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Sharp UB30U TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Sharp UB30U Picture
6.8
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.8
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.9
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.9
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.4
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.0
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.0
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench

The Sharp UB30 4k LED TV has an impressive contrast ratio and handles itself well in a bright room. Unfortunately, the other aspects of the picture quality aren't as good.

Our Verdict

6.8 Mixed Usage

While the contrast ratio and black screen uniformity of the Sharp UB30U 4k LED TV are great, the poor gray uniformity and very limited viewing angle is a deal breaker. Even if you sit directly in front, you can see discoloration on the left and right side of the screen due to the incident angle. It is also not a good choice for gaming, because it has the highest input lag that we measured so far in 2015.

Pros
  • Great native contrast ratio with deep blacks.
Cons
  • Very limited viewing angle.
  • Poor gray screen uniformity.
  • Very high input lag, even in game mode.
  • 6.8 Mixed Usage
  • 6.8 Movies
  • 6.9 TV Shows
  • 7.0 Sports
  • 6.9 Video Games
  • 6.4 HDR Movies
  • 5.0 HDR Gaming
  • 4.0 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated May 25, 2015: Our testers have started testing this product.

Test Results

Design
8.5
Design
Style
Curved No
Design
Stand

The stand is separated in two feet on both sides of the TV, so it requires a wide table.

Design
Back

While the bezel of the Sharp UB30 is thin, the TV itself is thick. The build quality is also sub-par (more details here).

Design
Borders
Borders 0.55" (1.4 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.64" (6.7 cm)
Picture Quality
8.8
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
5,200 : 1

When viewed from directly in front, this TV's contrast ratio is impressive. The blacks are great.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Direct
6.2
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Peak 2% Window
315 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
315 cd/m²
6.1
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
4.213%
50% DSE
0.241%

Unfortunately, the gray uniformity is not as great as the black. There are multiple darker lines across the screens, which can be seen on panning shots.

4.1
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
12°

The viewing angle of the Sharp UB30U is limited, and it loses saturation very quickly off-axis. It is even a problem if you are directly in front of the TV, assuming you sit close enough. For example, you can see slight discoloration on the left and right edges in all our pictures in this review.

Update 01/06/2017: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results from 2016 TVs.

9.6
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.604%

It has the best black uniformity that we have seen so far. No noticeable issue at all.

8.8
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
2.51
Color dE
1.9587
Gamma
2.24
9.7
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.42
Color dE
0.8226
Gamma
2.21
8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

Low resolution content like DVDs looks good and not too soft once upscaled.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

720p content like cable TV also looks good on this TV.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

The upscaling of 1080p content is as good as with other brands.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

Native 4k content looks nice and crisp.

6.9
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
75.94%
DCI P3 uv
82.73%
Rec 2020 xy
54.58%
Rec 2020 uv
60.73%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
1.8%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

This Sharp keeps the reflections under control.
It can get pretty bright, so you can put this TV in a fairly bright living room.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
8.5
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time
14.5 ms
Overshoot
0.3 ms

The motion blur trail is short. However, the transition from mid-white to full-white is long, which is why you can see a little bit of yellow in the letters of our moving logo.

2.0
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
120 Hz
0
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

It doesn't support 24p playback, which means movies have constant, small judder.

5.0
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
No
Inputs
3.9
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
79.7 ms
1080p With Interpolation
146.4 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
146.3 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

The input lag of the Sharp UB30U is 79.7 ms, which is very high. You will notice this when playing fast games, so do not buy this TV for gaming.

2.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 2
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 1
Component In 1 (shared)
Composite In 1 (shared)
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
No
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
No
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth No
ARC Yes (HDMI 3)
USB 3 Yes (2)
HDCP 2.2 Yes
CEC Yes
MHL Yes (HDMI 4)
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
6.4
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
4.04 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
3.84 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
3.87 dB SPL
Max
85.8 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
169 Hz

The frequency response isn't too bad for a TV, and it remains consistent even when the TV is pushed hard. However, there's not a lot of bass present and it doesn't get very loud either.

5.0
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.048
Distortion @ 80
0.079
Distortion @ Max
0.419

The sound is relatively clean at lower volumes, but under load, the TV will produce significant distortion. There may also be some aliasing present in the high frequencies.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

The Sharp TV is smart, but the features are very limited, and not user friendly.

6.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Basic
Smart Features
Remote
Remote Basic

The included remote control is not very good. It has none of the advantages of a smart remove (no motion or mouse pointer), but includes the disadvantages, like no numeric keypad.

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 61 W
Power Consumption (Max) 135 W
Firmware 1.2.3.2788