The Aquos LC-40E67UN from Sharp is a cheap HDTV: at $749 for a 40-inch 1080p model it is at the bottom of the price range for the size. But it's also at the bottom of the range for performance: although it did adequately in some of our tests, it had poor motion, an awkward remote and a clumsy on-screen menu system.

The display itself has a clean, smart design, but it is a bit let down by the shiny curved bezel that has an annoying habit of picking up reflections from lights in the ceiling and can be somewhat distracting. We were also unimpressed with the included remote, which has small, squidgy buttons and a number of important buttons hidden under a secret panel on the bottom. It can control other devices, but it is a pain to switch between them.

Performance (Read the full lab performance results at Televisioninfo.com)

We found that the LC-40E67UN was a mixed bag in our tests. It scored well some some tests, with decent black levels, smooth color response and accurate colors. Other tests were less compelling, though, such as the relatively weak 217 cd/m2 peak brightness of the screen (other displays regularly measure in the 300 to 400 range). We also found that motion on the screen didn't look great; objects moving across the screen quickly turned into a blurry mess, so detail on faces and other fast moving objects was lost. More expensive displays use a faster screen update (either 120Hz or 240Hz) to produce smoother motion, but the LC-40E67UN only uses the standard 60Hz update speed, and it shows.

The other major problem that we found was a poor viewing angle. We found that the contrast ratio of the display fell by half at the relatively small angle of 17 degrees. What this means is that those who have to sit at an angle from the screen will see a much paler image than those sitting right in front of the screen. We also noticed that the reds in particular changed a lot, becoming significantly darker as the angle increased and causing a marked color shift in the image.

Comparisons (Read the full comparisons at Televisioninfo.com)
The LC-40E67UN is a cheap HDTV, and it delivers the performance to match. It is not alone in this, as most displays around this price point involve compromises in performance. The Vizio VO370M has much brighter whites than the Sharp, for instance, but also has much weaker blacks. It also had similarly poor motion as the Sharp, and a viewing angle that was only slightly better. The Toshiba Regza 40XV645U had deeper blacks, brighter whites and better motion than the Sharp, but costs $150 more.


Conclusion
Like most cheap HDTVs, you get what you pay for with the LC-40E67UN: modest performance at a modest price. The main issues are the relatively low brightness and the poor motion, and in both cases displays that are just a bit more expensive than the Sharp provide better performance. But the Sharp is a good compromise if you are looking for a low-priced HDTV that is very watchable.