Sharp's E77U series LCDs sport five HDMI inputs and antireflective screens

The LC-E77U series features five HDMI inputs.

While competitors like Samsung, Sony, and Vizio are rolling out new features such as 240Hz refresh rates, LED-backlighting, and interactive content to their LCDs, Sharp's new E77U lineup is fairly conventional, even by last year's standards.

Key features of the Sharp LC-E77U series:

• Advanced Super View screen
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Five HDMI inputs
• Two component video inputs
• PC input
• RS-232 port
• Swivel stand
• Energy Star 3.0 compliant
• 40-, 46- 52-, 65-inch screen sizes

While most of these features are pretty standard, Advanced Super View (ASV) is a term specific to Sharp. ASV describes the coating used on the LCD panels, designed to reduce lighting reflections while maintaining a crisp picture. Most LCDs are using some sort of antireflective coating these days, so the technology isn't unique and we'll need to do a hands-on test to see how it compares with the competition.

Another important thing to note is that while the LC-E77U series does have 120Hz refresh rate with "Fine Motion Enhanced technology," previous Sharp HDTVs with this technology did not have the dejudder processing that most people associate with 120Hz processing. While not every viewer likes the effect of dejudder processing, it's frustrating that the option is missing from this line as it's standard on competing sets.

The release of these TVs will be staggered. The LC-46E77U and LC-52E77U will both be available in February, with MSRPs of $2,100 and $2,400, respectively. The LC-40E77U will come out in March with an MSRP of $1,400. Finally, the LC-65E77U will be released in June, with an MSRP of $4,500.

Sharp also announced the stepdown LC-E67U series at CES 2009, which feature lower prices and one less HDMI input.