'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Sharp LL-T17A3-H
Sharp LL-T17A3-H
pros and cons
- Auto-calibration of brightness/contrast integrated speakers reasonably small bezel five rescaling settings sRGB option long backlight life integrated speakers.
- No digital input no height adjustment issues with auto setup contrast narrow vertical viewing angle.
Sharp’s LL-T17A3-H (the ‘A’ stands for analogue -- a digital version called the LL-T17D3 is also available) is a relatively nondescript design, more appropriate for the business user than those seeking a stylish desktop.
Like all 17in. SXGA TFT monitors, the panel in the LL-T17A3-H has a 0.264mm pixel pitch, giving images a potentially sharper appearance than the 0.28mm of 18in. SXGA models. However, as this is an analogue-only monitor, image sharpness also depends upon the analogue-to-digital signal conversion. Fortunately, this proved to be as effective as running directly from a digital signal, with no evidence of pixel jitter on our test patterns. The initial process of signal calibration could be faster, though, as it can take up to 10 seconds to perform.
More of an issue is the greyscale reproduction (a problem shared by Sony’s SDM-HS73), which was not as effective as it should be. However, at 250cd/m2, the LL-T17A3 is certainly bright enough to be used in most indoor environments; it also offers a contrast ratio of 500:1, allowing it to display shallow differences in tone and colour effectively. Response time is also very good, with 20ms (rise and fall) being suitable for video and game play alike.
In addition to automatic signal calibration, the LL-T17A3-H will also automatically adjust your brightness (black level) and contrast settings based upon the image currently being displayed. The efficiency of this system is debatable, though, as we found it generally set the contrast level far too high, throwing out the colour balance. Manual adjustment returned much better results. An sRGB mode is provided, along with two other colour presets (Vivid and Standard), directly selectable via the Mode stud on the front of the monitor. Image rescaling of non-standard resolutions is also adjustable, with five levels of sharpening.
The monitor itself is compact, featuring a relatively narrow bezel width that will appeal to multi-monitor users, but lacking any form of height adjustment to the swivelling stand. As a result, the screen sits a little low on the desk, which might concern anyone worried about neck ache. However, a 100mm VESA arm mount is supported, and although the vertical viewing angle of 135 degrees seems a little on the narrow side, it has a bias towards higher viewpoints, which suits the low arrangement of the display.
The LL-T17A3-H is fitted with a pair of 1W speakers, which will help save on cable clutter, unless you’re looking for better-quality sound reproduction. Sharp also quotes a 50,000-hour backlight life, which is an attractive proposition for both business buyers and consumers.
As far as performance is concerned, this monitor is perfectly suited to general use, with only minimal streaking on high-contrast scenes, adequate colour/greyscale reproduction and accurate signal conversion. Cheaper flat-panel monitors are available, but the LL-T17A3-H would be a good mainstream choice for the workplace.