With more and more TVs now being hung on walls, it makes sense for companies to devise sympathetic wall-mountable AV gear. But so far the attempts to cater for this vertically challenged revolution have been surprisingly few and far between; just a handful of flat-panel speaker packages, and the DVD sections from a few high-end home cinema all-in-one systems.
Budget contenders have been practically non-existent. But Sharp wants to change this with its HT-X1H: a flat-thinking 'home cinema in a box' proposition for around £200.
As with all standard 'one-stop' home cinema solutions, the X1H package comprises a DVD player, multi-channel amplification, radio tuner, and 5.1 channel speaker package. Nearly all of these components are unusual to look at - but it's the DVD/tuner section which offers the most promise to wall-hangers, thanks to its vertical stance, flat back and slender dimensions (just 88mm from front to rear).
DVDs and CDs simply slide down into a slot along the unit's upper edge, and the LED appears as a tasteful circular window on the large, unexpectedly metallic fascia. What's more, the connectivity is thoughtfully tucked on the main unit's underside, so you can trail connecting cables easily down and away.
More conventional in design is the separate, rectangular subwoofer/ amplification unit, but it's back to the unusual with the satellite speakers, which sport a cylindrical design.
Connectivity on the X1H ticks all the boxes you could reasonably expect on a budget system. There's an RGB Scart output, FM tuner input, S-video output, digital audio input and a pair of stereo audio inputs for piping in an external PCM stereo/Pro-Logic source.
Day to day use of the X1H isn't especially enjoyable, mostly thanks to a remote control which looks quite good on the surface, but turns out to use buttons both too small for comfort and rather randomly laid out.
