I received a Sharp LC-37X20E as a replacement for another Sharp set which broke down. Now you may think that this may lead me to become prejudiced against Sharp but the service I received after breakdown was very good. To have my ex-display model replaced by a more up to date, higher specced and most importantly NEW tv I was very pleased indeed.

However, this is a review of the tv and not my experience so I must say, it does have its downsides but i'll get to those later.

Before switching on, the television looks impressive, the frame is small and solid and the tv feels costly with a nice pivoting stand and a silver trim to the piano black surround. The set has a good suite of inputs, 3 HDMIs for its age is pretty good. I also think the sound quality is really good, especially when judged against Samsung and Panasonic's latest efforts, which are woeful. Context I feel is important here.

I have to say, I use Virgin Media and have their V+ box so haven't been able to rate the telly's digital tuner and the ins and outs of Freeview performance. The tv seems to cope well with the balance of standard and high definition stuff I watch through the box and doesn't appear to struggle with football and the like for a 50hz tv even though I know I sit a bit too close. It doesn't share the warmth of colour and the depth of blacks I get on my Panasonic 37LZD70 but I still see that as a benchmark so maybe not the fairest comparison.

One nice little feature the tv gives you is the ability to name your AV inputs, instead of AV1 or Ext.1 you can label your Wii, 360 and SKY up which makes it much easier to find what you're looking for if you've had a glass of wine too many.

On to the negatives, for me there are a few niggling issues with the set which are unlikely to affect that many people but have affected my enjoyment of the tv. Firstly, when i'm watching something through HDMI, which is practically everything, I can't change the aspect ratio. So when I put on my West Wing DVD or watch Curb Your Enthusiasm through TV Choice on Demand you can't do anything about the stretched distorted picture which is a very frustrating oversight.

When I stick a Blu-ray in another problem arises which seems to irritate me the more I see it. Basically, when i'm watching a film with black borders, should I pause the film and presss play, the triangular play icon produced by the player icon will disappear but a silouhette will remain in the corner and won't disappear. The only way to get rid of it is to turn off the set while the disc plays. AAAAARRRGGGHH!

Overall though I am more pleased than disappointed and if I could halve stars this would be a solid 3.5 but I can't bring myself to mark this up to a 4.