The Great British obsession of the resolution shows no sign of abating. We have seen first in the digital camera world, where the number of pixels in a camera has become somehow the only thing that seemed to matter to people when they were thinking about the quality of ‘image. And now, the quest for ever more pixels spread to the TV world insofar as televisions even as small as 32in starting to go “full HD” rather than simply HD Ready.

Sharp LC-32X20E is one of those 32in full HD TV. That is to say, of course, that in order to meet consumer demand, he managed to cram 1920 x 1080 pixels LCD relatively small cadre - regardless of whether there’s actually a great advantage to do so.

We make this point because if there is no doubt whatsoever that having a full resolution HD can improve the image quality on large screens, at 32in there is no doubt a perceptible difference if you have to sit exceptionally close to the TV. Otherwise, unless the TV is truly exceptional, your eyes will not have the power of perception to detect if any of the usual full HD benefits.

So I suppose the key question for the CL-32X20E respond if it is truly exceptional or not.

Aesthetically television almost not enough to qualify as “exceptional” status, at least. The glossy black of the majority of its bezel is nothing unusual, but certainly what is rather sweet is how black is accentuated by a silver “wave” curve its way along the lower edge of television.

All connections are too good, leading off as they do with three HDMI inputs and HD component video input functions. Also of note are a D-sub PC port, a couple of SCARTs, a digital audio output at Freeview east tower to offer soundtracks Dolby Digital and a control port RS232C to facilitate the integration of television in a wider network AV.

The next LC-32X20E feature to attract our eye is a so-called contrast ratio of 10000:1 - a very high number even for a 32in TV, and I must say that I am a little skeptical. According to virtually all LCD televisions these days, the LC-32X30E employs a system of dynamic backlighting to improve its level of black reply by dimming the image’s brightness when the dark a scene is detected. And my suspicion is that when calculating the blackest of the LC-32X20E of contrast ratio, engineers Sharp probably brightness rejected virtually zero.

But to be fair to Sharp, it also provides a “native” contrast ratio of 2000:1 figure, achievable without using a dimming backlighting. And what has probably more credible functionality is still quite impressive compared similar figures provided by a number of competing brands.

Other features of the LC-32X20E important to its potential cinema include this small lot: 24p support via the HDMI interface for delivering the best in your nice Blu-ray; manual adjustment of backlighting, a built-in sensor light that television can be used to automatically adjust the picture settings to best suit the ambient light, two different modes of progressive scan, a pseudo surround sound processing, and a mode of ecology that puts l ‘emphasis on the TV green credentials by combining the light sensor with different modes of vigilance and “auto-off features to try and make sure that television has never waste any electricity.

And if we reach the million dollar question: LC-32X20E rather unique as an artist to provide all the difference HD? And if it is not, it is at least good enough to justify his £ 600-odd price?

Regarding the first question, I must say that the LC-32X20E is not quite deliver a true HD experience complete for the simple reason that the situation does not seem quite enough net. Admittedly, there is the definition fairly easy to look at the image HD, but there is seldom full HD “snapshot”, even if I am sticking my face almost right against the screen.

To be fair, more subtle blends of color and, in particular, noise reduction video associated with full HD screens when you look at the 1080-line sources are delivered by LC-32X20E. This means exceptional quality images HD source, such as Sky HD the recent spread of Zulu, can look beautiful. But with the majority of sequences, I can not escape the feeling that I’ve seen HD Ready 32in photos that look more clear.

Another shortcoming of the LC-32X20E is its standard definition. All except the very high quality SD sources tend to look for a soft touch and noisy compared to the standard definition pictures on the best 32in full HD TV, Panasonic TX-32LZD85.

One last area that I do not feel comfortable when you look with the LC-32X20E is your color. It seems to me that some shades of skin looks a little “poached”, while some rich green and red do not seem quite right, “because a more accurate description!

Yet, while shades of color can be a little with video sources at once and fun, I noted very few similar issues with the HD games. Assassin’s Creed, for example, seems mesmerisingly good, with the natural colour tones and the type of extreme clarity that I felt a little absent from the HD TV video presentation.

Interestingly, Sharp has tended to market the LC-32X20E as a ‘TV Thursday’, which makes I wonder if his own marketing felt the same about its image performance than me.

Let me also add that the photos usually very bright and are rarely affected by problems of LCD motion blur. More black levels deep enough to ensure that you do not miss a thing during a night shortly thuggery on GTAIV. The colors are certainly never less fulsomely saturated, even if they are not always perfectly toned.

In my attention to the LC-32X20E sound, I am not feeling rather underwhelmed. Everything is fine - if a fine touch - when there is nothing stressful going on in the audio mix. But once the speaker face two or three major elements sound like an explosion, dialogue and a powerful score, they give the soul almost entirely, sounding weeds and devoid of bass. Boo.