Customer Reviews

Sharp Aquos LC-45GD4U 45-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 45" Sharp LC-45GD4U is a spectacular LCD HDTV monitor, with superb picture quality that stands up to anything currently on the market. Unfortunately, despite being one of the first 1920x1080 displays, it's not as obsolescence proof as you might think as it doesn't support 1080p resolution at this time without major workarounds. In English, this means that next-generation DVDs won't be displayed in maximum resolution and some HTPCs will have problems. Still, this is a marvelous HDTV; its just that if you're paying this much for it you shouldn't compromise at all - meaning I mark it down 1 star - and the one-year warranty is skimpy enough to take another half-star off. If you want better protection against obsolescence, look at the LC-45GX6U, which has an easier 1080p workaround.

LCDs and plasma each have their own camps; plasma offers better blacks and brighter pictures, where LCDs are easier to break in, have longer lives with a fairly simple repair, and don't wash out in the sunlight. (You need to watch for yourself to make up your own mind.) What's also neat is that (unlike plasma) there are now several LCDs that have reached the limits of HDTV broadcasts with 1920x1080 resolution; there are more coming in the next few months, but for now the three 45" Sharp 1920x1080 LCDs are tied with Samsung for the best native resolution and offer better picture quality comparable to the best plasmas. The difference between the models is minor. The GD4U has detachable side speakers and is silver, the GD6U has a detachable bottom speaker and is titanium, and the GX6U's tuner and scaler are in a standalone box (the GD4U and GD6U have an integrated one) and is also titanium with a detachable bottom speaker.

Picture quality is nothing short of spectacular. The blacks rival plasmas, there's no noticeable streaking, and you pretty much can't complain about how this treats any HDTV signal. There still aren't a lot of 1920x1080i HD signals out there (in fact, DirecTV and others just disappointingly cut their signals to 1280x1080i), but those that are display nicely and the 720p signals look good too. (For those slightly confused, HD transmits either in 720p (720 horizontal lines non interlaced) or 1080i (1080 lines interlaced)). One added benefit is that the hardware actually does a good job upscaling both standard broadcasts (480i) and DVDs (480p) to make them look decent. Can't argue with that, although you can tell the difference between the quality of this TV's integrated upscaling versus that of a separate $1000 high end scaler like the DVDO Iscan. Several other features are also useful. CableCARD is a good cheap second tuner (even though this version 1.0 doesn't support sending a signal back to the cable company, which means you can't buy PPV with it). This is also one of the few tuners whose Firewire connection works out of the box with the JVC DVHS VCRs - important as this will save you immense amounts of pain trying to save digital recordings. (Timeshifting is another matter as Sharp skimped on a program timer, but there are current workarounds and HD Tivo will be out in a year anyway.) Essentially, for anything you want to watch today this is about as good a toy as you can get.

So why not 5 stars?

The problem is that Sharp decided that the best you should be able to do with their hardware is to display a 1080i signal. That's fine for today, but the problem is that within a year there should in fact be numerous 1080p sources (in fact, there were several displayed at CES this year) and what's worse is Sharp is somewhat guilty of false advertising as the units are still advertised on Sharp's website as 1080p. In addition, if you're trying to hook up a PC to this the best the tuner will let you display is 1280x1024 resolution, an issue for those with HTPCs. To some extent this is a moot point - the competition is stuck at 1364x768, and it may be hard to tell 1080i from 1080p on a monitor as small as 45" - but there's really no excuse for a monitor that can display 1080p but can't because Sharp wanted to save $100 on hardware.

The good news is that the unit with a separate tuner (the GX6U) will happily display 1080p resolutions through the monitor's DVI input...but only if you disconnect the tuner and put your own source in. As a workaround its simple, but also requires a separate $250 DVI switcher if you don't want to constantly connect and disconnect. Unfortunately, with the GD4U and GD6U it's not nearly that easy as you can't bypass the integrated tuner. Furthermore, reported solutions have had notable degrades in picture quality. Sharp has mentioned they may push out an upgrade that would solve this, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Sony wants $3000 for their 1080p upgrade to the Qualia, which should tell you why Sharp hasn't yet implemented this.

Finally, the one year warranty (compared to three for most plasma units) is pretty skimpy, although reports of trouble with these monitors have been significantly less than plasma units.

Still, for today's signals, this can't be beat. I just think that if you're going to spend this much on a TV you should not have to think about buying another one for many, many years to come. Only the GX6U offers that for now, which is why I recommend that instead of the GD4U and GD6U. In any case, if you're patient, you should see prices come down on all three fairly shortly with increased competition and lower manufacturing failure rates. For now, though, the best game in town.

I have been researching this beautiful TV for a while now, and I've had the privilege of seeing it first hand at a Best Buy. Wow. If you are in the market for an HDTV of any sort, flat panel, or (crappy, unless it's DLP, even then...) rear projection, you have to give this one serious consideration. First and foremost, it is true High Definition- that's 1920x1080 resolution. Most Flat Panel TV's of comparable size are only 1280x768. Also, this takes any signal you throw at it and up converts it to 1080p, so the picture is sharp and fast. Rear Projection screens will never get as sharp as this, it's the fault of their design. The color on this beast is fantastic. The only thing I've seen that compares is high end computer monitors. Which is basically what this is, only brighter, faster (response time for pixels) and the dot pitch is good too. The contrast ratio is great (800:1). The picture is bright, and there is a sensor on the front that "sees" the surrounding light intensity, and changes the level of the display's brightness accordingly, if you turn it on in the menu. I have discovered only two flaws, from what I've read: The PC in-put seems limited. It seems that you are limited to only a few resolutions, and it doesn't look like it would accept 1920x1080, maybe it will if you set your computer to 1920x1080, then set the TV to the "Dot by Dot" screen size. And the iLink (IEEE 1394 four-pin) is only for D-VHS. It will not support digital video cameras or DVD recorders. If you have a D-VHS for some reason, then this is a cool feature. It gives you a controller on the screen, and you can hook up and control a lot of D-VHS from the screen. To end my ramblings: I can only recommend one other option for a high end Home Theater display. The Sony Qaulia 004. This is a 1920x1080 projector with a Pure Xenon® lamp, with SXRD display. SXRD is like LCD only better for projectors- no screen-effect (visible lines between the pixels). This juggernaut of self-indulgence is about $23,000. And then you have to buy a $3,000 lens for it. And then a good screen (up to 400 inches). Then build a theater in your house. So, $8,000 or less for an LCD from the Sharp Aquos line seems to be the best option for the best picture currently available to Mr/Ms Taxpayer. I'll accept any invitations to help construct the theater that includes your new Sharp Aquos 45" LCD. Also there is another version of this that has a separate input box... the LC-45GX6U... it has the same functions and specs as this, but the removable speakers are mounted under the screen, and is about 20 lbs lighter since there is a console sized box for the inputs. Happy spending.

I recently received this monitor about 10 days after ordering it from Amazon. The HD picture quality is excellent. Personally I can't see any compression artifacts, even in scenes with a lot of movement. Also I have not noticed any dead or stuck pixels. I have not tuned the setting yet, and it seems the reds are a little too much. But the positives are the tv is very bright, I also have not noticed the lack of very "black" blacks that I have heard plasma owners discuss on message boards. From a product standpoint the TV has lived up to my expectations.

At first I was nervous about buying such an expensive and fragile purchase online, fearing damage during shipping. And while the shipping charge of $249 was a lot, it was worth it. It was delivered to my door, I could have refused shipment if the product was damaged, and it worked straight out of the box. Only 4 stars because I could not track the order online at amazon.com. I had to contact customer service, but they sent me the URL for the shipping company within 1 day, at which point I was happy.

NOTE: Don't buy this TV if you don't have access to an HD signal.

When the right signal is pumped into this unit, the picture is far better than either Plasma or DLP sets. From the blades of grass on a football field to the things i wish i never saw so well(newscasters NEED all that makeup, trust me)this TV tops them all.

Styling is a plus as well and the stand it comes on is just fine if you decide not to hang it on your wall.

I paid close to double what they are selling it for now 1 year ago and am now coming back for a second unit!!!!!!

The picture on this television is outstanding. We have it attached to an antenae and receive network sports in high definition for free!! We also have it hooked to a satelite dish, but are not paying the extra monthly fees for high definition as there are few channels to make it worthwhile. It was well packed, came in 3 days, and was easy to hook up. The price was far less than local stores and it is very highly rated by Consumer Reports.

The newer TV LC- 46GD7U, whick will probably be available at most big box stores soon, has a beautiful picture. However, there are problems with hooking it up to Comcast Cable if you use the cable card or cable box. There is NO documentation to tell you this in the manual so I spent more than 3 hours (with no help from the Sharp customer support) to figure it out. Most tvs require you to input the cable only to the "digital cable in" input, not with this tv. There is absolutely no documentation in the manual to help you out how to solve this problem. This TV requires a split cable cord output to the digital cable input and to the analog input. Then you must wait 24 hours for the TV to download the full digital system and, only then can you insert the cable card to the cable card slot. If you insert the cable card before then, you fry the cable card and have to get a new cable card. Sharp Corporation does nothing to help you! The manual is a joke and no where do they list a customer support telephone number in the manual or any of the documentation that comes with the TV. I had to find the customer support number on line. It is obvious that Sharp does not want you to call them or provide any customer support.

Don't buy this TV if you are not willing to put up with crappy service from Sharp. They have a long way to go in terms of manual documentation and customer support.

The reason I bought this tv was because it was not a plasma and supposedly does not have the problems with plasma tvs. But the price was twice higher than a plasma. Next time I will buy two plasmas and if one breaks, I will throw one away.