[MUSIC].
Every time a new technology hits there are inevitably stop-gap products designed to bridge the gap between old technology and new.
Sharp's new Quattron Plus UQ17 is a 1080p television which can mimic a 4k TV, but supposedly without the price tag.
Sharp manages this by splitting its unique four pixel array into two, Effectively doubling the resolution.
But this does have its problems.
The resolution will change according to the colors displayed on screen, so it's unlikely you'll ever see true 3840 x 2160.
The effect you get is that any 4k detail is seemingly obscured by the vertical picture structure.
A real 4k TV looks a lot sharper.
The company has upgraded the Smart Central platform, which looks pretty snazzy with universal search and cover art.
Color is okay and black levels are good.
Shadow detail is also good, but the revelation upscale engine that makes everything 4k has a habit of sharpening noise in dark areas which gets distracting.
I personally can't see the Sharp's hybrid technology sticking around for very long.
While having a 4k input is nice, it won't be that unusual either, as many TVs will be able to do that very soon.
In the end, this is a good TV, but twice as expensive as the LE650, which is much better value.
This has been Ty Pendlebury for cnet.com.
