Review of Sharp AQUOS BD-HP50U

February 4, 2009

With the release of their Blu-ray players, Sharp has tried to leverage its popular Aquos television line’s success into selling their Blu-ray players. Sharp named all three of their Blu-ray player with Auqos as part of the name. Sharp didn’t just use the Aquos name for the sake of using the name. Instead, they created Aquos Link function to integrate the Blu-ray players with the Aquos television sets. When you connect the television set and Blu-ray player with HDMI cable, you can control both units with single remote. Also, many functions and features are integrated for easier access with the Aquos Link. The two predecessor models, BD-HP20U and BD-HP21U, both had this feature. The BD-HP50U is definite upgrade from the BD-HP20U. However, BD-HP21U seems to have some advantage when it comes to audio options.

Design

The BD-HP50U comes in a very pleasant design. The basic design can’t really deviate too much when it comes to Blu-ray players. All of the players have basic rectangle/box shape. However, Sharp adds nice touch with motorized front face plate. Even if it’s another feature that might malfunction down the road. The front face feature nice looking logo for DVD and Blu-ray in the middle. The left side features the power button with LCD space on the right. The player has glossy finish for most of the surface. Not much has changed for the remote control. It looks exactly like the one shipped with BD-HP20U. At simple glance I could not find any difference.

What's New?

BD-HP50U’s features are similar to the BD-HP21U model. Both are Profile 1.1 players with ethernet port missing. The main difference seems to be in the area of audio output options. BD-HP50U supports analog 5.1 channel output whereas the BD-HP21U does not. Curiously, the BD-HP50U lacks the onboard decoding for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio with only bit stream support for these audio formats. And, BD-HP50U retails for about $100.00 more. However, BD-HP50U does come with RS-232 port which might come in handy for HTPC users.

Sharp has always boasted the operating time of their Blu-ray players. And, it is not an idle boast. This player as well as the older model boasts great time in power up and loading Blu-ray disc movies. Some players are plagued with slow response time loading time. Not this unit. You can literally pop in movie and enjoy them in less than 10 seconds like Sharp’s advertisement. However, this was with power off and with disc in the player. With power on disc loading time was not as fast. The response time between remote action and player response is seamless.

Audio and Video Features

The BD-HP50U supports most of the audio options. It can decode Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus. As stated earlier, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA can be bit streamed. If you want better onboard decoding option, you might want to look at BD-HP21U model. Regardless, the sound quality is nothing short of excellent. This player produced excellent sound for Blu-ray disc, DVD, or any music CD. If you own 5.1 or 7.1 channel speaker system, you will definitely appreciate the audio quality even without a top of the line receiver.

The BD-HP20U had some problem with video processing as well as sluggish performance on detailed menus. It didn’t do too well with the moire and jaggie problems present in some sequences. The java based menus gave it hard time with stuttering issues. It was like trying to run a program on a very outdated computer. This player seems to have solved most of that problem. The java based menu did not trouble this player as it moved around without any noticeable stutters. As for moire and jaggies, it was less noticeable than the previous model. However, I could definitely detect them watching The Dark Knight. I doubt most users will notice these few defects as they were rare. Few scenes failed to process the picture cleanly without these defects. The standard definition DVDs looked as they should in upconversion, which is less than Blu-ray quality but definitely better than their native resolution. Overall, the picture quality was very good.

Pros

Aquos Link
Decent audio options
Good design
Good remote
Good upconversion
Fast operation time

Cons

Not Profile 2.0 compliant
Lacks ethernet port
Few visual defects
Lack of divx or xvid support

Rating:

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4 Responses to “Review of Sharp AQUOS BD-HP50U”

sixto27 says:

February 27, 2009 at 4:51 am

Just what we needed.
Incredible product, specially since we have a Sharp HDTV. Everything links, everything works. Even Dvds of old classic movies look unreal on the screen.

One thing to mention, get an HDMI cable and for some reason Blu-ray loads much more slowly than a standard DVD player. So don’t think there is something wrong, it’s just this instant gratification world that we live in!
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Anonymous says:

February 26, 2009 at 9:34 pm

Sharp Aquos BDHP50 Blu-ray Disc Player
I’ve had my Blu-ray player for over a month and it’s great, I love it. It works flawlessly and I’ve had no problems. I did have one issues when certain Discs would not play but I did a firmware update which could not have been easier and everything was working perfectly once again. I highly recommend this. Don’t settle for those dime-a-dozen players.
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dekhr says:

February 10, 2009 at 2:25 pm

Great Performance
Awesome pictures both in Blu Ray and up-converted DVDs. Fast Startup. Blu Ray operability is easy and Pop-up Menu provides flexibility during playback. HDMI connectivity makes seamless operation with our Sharp LC-42D64U 1080P (LCD) television (one controller operates both). Comparison with Sony, Samsung, etc., revealed the Sharp as a top competitor with excellent specifications. For audio fans, this unit will satisfy 5.1 and 7.1 (with HDMI) performance. An attractive unit with lots of flexibility (besides all the standard connections for audio and video, the unit also has a usb connector for firmware update, a RS232 port allows computer-controlled operation, etc.). Check it out via an operation manual: [...]

Recommended
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Anonymous says:

January 7, 2009 at 4:17 am

sharp BDHP50 Blu Ray Player
I have had this unit for about 1 month and have played various Blu Ray movies and regular DVDs on it. I have been pleased with the features of the unit. I have one question for the manufacturer – why is there a door on it? The unit could have been made without the door – I do not think it serves any functional purpose. So far, that is the only negative.
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The Sharp BD-HP50U AQUOS Blu-ray Disc Player has full 1080p HD-resolution BD-Video with BD-ROM Profile 1.1 and BD-Live Support, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding and multi-format DVD playback capabilities. This player brings your movie theater experience to a whole new level, without breaking the bank. It combines functionality and versatility, with capabilities to playback all of your favorite CDs and DVDs. In fact, they will look and sound better than ever before, because this player can upconvert your DVD library to a high-definition experience.Enjoy the awesome power of Dolby Digital Plus processing, for a wider, more enveloping surround sound environment with enhanced sound transitions or simply, recreate the ambiance of a concert hall with exquisite detail. It features an HDMI Ver. 1.3 output, 1080/24p x.v.Color Processing, AQUOS LINK capabilities, Quick Start function, Lip Sync, interactive accessibility and a 1080i HD component video output for HD-capable televisions without an HDMI interface. With a glossy piano black finish, connectivity to multiple A/V components and playback capabilities to a slew of video and audio formats, the BD-HP50U raises the bar of home entertainment excellence.