Getting beyond blacks, another area where the LC-52D92U excelled was picture detail. Most high-def programs I watched on the set looked wonderfully crisp and 3-D-like. In a New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins hockey game, for example, I could easily make out the profusion of scuff marks on the surface of the ice. I can't say I noticed much difference in picture quality when turning on the set's Advanced Fine Motion feature - although the feature cuts the panel's response time to 4 milliseconds, the TV's normal 120-Hz display mode already seemed well up to the task of displaying fast-motion sports such as hockey.

Although it can do wonders with high-def sports, someone expecting the LC-52D92U to perform miracles with regular programs such as analog cable fare is bound to be disappointed. While Sharp's High digital noise reduction setting helped to smooth out grainy pictures, it also tended to smear detail and introduce ghosting artifacts in scenes containing fast motion.

BOTTOM LINE The Sharp Aquos LC-52D92U 52-inch LCD HDTV is the kind of bigscreen flat TV that many folks would be glad to have in their homes. It delivers a crisp, bright picture with an impressively wide viewing angle, deep shadows, and strong contrast. Where the Sharp comes up short is its below-average handling of standard-def programs and pumped-up, unnatural-looking color. That first issue is one that I imagine many people could live with, but the second one is something that discerning viewers will find hard to overlook.

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