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The Sharp Aquos LC-32D50U produced--appropriately enough--sharp images and natural-looking colors that made TV viewing a pleasure. The high price ($1700 as of 12/8/06) and the titanium-colored cabinet won't be for everyone, but the unique design and features may work for some consumers.
The LC-32D50U was excellent at reproducing skin tones in high-definition segments. It also produced good contrast and detail in dark scenes from a DVD movie.
The cabinet's titanium color--a hallmark of larger Aquos TV sets--is not the most attractive for a TV. Speakers sit at the bottom of the set, which itself sits on an angled stand. The LC-32D50U includes power, channel, and volume controls on the top right side of the cabinet. Below them, on the back of the set, sit almost all the other connectors--which include two HDMI, one component, two S-Video, one DVI, and three RCA inputs. This is more than the average number of ports for many 32-inch LCD TVs.
Strangely, there's no way to access the on-screen display (OSD) from the TV itself. For this, you need the matching remote, which is light and easy to use and has well laid out numbers and TV function buttons. A thick manual will help you figure out the remote and OSD.
Like almost every LCD TV that we've seen in this size, the built-in speakers on the LC-32D50U were underwhelming. Our test unit had very little bass response, even with the help of the TV's sound enhancers, such as the Surround Sound option or the more basic bass adjustment. In the final scene of the DVD of the movie Seabiscuit, the less than thundering sounds of horse hooves were somewhat disappointing.
The LC-32D50U offers a unique feature, called Optical Picture Control, that adjusts the TV's brightness depending on how much light there is in a room. However, the set lacks picture-in-picture capability, which we think it should be included in a $1700 TV.
Sharp's Aquos LC-32D50U has very satisfying picture quality, but overall it is more suited for big-budget consumers with a penchant for its unique styling.
