Sharp LC-32GA5U 32-Inch AQUOS Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD TV with Installation

by Sharp

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 60 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0007UBEPS
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Picture with HD or Progressive Scan DVD Content, January 29, 2005

By 

mjtimber (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharp LC-32GA5U 32-Inch AQUOS Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD TV (Electronics)

First, keep in mind that when ordering a TV from Amazon, once you sign the shipping paperwork, you own the TV and have to depend on the Sharp warranty. Amazon does not accept returns on TV's larger than 27" (the only items that have this policy). I decided that it was worth the risk for me, but others may not.

A few details regarding this particular model:
This is the same screen as the other Sharp 32" LCD TV's, such as the LC-32GD4U and LC-32G4U, with the following exceptions. For those of you wishing to hang this on the wall, the speakers on this unit are not detachable, no HD tuner as in the GD4U, and the unit is thicker than the others by about 1.25" because the other sets have an external box for all of the A/V connections (component, DVI, HDMI, etc.). Sharp seems to be catering toward those of us planning to use this more as a traditional TV, with the stand attached. However, the exception which I cared most about was the price, which was significantly lower than the other 32" Sharp or Sony LCD models, especially with the rebate currently offered by Sharp.

As with most of the new HDTVs, this set delivers an amazing picture with either HD or DVD content, mediocre to poor with SD pictures. Fortunely, HD ownership is increasing rapidly (expected to double this year) and with it HD content. The main reasons to select LCD technologies are the lower power usage (1/2 of plasma), longevity (2x the life of plasma), and improved color/brightness. Also, if you live at high elevation (I'm moving to Fort Collins, CO and property at 8000') then plasma has an irritating buzzing that will not only wear out your nerves but your set as well.

The knocks against LCD are that the blacks are not as black, decreased viewing angle, dead pixels, and the various size/cost complaints. Since I was not looking for any bigger than 32", LCD or CRT were the only choices, and I perferred the LCD picture quality due to the reduced eye strain (no flicker or scanning as with CRT). If comparing at Best Buy, Ciruit City, or the other retailers, yes, the black level on the LCD is not as good, but distinguishing dark detail at home has not been a problem, and is much better than my 10 year old Sony CRT. As for viewing angle, I cannot tell any difference between plasma and LCD even at 85 degrees, though I don't know anyone who really enjoys watching TV at such extreme angles. The dead pixel issue was a major concern at first, but with as small as the pixel size is for HD TV's, I can't even see the two on my TV from more than 2 or 3 feet away; besides, plasma displays can have similar problems. All in all, an excellent TV, especially for movie and sports lovers such as myself.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ..Warranty is not too sharp., April 4, 2005

By 

Michel Bourassa "saturnius" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sharp LC-32GA5U 32-Inch AQUOS Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD TV (Electronics)

After purchase though the net, the unit arrived safely and without damage. It was carefully and properly set up and wouldn't work. The image disappeared, audio remained. This is quite frustrating and I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a 3000$ purchase from a well-known manufacturer to work out of the box.

Warranty requirements state that the defective unit must be sent to Sharp not the retailer. This would have cost me another
200$. I was able to take the whole unit to a Sharp-authorized repair shop who diagnosed the problem as a "bad" board that needed replacing. However, I was told I would be responsable for payment for the new board and their time - about 900$ total - and I could take up the warranty with Sharp myself.That was two months ago and I am still waiting. I am told that it is back ordered by Sharp Japan.

All in all, the warranty policies are clumsey, expensive to the consumer and there are no parts in the event of a failure. Who wants that?

If I ever get it going, I'll report again.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous HDTV - best in class!, July 3, 2005

By 

neurotome "neurotome" (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sharp LC-32GA5U 32-Inch AQUOS Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD TV (Electronics)

I just received mine - from Amazon - a few days ago, and I have to say, it's fabulous. I comparison shopped in person, and the Sharp had the best picture hands down - blacker blacks, crisper images that were not blurred when displaying motion, and in general less eye fatigue - in a row of 8 32" LCD TVs, my eye preferred to watch the Sharp every time. Now that I've got it home I can't say enough good things about it. My setup is a Comcast cable box, and setup was a breeze - a 5-connector cable from the box (3 component video and 2 sound channels) and I was finished.

Delivery was a snap. The delivery guys were cool when I explained to them that I needed to see the machine power on and deliver video and audio before I could sign for it. They understood that I would be sending it back if it had not worked. In fact, they helped me set it up. I recommend having your cable box in place and the cables ready to plug into the machine; it really took 5 minutes to get it out of the box and get a picture and sound. (Actually after that there was no setup left to do; I haven't really adjusted anything since then and the picture is great.)

In terms of comparison shopping, Sony hypes their digital image correction technologies, but this set also has a good number of them, available in easy-to-access menus. The default settings are best, especially for watching in HD, but if you are watching a grainy old black and white movie, you can set the noise reduction to 'high' to remove the grain - it's amazing, it just disappears - and the color to 'monochrome' to remove pesky color artifacts. Likewise you can optimize for 'slow' motion, such as those HD nature documentaries that show deer grazing at sunrise at Point Reyes; or 'fast' motion such as an HD NASCAR broadcast.

At the 32" size point, I compared Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, Westinghouse, and JVC LCD screens, and the Sharp won. (This wasn't true for larger sizes or rear-projection TVs; Sony definitely seemed to have an edge there, but the 32" Sony LCD looked grey and washed out by comparison to the others.)

I also used the DVI input to make this a computer monitor, just for laughs. The result: I immediately tossed my old Apple 20" monitor into the back room - no contest. This is now on my desk and it is my main monitor as well as main TV.

Some other things I liked: It's light. The stand is on the TV when it's shipped, no assembly required. There's a nice back cover to route wires cleanly. The remote is easy to use.

Finally, a couple of reviews incorrectly mentioned the speakers being detachable. They're not. You could never get them off, they are totally built in, permanently attached, fully integrated into the case of the TV.

I'd buy this TV from Amazon again, my satisfaction is 100%.

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