1 PercentersIn case you missed it, Sharp licensed the Elite brand to Pioneer, gaining at least the title of one the most highly respected line of HDTVs ever to be produced. In fact, even though Pioneer stopped making TVs in 2009, its Kuro panels are still regarded as the best-performing TVs and all new sets are compared against them.
Now we have a rebirth of the Elite brand with two high-end LED-based LCD panels, a 60-inch and a 70-inch model. The two TVs carry enormous price tags: $6,000 for the 60-inch
PRO-60X5FD and $8,500 for the 70-inch
PRO-70X5FD. To put those prices in perspective, our current best-performing HDTV of 2011 is the
Panasonic TC-PVT30 series and the 65-inch model can be had for $3,800. But hey, that's a plasma, not an LCD.
Both Elite PRO sets use full-array local dimming, which means the LEDs behind the screen can be dimmed or brightened in different areas to correspond to darker or brighter areas of the picture. Full-array local dimming is relatively uncommon these days, but the result is excellent contrast that no other LCD-based TV can muster. Sony's full-array local dimmer, the
XBR-HX929 series, is the best LCD we've tested in 2011.
Sharp is also trumpeting a technology called Intelligent Variable Contrast, which is designed to automatically control the brightness and backlight depending on the image being displaying on the TV. That may sound like a good idea on paper, but we generally turn off dynamically adjusting picture modes, as they often do more harm than good.
Like other high-end TVs, the Sharp Elites have built-in Wi-Fi and a full suite of streaming media services, including Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora. They're also 3D-compatible and include two sets of active shutter glasses. For what it's worth, the TVs are also certified by both THX and ISF.
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