Sharp N4000 Review

LC-43N4000U, LC-32N4000U. LC-50N4000U LC-55N4000U

Roku TV with 1080p resolution

by , Senior Editor

Hisense-Sharp Takeover

Hisense, a large Chinese manufacturer licensed the Sharp name in June of 2015. Hisense is not a well known brand in the U.S., but it is in China, where the company has the number 1 market share in units sold. It's also reportedly #3 globally in units sold with over 16 million TVs produced. Hisense is focusing on low priced models as well as high quality featured TVs all the way up to THX certification in its bid to gain U.S. Market share. Hisense purchased the Sharp brand and the Mexico assembly facility in a $23M deal. The Sharp models will purportedly still use the Sharp LCD panels in their production.

"We noted no motion blur during fast motion NBA action"

Positives

  • Roku Smart TV options and Interface
  • Price/Value
  • 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 50N4000U
Great contrast from NBA action on this new Sharp offering

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

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 50N4000U TV
This pic from the BluRay of Days of Thunder shows off the black levels, color saturation and contrast

Picture Quality

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.

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

Smart TV, Wifi, Roku

Sharp N4000 Roku TV with 1080p resolution
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.

Remote and Menu

Sharp Roku Remote Control
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 isn't 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

The 32N4000U is a steal at only $249 when you consider the cost of a good Roku box. Same with the 43N4000U at $349, and the 50N4000U at $479.

(A note about our reviews. Our professional reviewers begin our reviews with our initial impressions about quality of picture and features inclusion, then we add specifications, then value and pricing information, and finally strengths and weaknesses and ratings. When our reviews contain an overall rating, you know they are complete. Thank you for reading!)

Quick Specs

  • Inputs: 3 HDMI, 1 USB, Composite
  • 1080p Resolution
  • 60Hz Refresh Rate
  • Built in Wifi
  • Speakers 2 X 8W


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