The Sharp BD-HP 21 S is a Blu-ray player released at the end of 2008. Equivalent devices are available in the United States (BD-HP 21 U) for 160 USD, and in the United Kingdom (BD-HP 21 H) for 100 GBP.

• Excellent 24p-movie picture.
• Bitstream output of HD audio.
• Outstanding photo playback.

• Poor DVD playback.
• No decoder for DTS-HD audio.
• No BD-Live.
• No analog 5.1-channel audio output.

Taken purely as a Blu-ray player, the Sharp performs excellently: Movies and HDTV documentaries appear in the best Full HD quality. If, however, you value DVD playback, you'd better look elsewhere - the Sharp performs poorly in this respect. The lack of BD-Live support also costs the player valuable points.

In terms of multimedia, the BD-HP 21 S offers an extremely meager feature-list. Sharp's entry-level player does, at least, offer the "BonusView" picture-in-picture function, but that's where the luxury ends. Buyers will have to make do without modern features such as BD-Live, thanks to the player's lack of an Ethernet connection or internal memory.

Unlike its predecessor, the Sharp does at least play back photos burnt onto a CD or HD videos in AVCHD format burnt onto a DVD. Pictures of up to 11 megapixels scale finely and with extreme precision, but only once you've withstood the confusing photo selection menu and slow loading.

Operation and other features

Compact, handy, and clear: the BD-HP 21 S' remote control.

The Sharp's quick-start mode means the first picture appears on the screen in just two seconds, but this only applies to a disc left in the player - if, for example, you were too tired one night to finish watching the movie.

If, on the other hand, you insert a new disc, the player requires a hearty 38 seconds to display the first picture - regardless of whether it's in the quick-start mode or not. In most cases, therefore, the mode is not only useless, but also unnecessarily expensive and harmful to the environment, since it increases the standby power consumption from one to 13 watts.

The lack of picture controls or noise filters leaves no doubt that this player is aimed at the entry-level - and definitely not at picture-perfectionists.

HDTV:
Our measurements showed that, in the RGB color space, the BD-HP 21 S outputs the video levels of black and white to suit computer monitors, which isn't ideal for TVs. Although it isn't possible to switch to the standardized levels for HDTVs, this anomaly only rarely produces negative effects; the vast majority of flat-panel TVs agree with the player via HDMI to use the YUV color space - where the output levels are correct. If on the other hand - for whatever reason - the player transmits RGB signals via HDMI, bright and dark areas of the picture look clipped.

The Sharp does at least manage accurate HDTV output in the two Full HD formats 1080/60p and 1080/24p. De-interlacing of HDTV documentaries in 1080/60i format also almost always goes off without a hitch. Out test candidate tripped up with a Blu-ray test disc from HQV, but displayed all other discs - such as the animal documentary "Antarctica Dreaming" or a Pioneer test disc - in immaculate quality.

DVD:
Now it's time for a grumble. DVD is pitiful on the BD-HP 21 S - the only crisp images are motionless test-patterns. As soon as something moves (which happens pretty often in movies), even static picture contents develop flicker. Very poor! In contrast to the predecessor model, the BD-HP 21 S can't even handle DVDs with a progressive flag - even with this helping hand, the player displays flicker. The Sharp doesn't support 576i for HDMI - therefore, as long as the HDMI output is active, there's no signal via YUV.

At least the analog YUV output (if you decide to use it) delivers excellent color resolution and sharpness. This gives you the option, therefore, to leave de-interlacing to the TV - assuming the TV actually performs better than the player in this respect. In order to do this, you first have to switch off HDMI.

Variety is not the word: The rear of the unit offers neither a network socket nor analog multichannel outputs.

The Sharp only outputs uncompressed audio formats if you activate bitstream audio via HDMI. In this case, the connected AV receiver decodes the signal, and it's then the receiver's converters and amplifiers that determine the sound's quality.

It's a shame to see that the manufacturer has opted against decoding sound into either PCM or analog multichannel audio. The user therefore has to either make do with standard audio formats or use a good AV receiver to decode the sound. Those listening to CDs on the Sharp will enjoy flawless analog stereo sound.