SHARP 4T C50BL3KF2AB 50 Inch 4K Smart TV, UHD HDR Android TV with Chromecast Built-in, Harman/Kardon Speakers, 4 x HDMI, 2 x USB, Freeview Play and Wireless Bluetooth Streaming - Black

Product Information

The 48-inch C3 isn’t markedly different to the C2 it replaces (which is just about still available for roughly 10 per cent less), and at its launch price, that might have been a problem. However, some months and several discounts into its life, the OLED48C3 looks like excellent value and is notably short of serious challengers. While a certain type of AV fan will always be drawn to the greater light stability and pixel-level light control you get with OLED TVs, the Samsung QE50QN90B’s combination of higher HDR-friendly brightness, peerless (by LCD standards) light controls and impressive image flexibility ensures it has more than enough charm of its own to make a convincing case for itself. Especially for people looking for a TV able to take on a bright room environment. As many will already be well aware, the C3 is the latest in LG’s long-running and stonkingly popular C-series ofOLED TVs. That popularity is well-earned: LG’s C-series has been a near-perfect intersection of performance, features and price for years, and not just compared with other LG OLEDs, but with TVs in general. At this stage, it’s a bit of a living legend. This Sharp 50 inch TV utilises their Active Motion 400 technology. This delivers smooth, blur-free motion, that’s especially impressive when watching fast moving sports events and action movies. Some models also offer additional features, such as Bluetooth connectivity for wireless audio connections, and smartphone and tablet connections.

Unlike some TVs, the Sharp’s Smart TV system is easy to use. Apps are clearly displayed in tile format and you can search by title, actor or director and get unbiased results across the top channels. Supplied with a clearly labelled Sharp/Roku remote, controlling this Smart TV is easy, too.In terms of price, a 50-inch TV is often considered a mid-range option. It provides a good balance between screen size and affordability, making it an attractive choice for many consumers who want a decent-sized display without breaking the bank.

The What Hi-Fi? team has more than 100 years experience of reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics. Featuring Dolby Vision HDR for cinematic detail and Smart TV by Roku, the Sharp 50FJ2K has a top spec at a bargain price. Of these two 'dynamic' HDR formats, Dolby Vision is by far the most prevalent, both in terms of TVs and content, and if you have to choose between one and the other, that's the one we'd recommend. That said, you can now buy TVs from the likes of Philips and Panasonic that support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. HDR10 and HLG formats of HDR come as standard, and the DN series TVs also have Dolby Vision on board. The DN sets also feature Sharp's Active Motion 600 technology, which sharpens up movement and reduces distortions, and 12-bit HDR colour coding to improve the smoothness of shading and reduce banding and colour disruptions common to standard non-HDR sources. The 65-inch model has a slim, full-aluminium body enhanced with a high brightness LCD/LED panel producing 400 nits output.

HDMI 2.1 with eARC

Essentially, the higher the dynamic range (brightness and colours), the more lifelike the picture. HDR offers greater subtlety and depth of gradations of colours, plus stronger contrast. These days, it's all about HDMI, which is used to connect everything from set-top boxes to video streamers, Blu-ray players to games consoles. Thanks to ARC/eARC (Audio Return Channel / Enhanced Audio Return Channel), a single HDMI connection can even be used to output sound to an AV receiver or soundbar at the same time as it receives a video signal.

The Sharp Q7300U series of 4K TVs is the one member of the company's Q-series that does come with the Roku TV platform built-in (the Sharp Q7000U and Q7500 series do not). The bonus here is that they’re HDR-compatible and come with a beefier twin 10W speaker set-up.

4K UHD SMART TV

Here’s a rough guide to give you an idea of the minimum distance you should have from your TV when viewing HD content: It depends on the TV brand and model, phone brand and model, and available screen-mirroring apps. Not to mention the availability of Bluetooth connections. However, as technology improves, more and more smart TVs are capable of being paired with a smartphone. These terms refer to the number of pixels that make up the image on the screen. So, 4K screens offer four times more pixels than HD screens, with 8.3 million pixels working across the screen. This makes for more detailed and accurate images. Here's a list of the most common ones when looking for the best 50-inch smart TVs. Testing a TV is a long and complex process because a modern TV simply does so much. Not only does it need to handle a variety of content resolutions – standard-def, 1080p, 4K and sometimes 8K – and both standard dynamic range and high dynamic range (the latter in a number of formats), all of which need to be specifically tested, it also has a sound system with various advanced settings and a full smart platform. A TV is an all-in-one device in the best sense, but that also makes it a challenging review proposition.

This question is pretty much moot now, as the vast majority of TVs are now 4K. It's actually rather hard to find Full HD (1080p) models, even at sizes 50-inches and smaller. The most obvious feature that sets the former What Hi-Fi? Awards-winning Philips 48OLED807 apart from the other sets in this list is the inclusion of Philips’ Ambilight technology. Currently, three HDMI connections is standard on budget and mid-range TVs, while four is the norm for premium models.When it comes to picture technology, almost all models at this size are now 4K, and there's no need to look for a Full HD model, because these 4K TVs are already affordable. Dolby Vision HDR performance was also dazzling when we played Thor: Love and Thunder, with the set retaining detail in the brightest parts of the picture. No Time to Die delivered equally great results in HDR10, with the picture remaining crisp and bright throughout the movie. HDR10 is a static HDR format that applies the HDR values on a scene-by-scene basis (i.e. whenever the camera cuts to a new scene). Dolby Vision, on the other hand, applies this image information (called metadata) on a frame-by-frame basis. This dynamic form of HDR, when implemented properly, has the potential to improve upon the standard HDR10 presentation.