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To try to better understand how long a TV should last, we're running 100 TVs through an accelerated longevity test for the next two years. We've just posted our 1-year video update with our latest findings on temporary image retention, burn-in, and more!

Sharp N7000U TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Latest change: Retest Jan 23, 2018 at 01:30 pm
Sharp N7000U Picture
6.9
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.9
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.1
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.2
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.6
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.9
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.2
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.8
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench

The Sharp N7000U is a mid-range 4k LCD TV. It is a rebranded Hisense, similar to the H8C but with a different backlight. It offers average picture quality, which degrades very quickly at even a slight angle. It doesn't have any features to improve the picture quality in dark scenes or the motion performance. Although the smart platform works well, it has a number of bugs which makes it difficult to make the most out of the TV's features.

Our Verdict

6.9 Mixed Usage

Slightly below average for mixed usage. Picture quality is average, but movie performance is disappointing due to the poor dark scene performance. Can't get very bright to overcome glare. Motion blur and input lag are both good.

Pros
  • Good native contrast ratio
  • Low motion blur
Cons
  • Picture quality degrades very rapidly at an angle
  • Can't get very bright
  • Firmware is buggy
5.9 Movies

Movie performance is poor due to the bad black uniformity. Native contrast is good. Doesn't support local dimming to improve dark scene performance.

7.1 TV Shows

Slightly below average for watching TV in a bright room. Can't get very bright to overcome glare. Picture quality is average but degrades rapidly when viewed at an angle. Semi-gloss finish works quite well to counter direct reflections.

7.2 Sports

Slightly above average for watching sports. Can't get very bright to improve visibility in a bright room. When viewed at a slight angle the picture quality degrades rapidly. Gray uniformity is below average resulting in some dirty screen effect.

7.6 Video Games

Good for gamers. Picture quality is average. Input lag is low, which is good. Motion handling is good, resulting in only a short trail following moving objects.

6.9 HDR Movies

Doesn't support HDR. Picture quality is average. Can't get very bright and doesn't support local dimming. Can't display a wide color gamut.

Update 01/23/2018: There have been numerous reports that HDR has been enabled on HDMI ports 3 and 4 via a firmware update, though we are unable to confirm this as we no longer have this TV in our lab. The HDR scores have been updated where possible.

5.2 HDR Gaming

Doesn't support HDR. Picture quality is average. Can't produce bright highlights and doesn't support a wide color gamut.

Update 01/23/2018: There have been numerous reports that HDR has been enabled on HDMI ports 3 and 4 via a firmware update, though we are unable to confirm this as we no longer have this TV in our lab. The HDR scores have been updated where possible.

5.8 PC Monitor

Below average as PC monitor. Supports chroma subsampling at 4k for clear text. Input lag is low, which is good. Picture quality is average.

  • 6.9 Mixed Usage
  • 5.9 Movies
  • 7.1 TV Shows
  • 7.2 Sports
  • 7.6 Video Games
  • 6.9 HDR Movies
  • 5.2 HDR Gaming
  • 5.8 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Jan 23, 2018: There have been numerous reports that HDR has been enabled on HDMI ports 3 and 4 via a firmware update, though we are unable to confirm this as we no longer have this TV in our lab. The HDR scores have been updated where possible.
  2. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  3. Updated Oct 19, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  4. Updated Sep 29, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 50" (50N7000U). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 43" (43N7000U), 55" (55N7000U), 60" (60N7000U) and 65" (65N7000U).

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Sharp N7000U doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.

Size Model
43" 43N7000U
50" 50N7000U
55" 55N7000U
60" 60N7000U
65" 65N7000U

Compared To Other TVs

Comparison picture

Top left: Samsung KU6300 (UN55KU6300). Bottom left: LG UH6100 (43UH6100). Middle: Sharp N7000U (50N7000U). Top right: Hisense H8C (50H8C). Bottom right: Vizio D Series 4k 2016 (D50u-D1).  Unlike our other photographs, this picture wasn't taken under a controlled environment, so do not draw conclusions from it.

The Sharp N7000U is a mid-range TV, with average picture quality. There are other competing TVs around the same price range which offer similar or better performance, and so it is hard to recommend this TV over the competition. It is almost the same as the cheaper Hisense H8C, but with slightly worse picture quality.

Test Results

Design
6.5
Design
Style
Curved No

The design is simple, and from the front the TV looks very similar to the Hisense H8C. It isn't a bad looking TV, but certainly won't be the centerpiece of any room.

Design
Stand

The stand is as wide as the TV, but supports it well. It is made of plastic but looks quite good.

Footprint of the 50" TV stand: 9.2" x 42.3"

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 200x200

The TV looks quite good from the back, with very thin edges due to the edge lighting. The center is quite bulky, and some of the ports may be difficult to access if wall mounted.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.71" (1.8 cm)

The borders are an average thickness and look simple but good. They are all plastic.

Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.36" (6.0 cm)

The thickest part of the TV is at the base. If wall mounted it will stick out slightly but compared to other budget TVs it is quite thin.

Picture Quality
8.4
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
3,991 : 1

The native contrast ratio is good for the N7000U TV. It is high enough to provide good performance in a dark room.

Note that the native contrast after the calibration was 2512:1, significantly lower than what we got out of the box. This is due to the big correction needed to bring back the gamma curve to our 2.2 calibration goal. Thus for this TV, we recommend that you do not use our white balance and color space values

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Edge

There is no local dimming option on this TV. There is something called 'Dynamic Backlight Control', but it is more a 'Frame dimming' feature than local dimming. This dims the whole screen at once depending of what is shown on screen. This is clearly visible while watching our test video, where you see the screen brightness dim a lot when passing from a bigger to a smaller white square or circle. We turned this feature off since it is not really effective and dims the screen and the smaller square and circle too much.

6.7
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
196 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
214 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
214 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
217 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
217 cd/m²

The peak brightness is bad for the Sharp TV. At around 200cd/m² it is very low and will not be sufficient to fight glare if your TV is situated in a bright room with a lot of lights of big sunny windows.

We took the measurement with 'Dynamic Backlight Control' off, since it is not really a local dimming but more a frame dimming feature, that dims the whole screen when it is turned on. With 'Dynamic Backlight Control' on, we got only 58cd/m² for the 2% and 180cd/m² for the 10%.

not tested
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
N/A
HDR Peak 2% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 10% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 25% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 50% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 100% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 2% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 10% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 25% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 50% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 100% Window
N/A

This TV does not support HDR.

Update 01/23/2018: There have been numerous reports that HDR has been enabled on HDMI ports 3 and 4 via a firmware update, though we are unable to confirm this as we no longer have this TV in our lab. The HDR scores have been updated where possible.

6.6
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
2.95%
50% DSE
0.231%

The gray uniformity is below average for this Sharp TV. There are large bands on the top and bottom part of the screen which are darker, and the center of the screen is a bit brighter. Also the center of the screen is warmer than both sides. Luckily, dirty screen effect is not too obvious since the bands are pretty large and also horizontal, making them a bit less visible when there is some panning shot in content like sport.

4.1
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
8°

The Sharp N7000U has a very bad viewing angle. In fact, the viewing angle is so bad that even when sitting straight in front of the TV, you can notice both sides of the TV already start losing color and contrast, this can also be noticed on our black uniformity picture. When viewed from the side, the image loses a lot of color saturation and contrast, leaving you with a washed out image.

Update: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results.

3.2
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
4.185%

The black uniformity is very bad for this Sharp TV. It is even worse than most of the IPS TVs that we reviewed this year. This can be linked to the poor viewing angle of this TV, making both sides of the TV lose contrast even when viewed from straight on. This can explain why on our test picture, you see both sides looking less dark than the rest of the screen. Besides that, some clouding can be seen, but nothing that could cause problems when watching normal content. This is probably worse than the Hisense H8C due to the edge-lit backlight in the Sharp.

9.0
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit

The Sharp N7000U can display our test gradient image without any real problems and has only a few issues with up to 10 bit color depth. Some little banding imperfections can be seen in the dark blue, dark green and also in the dark part of the grayscale, but we did not notice any banding problems while watching normal content.

7.9
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
4.88
Color dE
2.91
Gamma
2.5

Prior to calibration the gamma is quite high, causing some black crush. The colors are quite good but their balance in the white is a bit off.

9.7
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.62
Color dE
0.7
Gamma
2.22

The TV did not respond well to calibration. It is not possible to adjust the contrast or brightness very much without introducing clipping. Trying to lower the gamma curve by decreasing the luminosity of high IRE points didn't work well, so we had to raise the black level. This caused a loss of contrast, and as such we do not recommend following our calibration settings but you can find them here.

8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

Low resolution content such as DVDs look quite good, as edges are smoothed well without losing too much detail.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

720p content such as cable is clear. Some halo artifacts can be seen along sharp edges, but the image remains well defined.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

1080p content such as Blu-rays look good. Details are preserved well and the image remains sharp.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

High quality content such as 4k Blu-rays or streaming services look good. No issues can be seen.

7.3
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
79.79%
DCI P3 uv
84.2%
Rec 2020 xy
59.25%
Rec 2020 uv
67.61%

Doesn't support a wide color gamut. Displays only enough colors for Rec. 709 content. Has no options to enable a wide color gamut.

5.7
Picture Quality
Color Volume
Normalized DCI P3 Coverage
64.043%
10,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage
33.905%
Normalized Rec 2020 Coverage
46.669%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage
24.741%
10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR after 0 min recovery
0%
IR after 2 min recovery
0%
IR after 4 min recovery
0%
IR after 6 min recovery
0%
IR after 8 min recovery
0%
IR after 10 min recovery
0%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
2%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

Has a semi gloss finish which works quite well to diffuse direct reflections. Should not be an issue with a few indirect reflection, and doesn't display any rainbowing.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
2D to 3D
No

The N7000U doesn't support any 3D functions.

Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
8.1
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time
16.4 ms
Overshoot
0 ms

Backlight uses PWM to flicker at 160Hz, which causes some strange artifacts to follow fast movement. This is because the backlight flicker isn't a multiple of the panel's refresh rate. The response time is quite good though, and results in very little motion blur following moving objects which is great.

3.1
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
160 Hz
BFI
No
BFI Frequency
160 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
No
0
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

The N7000U isn't able to remove 24p judder from any source. As such, movies played from any device or the inbuilt apps experience slight 3:2 pulldown judder. Most people aren't sensitive to this so it isn't an issue.

5.0
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
No

The TV can interpolate 30fps content up to the panel's native refresh rate of 60Hz. It doesn't support any refresh rates higher than this.

Inputs
7.7
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
30.3 ms
1080p With Interpolation
50.1 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
50 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz
58.5 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
58.5 ms
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

Input lag with a 1080p resolution is good and should provide good performance for any casual gamer out there. Unfortunately, with interpolation turn on or with a 4k resolution, the input lag goes up over 50ms and thus making this TV not the best choice for any gamer looking to game in 4k, even for the most casual game.

6.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes

The EDID of the TV is set incorrectly to 'Hisense HDMI', and with a native resolution of 1080p. It is necessary to ignore the EDID to force 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 or 4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4, but then it is correctly supported on HDMI 3 and HDMI 4 with the 'Game' picture mode. HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 don't support HDMI 2.0. Although it is possible to send a 1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 signal, it is not correctly displayed by the TV. This can be seen in the comparison images below.

Sharp N7000U

Sharp N7000U zoom

Samsung K6250

Samsung K6250 zoom

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 3
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
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
Yes
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes (HDMI 3, 4)
ARC Yes (HDMI 2)
USB 3 Yes (1)
HDCP 2.2 Yes
CEC Yes
MHL Yes (HDMI 2)
Variable Analog Audio Out No

Although the Sharp N7000U is advertised to support HDR10, we were unable to get it to work. It was unable to play any BluRays from our Samsung K8500, and the Xbox One S didn't detect HDR support. We also tried to send HDR infoframes through the HDFury Integral and were unable to get the TV to process it as a HDR signal.

Update 01/23/2018: There have been numerous reports that HDR has been enabled on HDMI ports 3 and 4 via a firmware update, though we are unable to confirm this as we no longer have this TV in our lab. The HDR scores have been updated where possible.

Sound Quality
6.7
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
4.54 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.66 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
4.71 dB SPL
Max
86.3 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
113.14 Hz

Average frequency response performance. The response remains consistent at different volumes, and no pumping or compression is present. However, this TV doesn't get very loud and doesn't produce a lot of bass either.

7.3
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.019
Distortion @ 80
0.015
Distortion @ Max
0.019

Decent harmonic distortion performance. The overall amount of harmonic distortion is relatively low, and remains mostly consistent even at maximum volume. But since this TV doesn't get very loud, not producing a lot of distortion is not difficult a task.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

Provides access to the Opera TV Store to download a wide range of apps. App support includes Netflix, Amazon Video, Vudu and YouTube.

7.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Opera TV

The Opera smart platform works well, and is smooth and easy to use. It has many of the popular apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video, and provides access to the Opera TV Store to download a wide variety of other apps. It allows playing photos or videos directly off a USB drive, which is great. Unfortunately it isn't all good, as we experienced a number of bugs during testing which made the TV sometimes problematic to use. On two occasions the HDMI ports stopped displaying a signal, and a factory reset was required.

10
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
Yes
Opt-out
N/A
Smart Features
TV Controls

Controls are located behind the left side of the TV. They are quite simple and easy to use, and can be quite easily accessed even if the TV is wall mounted.

Smart Features
Remote
Remote Basic

The basic remote included with the TV is almost exactly the same as the one included with the Hisense H8C. It features the Sharp logo instead of the Hisense one, and has almost the same model number.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • Manual
  • Batteries
  • Remote

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 73 W
Power Consumption (Max) 128 W
Firmware V00.01.00a.G0205