Customer Reviews

Sharp LL171MU Widescreen 17" LCD Monitor with TV Tuner

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I've had my Sharp LL171MU for about a year. I bought it for it's picture-in-picture, it's selection of analog inputs, it's TV tuner, and it's sexy design. Unlike the previous reviewer, I haven't had any problems with a cracked base but I could see how it could happen because the stand is stiff and hard to adjust. The monitor does make a great portable TV in that it is much lighter than a comparable tube television and has a convenient handle. As a computer monitor it has it's flaws. It's image is no where near as sharp as the tube monitor it replaced or the 26" Samsung LCD monitor I later bought. The first thing I noticed after I hooked it up was the speed it would redraw the screen but more importantly I'm replacing this monitor as my primary computer monitor because of it's blurriness and poor contrast when displaying light text on a dark background. I typically have to make the text bigger in order to read it. If you're going to buy this monitor I recommend buying it as a TV first and a computer monitor second. Either that or save yourself the hassle and go for a different make.

This monitor is well spec'd and well priced. Besides lacking DVI input, VGA quality is pixel perfect. There are a slew of analog inputs to plug pretty much everything. Monitor itself feels solid and is attractive. Plastic screen protector is quite reflective. Otherwise, colours are vibrant and images are crisp.

Things that aren't mentioned anywhere in the specs is the ability to view TV in four different modes: Standard, Stretched, Zoom 1, Zoom 2. Basically, Zoom 1 & 2 crops the image before stretching it to fit the screen resulting in distortionless viewing of 4:3 sources. There are also a variety of advanced controls to tweak the sensitivity of your input if it doesn't properly detect the settings initially [I had to do this as my VGA was fuzzy at first but a little tweaking made it perfect]. Picture in picture comes in two different sizes and there is freedom to move it wherever you want on screen.

Anyhow, a great monitor. Many positives. Now the negatives:

Monitor is heavy and plastic stand is poorly constructed. Upon using the product for two days, a crack developed at the stand -- particularly at the joint supporting the weight of the monitor and enabling it to tilt. Another crack started to appear at the opposite joint as well. This appears to be a design flaw as I cannot imagine such a stand being able to withstand the twisting motion whilst tilting and the weight of the monitor simultaneously for prolong period of time! Long story short, gave numerous calls to Sharp support [which stinks] and they are unwilling to replace the stand! Service was inconsistent and unprofessional. Each service representative presented a different story and way to handle the situation. One of which was rude and insisted that this was a cosmetic problem and therefore not covered by warranty. The crack is not a cosmetic problem as it directly affects the utility of the unit. It is not a scratch. The stand is unable to support the weight of the unit. The unit is unable to perform to specification. For this defensive and stubborn quality of their service, I would avoid Sharp products.

Monitor OK as TV, Not the greatest as a PC monitor though. Passable in a pinch. Stand is an absolute piece of CRAP. It cracked after the first couple of uses right at the tilt pivot point. Now the TV won't stay up by itself. The weight of the unit make the monitor tilt down. Very bad design flaw that I can not understand how it got passed QC in a Japanese factory. Usually the Japanese are quite anal about proper design and QC :-(