Sharp's 20-inch AQUOS DX LCD HDTV has a built-in Blu-ray player, no 1080p panel

by Darren Murph posted May 22nd 2009 at 7:39AM

Cute Sharp, real cute. Brag about releasing the world's first 20-inch LCD HDTV with a built-in Blu-ray player, but don't even mention to consumers that they won't have the luxury of seeing their flicks in full resolution. For reasons unknown, the latest set in the AQUOS DX range does indeed pack a remarkably convenient integrated BD player, but the 1,366 x 768 resolution makes the whole thing sort of pointless. As Liz Lemon would say: "That's a deal-breaker, ladies." At any rate, folks who snap one up in Japan will also find a digital TV tuner, DVD support, a 1,500:1 contrast ratio and 450 nits of brightness. It'll be available in black (LC-20DX1-B) and white (LC-20DX1-W) for ¥150,000 ($1,593) at the tail end of next month in the Land of the Rising Sun.

[Via Engadget German]

Gallery: Sharp's 20-inch AQUOS DX LCD HDTV has a built-in Blu-ray player, no 1080p panel

Filed under: Blu-ray, Displays, Players, Sharp, LCD

Tags: 20V-2, aquos, aquos dx, AquosDx, blu-ray, blu-ray lcd combo, Blu-rayLcdCombo, hdtv, LC-20DX1-B, LC-20DX1-W, lcd, lcd hdtv, lcd tv, LcdHdtv, LcdTv, sharp

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highest Ranked

Jim Mallory @ May 22nd 2009 7:52AM

Actually a 20" LCD at 1080p resolution would be kind of pointless...the screen is just too small. Also, I could see a market for this in Japan....they don't exactly have room for 40+ displays and a separate Blu-Ray player in every room.

Highly Ranked

Jim Mallory @ May 22nd 2009 7:53AM

Oh and I suppose my PS3 connected to by 50" 1366x768 Plasma is pointless as well?

Low Ranked

Pip @ May 22nd 2009 9:49AM

You can easily tell 1080p and 720p on a 20" monitor. It's night and day.

Highest Ranked

Cap BD @ May 22nd 2009 8:18AM

My TV is only 32" and 720p, but Blu-ray is night and day better than DVD on it. At 20", I agree with Jim- 1080p might be nice, but is unnecessary.

Low Ranked

Pip @ May 22nd 2009 9:51AM

It may look fine, but the visible difference is still huge.

We would all still be using 1280x768 LCD monitors on our computers if it was "pointless" to go any higher.

Highest Ranked

Rollins @ May 22nd 2009 2:07PM

The visible difference on a 20" with 720p versus 1080p may be huge when using it as a computer monitor, but it certainly isn't when watching movies.

Low Ranked

Pip @ May 22nd 2009 2:13PM

What you said makes no sense, resolution size is easily noticeable whether it is movies, still pictures, games, or just random web browsing. You are absolutely going to notice a huge difference. Maybe not at 50-100 feet away, but with a small 20" you're going to be sitting about 3-4 feet away and will be able to see every tiny spec of detail.

Highest Ranked

eric f. @ May 22nd 2009 9:13AM

The specs are fine. it's the price that's wrong.

Highest Ranked

Rob S @ May 22nd 2009 9:56AM

This makes perfect sense. 1080p at 20" isn't really necessary. But if you've invested in Blu-Ray discs for your main home theater system, you don't want to have to buy them again on DVD just to watch them in the bedroom / kitchen / wherever you need that smaller TV. Since the BR player will (presumably) play both DVD and BR discs, you get the convenience of being able to play all of your discs, the space-saving convenience of an all-in-one package, and the cost-effectiveness of not having to buy (and store) multiple copies of the same movie. Oh, and the cost-effectiveness of not having to pay for 1080p when 720p will work just fine at average viewing distances.

It's not always about having all of the features, sometimes it's about having a good combination of features at a price point that makes sense.

Highest Ranked

Juan C. Zorrilla @ May 22nd 2009 10:22AM

@Pip: You can't tell the difference on such a small screen unless you're up against it like a computer monitor. Anybody watching this will be at least a few feet away rendering the whole 1080p vs 720p meaningless. You should look at the charts they have posted in this site before showing when the resolution makes a difference, it is based on screen size and viewing distance.

BTW: For a computer monitor then the difference is noticeable because it allows you to fit more content in the screen (i.e. more windows, more of a picture...)

Lowest Ranked

Pip @ May 22nd 2009 2:20PM

Unfortunately, those charts have been proven to be false many, many times. They were designed for theater systems, and the math cannot be applied to home HDTV sets, let alone 20" screens. If you want to check for yourself, I'm sure you and your mother have a 20" LCD by now, run some 720p video and some 1080p video and look at the differences. Sit 2' feet away, easy. 5' easy. 10' you will STILL notice a difference. Yet those charts say otherwise, must be our eyes playing tricks on us? Yeah?

Highest Ranked

Christian Wolff @ May 22nd 2009 11:11AM

It's actually a DVD and BluRay *recorder*, not a player. And 1366x768 is plenty for a 20", how close do you need to sit?

Lowest Ranked

zto @ May 22nd 2009 1:04PM

People who can't tell the difference between a 720 and a 1080 resolution need to buy glasses or get lasic. Yes I am one of the 1080p snobs, but seriously if you want a blu-ray you want it for one reason only - better picture (and sound to an extent).

If you're happy with 720 let me give you a piece of advise that will save you a ton of money - buy an upconvertion dvd player and buy DVDs - saves you a ton of money on the player and tons more on media and still looks decent.

There's nothing all that wrong with being happy with a 720 picture (hell we've all had worse for most of our lives), but don't come and tell me it's right for a brand new product to incorporate a blu-ray on a 720 display. It's sort of like buying a ferrari engine and putting it in a kia.

Neutral

Video Master 2 @ May 22nd 2009 3:01PM

People who buy Sharp tv's don't care about image quality in the first place, after all its a Sharp. Sharp is in last place in the LCD world, far behind the best - Panasonic.

Highly Ranked

simma @ May 24th 2009 6:46AM

That's interesting, as Panasonic don't even profess to be good at LCD, they are good at Plasma, fool!

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