Sharp LC-32P50E: Keeping it old-school

If you've built up a huge library of DVD movies, all this talk of high definition could be pretty scary. After all, who wants to buy all their movies on Blu-ray or HD DVD so soon after investing in the shiny two-disc special editions? Well, if you've got a DVD collection that would put Quentin Tarantino to shame, Sharp has you covered -- its new P50 range is optimised not for high definition, but for the movies and digital TV we're watching here and now.

Here's the science bit -- unlike most LCD panels, this 32-inch Sharp Aquos LC-32P50E is the same resolution as a normal CRT TV. With the majority of people likely to stick to standard digital TV for the next few years at least, Sharp's thinking is to offer the advantages of a flat-screen TV, but with the picture quality of a normal CRT. Certainly, one of our biggest bugbears with LCD is that it usually look rubbish with Freeview -- all the internal processing needed to fit the picture on a high-resolution screen makes it look freakishly unnatural.

We had our first report on this TV a couple of months ago, and now we have the final model on our desk, it could be the perfect way for LCD virgins to pop their cherry. Sure, it could do with an integrated digital tuner, but we like how stylish the TV is, plus it has the full roster of connections including HDMI. This means that while you won't be able to watch 'true' high-definition TV, it won't become obsolete when Sky HD eventually becomes commonplace.

The LC-32P50E has now taken residence as our TV du jour, and an initial look at the picture quality is encouraging. The only problem is that the TV currently sells for around £900 -- not cheap when you can buy high-definition models at the same price these days. We'll see how it fares in a full review soon. -GC

Update: this review is now live here.