Sanyo LCD40XR10F LCD TV

Sanyo LCD40XR10F LCD TV review: A 40in Full HD TV for under $1000

Good Gear Guide

Sanyo's LCD40XR10F is a 40in, CCFL-backlit LCD TV — it doesn't have the space- and energy-saving LED backlighting of a TV like the Kogan 32in Full HD 100Hz LED TV. It's reasonably attractive for a traditional LCD TV but it is bulky compared to its competitors. It's also a little expensive given its old-school technology — we think that unless you can find it for a reasonable discount, there are better options available.

Pros

  • Acceptable picture quality
  • USB digital TV recording

Cons

  • Bulky
  • Poor contrast in dark scenes

Bottom Line

Sanyo's LCD40XR10F is old-school compared to the latest models from the big brands. It'll do an acceptable job if you're mostly just watching broadcast digital TV, but if you're going to be watching a lot of Blu-ray movies we'd shell out for something more expensive. If you can find the LCD40XR10F on sale it'd be a reasonable choice.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 999.00 (AUD)

Sanyo LCD40XR10F: Design and connectivity

Most LCD TVs look very similar — they're often bland, piano-black boxes with few distinguishing features. While the Sanyo LCD40XR10F is finished in a glossy piano black, it doesn't look cheap or tacky. The television itself is definitely noticeably bulkier than an LED set, and we think it might look a bit bulky if it were mounted on a wall due to its thickness. If looking fashionable and unobtrusive is important to you, we'd suggest an LED or new-model plasma TV instead.

The Sanyo LCD40XR10F has three HDMI, two component, VGA and a small range of other analog video connectors. Unless you're using it as the main screen in your house we don't think you'll use all the ports on offer. The TV also has a USB port that can record digital TV directly to a USB flash drive or portable hard drive, although it'll fill up quickly — an 8GB flash drive can only hold two hours of recordings according to Sanyo.

Sanyo LCD40XR10F: Picture quality and performance

The Sanyo LCD40XR10F has a simple menu structure that operates quickly and without any hassle. It's not confusing and options are clearly labelled. We ran through the digital TV channel scan in under two minutes, and switching between channels usually takes place in under two seconds. Digital TV recording via the USB port takes a few seconds to start, but the no-frills nature of the set means it's easy to set a recording and play it back later.

The 40in screen of the Sanyo LCD40XR10F is a Full HD 1080p one, and as such it's able to display a good level of detail when presented with a high quality 1080p source of video like a Blu-ray movie or a games console. We ran through a few games on XBox 360 as well as Terminator: Salvation and The Dark Knight on Blu-ray using a Kogan Blu-ray player — the Sanyo LCD40XR10F displays good detail, but its CCFL backlight means detail is lost during especially dark scenes or when part of the screen is black. It does a good enough job for broadcast digital TV and occasional movie watching, but film buffs will need to shell out more for a more capable set.

Sanyo LCD40XR10F: Conclusion

The Sanyo LCD40XR10F is a reasonably competent LCD TV. It's a bit bulky and a bit archaic compared to the latest whiz-bang Samsungs and Sonys, but for everyday duties it'll do an acceptable job. We do think it's too expensive, though — if it were $800 or less we'd consider it a good deal.

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