. That used to be a big issue on my old DLP.

Reflection on screen from a lit room is also limited. I expected this to be more of an issue and again, I was positively surprised how little reflection is visible.

The stand that comes with it works great, but most people will hang it on the wall. The weight is not too crazy. I expected it to be much heaver considering the size. I can highly recommend this wall mount:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanus-VMPL3-B-Mount-Displays-Black/dp/B0008GP880/ref=pd_sim_e_63

I won’t go over all the technical data and inputs, you can look all that up on Panasonic’s web site. I just want to mention that I really like that the third HDMI input is conveniently placed on the side along with a standard video input and the SD card slot. That makes it easy to hook a video camera up or watch some photos.

I highly recommend this TV if you want a good size but still don’t want to spend too much money.

Review by SoCal Shopper for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P65S1 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black
Rating:
I placed my ordered on Amazon.com itself (not an Amazon partner) on Wednesday, which was about a week-and-a-half ago. I received a call on Friday morning to schedule delivery. They asked if I was available the next day, Saturday, between 10 and 2! I couldn’t believe they got me a delivery slot so quickly and I grabbed it. The next morning, two delivery guys showed up at 10:05 AM. They took the set out of the box, assembled the base for me and set it up on the TV stand I had ready. They waited while I tested the set to make sure it turned on, then signed me off. They were very professional and helpful, and were done in about 15 minutes.

The set itself is phenomenal. I’ve owned a Toshiba CRT RPTV the past five years and the performance from this “budget” plasma is ridiculously beyond my wildest expectations. I would describe myself as technically savvy and I’m very picky about these kinds of things. It has a wonderfully sharp, bright, smooth picture that an LCD can’t touch. I honestly cannot imagine how much better a picture I could get on any other TV — it’s really about as perfect as is possible for anything to be in this world.

There are honestly zero issues with this set. No buzzing, ergonomic or reflection issues at all. On a scale of ten, I give this set a ten+. Honestly, I could not be happier with either the set or Amazon’s tremendous service and value.