Sharp LC-52E77U 52" LED TV

At the time of writing, Sharp LC-52E77U is the lowest priced 52" 120Hz LCD TV among the major brands. Sharp is one of few TV manufacturers which makes it's own LCD panels, and they are considered very high quality. I was impressed with initial image quality. Usually TVs are factory adjusted to look catchy in a bright store enviroment. This one is no exception, but when new TV is turned on for the first time, it presents a setup menu, where you can choose between "store" and "home" settings. Home settings are very reasonable. Talking about the image quality, E77 has a sensor, adjusting brightness of the screen according to the enviroment light level. In my experience it works pretty well. If further adjustments are needed, "advanced" section of "picture" menu boasts a full featured CMS (color management system) which allows easily calibrate the set. Each picture setting can be tied to a profile and to a specific input. Talking about inputs, the set has 5 HDMI ports, probably more than anyone needs. Also present are component, composite, S-Video and VGA inputs, although it is limited to 1600x1200 resolution, while 1080P HD needs 1920x1080.
In terms of other features, this TV doesn't offer much. No PiP (picture in picture), Internet connectivity or playing moive or picture files from an USB stick. I don't think these are big disadvantages. PiP is not fashionable anymore, and other mentioned features could be better done in a connected BD player, HTPC or media player.
However there is one design flow I can't forgive. The remote control is horrible. Buttons are small and lack logical layout. Several are hidden behind a door on the bottom, and those are not "set once and forget" buttons. Remote is billed as backlit, but when I tried it for the first time, I just stared in disbelief. Only volume and channel buttons are barely lit by a single dim LED. Ironically, they have a distinct shape and can be operated blindly. All other buttons remain completely dark. So be ready to invest in a good aftermarket remote.
What else? Sound is OK for a TV, but no match for good loudspeakers, which is expected. Industry standard 12 months warranty can be extended to 15 months for free when registering on Sharp website. My TV emits a slight buzzing sound, which changes with backlight level adjustment. No one else I inquired to experienced this, so I am either too sensetive or got a bad unit.
To summarize, we buy TVs to show quality picture, and Sharp LC-52E77U excells in this deparment. It has shorcomings, but I find them minor, considering the low price.
Some club warehouses like BJ's and Costco sell the same TV under LC-C5277U model number.