Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD series

The Sharp Elite LED-based LCD provides beautiful picture quality at a very high price. The Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD is the first model released under Sharp’s licensing agreement with Pioneer to use the “elite” name. It is a very expensive model that will have many steering clear and looking for an option that is much more affordable. The Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD is geared towards a very specific consumer- a wealthy one that will pay for name brand. The Sharp Elite PRO also comes in a 70 inch size and can handle 3D sources.

Advantages

The Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD LED TV delivers extremely deep black levels and better contrast than any other LCD or plasma on the market today. It has almost no visible blooming artifacts and can be viewed at many different angles. The color is extremely accurate and the video processing does anything you would expect. This TV has the best energy efficiency on the market and a complete feature set, and comes with 2 sets of 3D glasses.

Disadvantages

This TV is too expensive. It performs beautifully, but for such a high price many people will be looking elsewhere. For such a high price the off-angle views are too reflective, and the blue/green shading is not as accurate as we would have expected.

Design

The Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD is a matte-textured metallic, and measures just 1.25 inches thick, making it slim and stylish. It looks sleek on a wall mount, as it does not come out too far from the wall. The remote control’s keys are differentiated by shape and size, with a prominent key for Netflix. There are also three programmable keys for the user. The menu has also been carefully planned out with up-to-date metallic highlights.

Picture Quality

The Elite gives the user a great amount of control over the picture allowing one to set it to their own preferences. The THX Movie image gives you the best picture viewing for film. You also have access to all of the advanced settings which include 10 point grayscale and color management. The Elite delivered the deepest shades of black I have seen and the shadows are bar none. Off angle the black does not look nearly as good, which means you should take this into consideration for where you plan on mounting your TV. Blooming (where bright areas on the screen spill over to dark areas) was a non-issue with this TV from Elite from most viewing angles. Color accuracy was very good, although I would avoid some settings, including Intelligent Variable Contrast. It made some areas of the screen too bright, which was harsh when watching the TV in dim lighting. It also provided less detail which I did not feel was worth the tradeoff. Shadow detail was clear and showed many different shades making it great for action or horror movies. The Elite offers many options when it comes to video processing including dejudder processing which helps to smooth out the picture through FilmMode and THX Motion Enhancement option.

Features

The Sharp Elite PRO has a ton of features that many electronic fanatics will flock too. It has a fill array of local dimming and LED backlight. It also comes in a 70 inch model which shows that bigger can be better. The two pairs of included 3D glasses are very good and also come with a 2D option for those who are not a fan of 3D. They are rechargeable via an included USB cable as they use infrared to sync up with the TV. The TV also comes with built in Wi-Fi and the IP control is designed in order to interface with custom installation of other remote controls. The Vudu apps are well designed, except they take up the whole screen and you cannot watch television while using them.

Conclusion

The Sharp Elite PRO-60XFD is a high preforming piece of technology that comes matched with a high price tag. It outperforms many TVs including LCD and plasma in the past few years. The black levels and contrast have not been matched by any other model I have tested and will certainly be appreciated by those who watch a lot of films. The 3D feature and glasses work seamlessly together. Some of the biggest flaws (which were still minor) were color accuracy, specifically in blue and green areas. The Elite also delivers very good 3D picture with very little crosstalk. This television is out of most people’s price range, but for those have the money it is one of the best LED-based LCD models that money can currently buy.