I have seen the TV in person. I was not impressed with the picture quality given the technology this TV contains. With that being said, the TV may have not been set up properly. The blacks were certainly no better than my Sony KDL46XBR CCFL LCD. I'm sure the Elite is capable of much more than what I saw. The same store had a Sony 929 series LCD. The picture on the Sony was very bright and had deep blacks, but the brightness was incredible! The Sony was probably in torch mode, but it made an impression! Go look at the Elite and judge for yourself. I'm sure with some tweaking the Elite I saw would be impressive because the demos of the Elite I have seen on YouTube show very deep black levels and outstanding brightness. Maybe I should take by Sony ES bluray player to the store and feed it a quality picture and tweak the controls, but I'm not going to buy the TV, so why bother? I enjoy my Sony LCD just fine (just wish it was bigger). The point is to enjoy the content viewed on YOUR TV! Thanks for the review Home Theater!

BTW, I am not knocking the Elite. I would love to own one because I know I could set it up better than what I saw.

Either Tom's Kuro is only 50" or the model number needs to be corrected. The 60" set is the 151FD not the 141FD, which is 50". I've got a 151 so I am familiar with the model designation.

You're mistaken. 141fd is a 60 inch Signature Elite. The 50in model is the 101fd. Both of these were monitor sets. The 50 inch model to the 151fd was the 111fd.

This tv is right next to the VT Panasonic series at Abt and I was not impressed. I had the money for either and bought the VT. No contest. They were both fed the same program material and the VT has better resolution with both panels set to the cinema preset with the sharpness control set to zero. Measurements aren't everything. Sorry. No contest in resolution.

Scott, how bad is the blurring on this set? The one thing I really, really like about plasmas is that great sense of motion--from film to sports. The LCD motion blur really bothers me. So how does this set compare with motion blur and soap opera effect. I don't have a 120hz tv so I've seen the soap opera effect before but not super-familiar with it. Tom mentions it in the review, but that's about it.

Theo: The soap opera effect results when you engage a set's motion interpolation feature. For this to work properly, a set's refresh rate must usually be a minimum of 120Hz (96Hz for 24Hz sources—I suppose it may be theoretically possible to do a refresh rate of 48Hz for 24Hz sources, but that would likely produce unacceptable flicker.) Without interpolation, or with interpolation disengaged, a 120Hz set should not produce the soap opera effect. As to motion smoothness without it, LCD sets are inherently poorer at motion than plasmas, but I have not found this to be an issue on most modern designs, including this one. But others may well be more sensitive to, or annoyed by, motion lag than I am.

Anakinskye: I assume you meant that the Movie (THX) mode was used in your comparison of the Elite and Panasonic. But unlike many sets, the optimum position of the Sharpness control on the Elite is not zero, but -10—the centered position. At the zero setting, the resolution is severely degraded. Either the dealer has gaps in his knowledge on how to set up the Elite optimally, or the Elite's Sharpness control was set to zero to help sell the cheaper Panasonic against it.

You might want to go back and re-do the comparison, assuming the dealer is willing to do an exchange should you change your mind. If not, I wouldn't be too alarmed. The VT is really an excellent set, and will be superior to the Elite on fast motion (see above) and in off axis viewing. In all other respects, I feel it's no contest. Of course, considering the price difference, that should be expected.

You also can't judge comparative color in a showroom, since both sets may be off enough in their factory settings to make such a comparison moot. Nor can you compare black levels unless the controls are optimally set on both sets and the room is very dimly lit--or better yet completely dark. If it sounds like I'm saying that you can't pick a TV based on a typical showroom demonstration, you're reading me correctly. Sad, but true.

The settings I settled on during the review should have been posted with the review, but because we wanted to get the review on-line ASAP, they haven't been. But they will be.

All: Two weeks after turning in the review I'm still as impressed as ever by the Elite, and even more so by its 3D performance, which is the best I've yet seen, bar none. That includes IMAX 3D, though of course the latter offers superior impact from its big screen.

Tom,

I'd be grateful for additional critical comments on how the Elite handles SD content - SD special features as typically found on BDs, DVD content and SD cable/sat TV. How easy is it for the Elite to switch aspect ratios, zoom and stretch to view SD content without geometric distortion or loss of image? How does the Elite's SD performance stack up against the Kuro and/or other top quality plasmas?

Thanks for the great review!

Interesting...looks like the Kuro was actually displaying the correct green tint in Thor not the Elite.

For this kinda of money a smarter buy is a panasonic vx-300. 25 footlambs? thats it? that is way to low for my taste. a kuro can get 35-40 footlambs with a .001 black level.

Went back to Abt and changed the sharpness on the Elite to -10. Worse, as I expected. I don't know what you are seeing but I see a VERY overpriced tv that looks worse than it measures. I had the manager and the tech that setup the tv with the Spears and Munsil disc there and they both agreed they preferred the Panasonic, no contest. 100% happy with my choice. BTW, your settings for the VT are an outstanding starting point.

Baddgsx: Please re-read the review. The Elite can generate FAR more brightness than 25 ft-L if you want to push it to the max, and far more than any plasma we've ever tested. That's why it can produce the brightest 3D images we've ever seen. I chose to use 25-30 ft-L as a reference level for setup because that's the brightness level I find satisfying and comfortable for 2D movie watching in a dimly lit or darkened room. It also matches the level I was able to comfortably achieve with 3D, making the 2D-to3D transition about equal in brightness. It also matches the setup brightness level on my 60" Kuro. That particular Kuro will not reach 40 ft-L in Pure mode without white clipping. Anakinskye: Without standing next to you in the store, or your seeing my comparison, it's impossible to know what you're seeing. I do know that on our sample the middle setting of the Sharpness control produces an impeccably detailed yet not overly enhanced image on both real sources and on test patterns. Go one step higher to -9, however, and edge enhancement pops up dramatically. It's possible that the optimum point may vary by a step or two with different samples. Our sample was received for review around the third week in October.

The Elite is certainly an expensive set, but whether or not it's overpriced is in the eye of the beholder. Because Sharp makes much less expensive sets as well, many buyers cannot divorce that fact from the high price of the Elites. Some people feel the same way about the Toyota/Lexus connection. I did mark the Elite down for value, and have a suspicion that it or similarly designed sets may come down in price over time.

My high opinion of the Elite is not based on its measurements alone, but on many hours of watching real world material as well. My standard is that good measurements alone are a necessary result for a Top Pick, but this must be supported by a great viewing experience with real sources. I spend far more review time watching typical program material than I do in performing the measurements.

As to the set's performance with SD material, Cbono, I have watched some SD sources, and the set does as well as might be expected in that regard, but I will do more and report the results here, time permitting.

Thomas,

I know you are hip to AC Chords and power conditioners but since you didn't mention anything about the improvement in the dimensionality of the Pioneer Kuro Elites when using them I thought I would mention that the only criticism I've had of both my Pioneer Kuro Elites, 60 & 50 inch, is when I observed in a large Best Buy the slight bit of better 3 dimensionality in the very top Samsungs compared to my sets. I might add that this was before the Sharps obtained the Elite designation and just a smidgen before the Panasonic Plasmas got real good-around the time the Pioneer 151 Kuro Elite came out and shortly after Pioneer announced their departure. Then only the Samsung "popped" with that little extra 3D look while viewing 2D video.

I was late using power conditioning and great AC cables on my 151 and top Pioneer Blu-ray but when I added the Transparent MM2 Power Chords to both and the P.S. Audio Power Plant Premier in the Multi Mode all of the dimensionality I could want or have seen on other sets suddenly appeared. The picture now is sooo seductive that I for the first time ever could be just as happy viewing a regular DVD as a Blu-ray. The difference is not small and it involves a quantum improvement in 3 dimensionality while viewing 2D discs of any kind.

Fond regards,

Davidicus

"Elite provided the best 3D performance I’ve yet seen, bar none—either at home or in the theater."

Better off-axis performance-for both 2D and 3D.

Tom,
LCDs have always been energy savers compared to plasmas, though that gap seem to be narrowing.
Was there a direct corrolation to the amount of power consumed by a Kuro to it's outstanding performance? As a comparision, did a 50" Kuro use more energy than a Pioneer's non-Elite 50-incher? If so, how was that energy used to drive the Kuro to levels not equaled by plasma manufacturers today?

I dont care HOW great this TV is, its still not going to make "Green Lantern" a watchable movie! :)

Tom,

Are you going to post your recommended settings for this display?

If you already have can you point me in the right direction where I can find those?

Thanks!

-Adam

Just to clarify, are you saying you think the Sharp Elite has slightly better picture quality than the Kuro? That's the way I'm reading it, but someone else thinks you gave the Sharp the crown (by a nose) for different reasons, e.g. 3D capabilities.

Some previous questions above still need to be answered. For starters, the Elite performed well with standard definition material. I had no complaints, at least apart from the usual loss of resolution compared to HD. But on this size screen my DVDs were still highly watchable. Cable was another matter, but the fact that a lot of SD cable material had annoying jaggy artifacts cannot be blamed on the set, since this was not true of DVDs. Nor is it likely to be the same on all cable systems. The results I see on my cable service will not be the same as you see on yours, which is why I do not consider SD cable a reliable test source for judging picture quality. Cable services are using more and more compression to provide more and more largely useless SD cable channels.

As to the settings used in the review, they have been turned in for posting and should appear with the review shortly.

If there was some ambiguity as to which set I preferred, that was largely intentional. They have different strengths and weaknesses. The Kuro excels in off-axis performance and overall had slightly superior blacks, though the latter is a very close call. The Sharp Elite was subtly, um, sharper. It could also go significantly brighter then the Kuro plasma if you feel the need, and it has the best 3D performance I've yet seen (while the Kuro, of course, has none).

As for their relative power consumption, I'll shortly be posting a blog with that information. Stay tuned!

Tom I respect and love all your reviews heck I even use your settings you did on the Sony KDL 40V5100 on my 46inch version BUT I have to disagree on your statement that the new Sharp Elite's are better then the legendary Pioneer Kuro Elite's. Sharp dont come close and I feel you only said Sharp was better because of the 3D factor which to me is all hype, I could be wrong. My freind has a Kuro Elite and it blows any HDTV that I have yet seen out of the water and that includes the new Sharp models. I wont call them Elite because in my book there is only one Elite and that was the Pioneer Kuro. Like I said Tom I have nothing but respect for you and I love the reviews you do but this one I cant agree on.

Tom, very accurate and honest review. Very much validates what we found at our shoot-out event. I brought my personal 141FD that was just perfectly calibrated to the shoot-out so we could have a reference point.

Thanks for the very well done and detailed review!

-Robert

Tom, in your excellent review you mention:

"The sound from a Blu-ray player passed through an Onkyo TX-SR608 A/V receiver required me to dial in a bit more lip-sync delay than usual, but that won’t be an issue as long as your AVR has a variable audio delay, as most do. There was no delay when I listened to the set’s internal audio."

I am considering the Elite 70" along with the Elite SC-57 receiver and probably an Oppo disc player, but in looking through the SC-57's manual I don't see any option for "variable audio delay." If this function is something that apparently is needed, it seems odd that the Elite's "matching" receiver doesn't provide it. Or, am I missing seeing that it does have it?

Could you educate me a bit, especially if the Elite SC-57 receiver might leave me wanting (I hate poor lip sync.)

Thanks!

My parents have a 60" Kuro, which truly has a stunning picture. I myself thought nothing could match it. But I finally just saw the Sharp Elite in a darkened room demo. Wow. It's blacks are stunning. And that is all the demo focused on: pitch black environments with fireworks, city skylines at night, an intricately detailed golden statue against pitch black and finally a night carnival scene with plenty of isolated points of light against black. All truly stunning, crystal clear and with no blooms of LED zones to be found. If I had my parents Kuro, I would trade it for this screen in a heartbeat. How someone could say the Elite doesn't come close is a mystery. And in my opinion, the image actually bests the Kuro. Certainly it's equal. If you get a chance, find one of this and see for yourself.

I personally don't think there is a better screen available on the market today. I SO want one now.

I have had my Elite Pro for approximately two months, and no matter what color calibrations I try, my reds look more like a "candy apple " red, bleeding into a magenta range. Has anyone experienced this problem on this set, and does anyone have calibration settings that they can recommend for Standard , and/or Dynamic modes?