Sharp LC-50LB371U Review (LC50LB371U)

50” Roku Smart TV 1080p LED TV

by , Senior Editor

Positives

  • Roku Smart TV options and Interface
  • Price/Value
  • Sharp Reliability
  • Bright Colorful Picture/Peak Whites
  • Not much Judder noted
  • Light flow through

    Negatives

  • Glare/Reflection from the TV screen
  • Side Angle Viewing Contrast Degradation
  • Lack of Depth from Matte-type screen finish/Flat Picture
  • Limited picture setting adjustments

    Neutral

  • TV Menu control options and Menu Interface operation
  • Appearance/Design
Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV
Great contrast from NBA Finals action on this new Sharp offering
"We noted no motion blur during fast motion in the NBA Finals"

The primary differences of the LC-50LE653U and the LC-50LB371U is the Roku TV suite in the latter. It's the best smart TV suite in the market. The LE653U is the better gaming TV due to the Aquomotion feature.

Picture Settings

There are limited picture settings and they vary depending on whether watching streaming, broadcast/cable, or player based content.

Picture Modes

  • Vivid – oversaturated color
  • Eco Save – TV preset to this mode. Oversaturated
  • Normal – not bad but too much blue push
  • Sports - oversaturated
  • Movie – the best mode to calibrate from
  • Game – Accessed through the game control button on the remote control.

Picture Settings/Calibrations

  • Picture Mode: Movie
  • Dynamic Contrast – Low
  • Backlight – Cannot be adjusted when viewing Streaming Content
  • Set to 60 otherwise.
  • Contrast - 46
  • Brightness – 50
  • Sharpness -10
  • Color – 54
  • Tint - 0
  • Color Temperature – Warm
  • Picture Size – Auto (automatically sizes the picture to the correct aspect ratio)

A TV Brightness setting allows for quick changes in the backlight to accommodate various room light conditions. In very dark scenes from Noah, I could not get enough brightness to see the picture or shadow detail well.


Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV
This pic from the BluRay of Days of Thunder shows off the black levels, color saturation and contrast

Picture Quality Rating: 79/100

The LED backlighting in this little Sharp TV are impressive and black levels are well saturated. Once calibrated, color rendition was good though not of the best caliber when we tested with our standard Fifth Element BluRay disk. Light flow through was also a very strong element of this TV. For a TV in this price, I was very pleased with contrast. Dark shadow detail during Noah needed some work during several very dark scenes. There was some false contouring noted during Fifth Element when some dark areas looked splotchy.

"Side angle viewing and a flattish picture were negatives"

Drawbacks are typical Sharp LED TV negatives, starting with a flattish picture with little depth, side angle viewing contrast reduction noticeably starting at around 20 degree off center, and some backlight uniformity issues.

The picture is better than almost anything in its price range though with competition only from Vizio as a reliable alternative.

Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV
This pic from the BluRay of The 5th Element shows great detail and light flow-through

There is no adjustable judder reduction feature however we did not note much judder when viewing programming. There may be some motion lag with fast sports.

Features Rating: 84/100

Smart TV, Wifi, Roku

Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV
The Sharp/Roku menu interface
"Both the interface and Apps options of the Roku TV platform are excellent"

This is obviously the highlight of the Roku TV. It's the best Smart TV package available with great Apps choices and even cable TV upgrades. They say there are 2000 options. The wifi connectivity impressed me, was very good even from long distances from a router. It is also fast.

Appearance and Design

Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV

The LB371U is acceptably good looking with a ¼ inch black gloss plastic frame. The stand feet are somewhat awkward looking facing outward inverted, but they work well enough.

Remote and Menu

Sharp LC-50LB371U LED TV
The compact Sharp/Roku remote

The Sharp Roku Remote is really a Roku manufactured remote. Roku is good at operation, and I like the speed with which the small simple remote controls everything. The audio/volume buttons are located on the right side of the remote. It's easy to accidentally press the mute button. The picture and other menu settings are accessed from the asterisk wheel button. Conveniently, there are buttons for Netflix, Amazon instant, Mgo, and rdio on the remote face.

Sound Quality/Audio

There is plenty of volume- a positive. A setting of 19 out of 100 is all we needed to fill a large room. The quality is somewhat hollow and definitely not robust and full from the two 8 watt speakers. Voice definition isnt bad.

Gaming

Gaming was surprisingly decent, especially for the price of the TV. We recommend the dedicated Game mode. We tested the unit at around 35 milliseconds.

Value/Bang for the Buck: 94/100

This is a Best Buy only TV, and they have a winner in the value category. At $499 the 50” model is set for those that want good built in Smart TV function. There is no open web browser but the Roku suite has about everything you could want and the operation is great. The picture is solid for a TV of this price range. Competition is from the Vizio E-series.

Overall Rating: 85/10

Quick Specs

  • Inputs: 3 HDMI, 1 USB, Composite
  • 1080p Resolution
  • 60Hz Refresh Rate
  • Built in Wifi
  • Speakers 2 X 8W
  • Dimensions: Depth 2.5” with stand 12.3”


Robert Wiley Having reviewed and written about Television Technology for over 10 years, Wiley never tires of researching the newest qualitative trends related to the technology. Most people do not get excited about possibilities behind the latest video engine...Wiley does. Read more about Robert
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