HDTV Reviews

As competition among flat-panel HDTVs intensifies, traditional manufacturers such as Sharp have to scramble to lower prices or lose sales to cheaper, less recognizable brands. Sharp’s LC-37D40U, a 37-inch LCD-based HD TV, exemplifies that trend, selling for less than $2,000 at some online merchants. That price still won’t match the most aggressive no-names, but this Sharp’s combination of style and picture quality, including black levels deep enough to challenge comparably sized plasmas, will appeal to folks willing to spend a bit more on a new HDTV.

Design of Sharp LC-37D40U
The Sharp LC-37D40U improves on its predecessor, the LC-37D7U, with both a lower list price and a newer, better-spec’d LCD panel, but the most obvious difference between the two is skin-deep. Like many TV makers in 2006, Sharp dropped the silver coloring, surrounding the screen of the LC-37D40U with a thick frame of glossy black. Beyond the frame on all sides is a charcoal-gray cabinet that houses the bottom-mounted speakers and matches the nonswiveling stand. The overall look is rounded off and attractive, although the set doesn’t have as snazzy an appearance as that of Samsung’s LN-S4051D, for example. Including the stand, the LC-37D40U measures about 37.3 by 28.5 by 12 inches (WHD) and weighs 53.8 pounds.

Sharp’s remote is the same as ever, with full orange backlighting, the ability to command four other pieces of gear, nicely spread-out and well-differentiated keys, and a generally logical button layout. We say generally because the key controlling aspect ratio is stashed clear at the top of the long wand, the one for freezing the image is given an unduly important spot near the main directional keypad, and the one for changing picture modes is hidden behind a flip-up hatch. The menu system outdoes most in its simplicity and includes helpful explanations of menu items, and we appreciated the ability to rename used inputs and to skip unused ones.
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Consumer electronics firm Sharp has announced that it is introducing a high definition (HD) television set that allows viewers to watch broadcasts via the internet.

Yet again Japanese customers will be the first to enjoy the “Internet AQUOS”.

There will be four models to choose from, with choices of a 32 or 37-inch LCD screen and the option of a HD video recording PC or a terrestrial analogue recording version.

Viewers will be able to switch between television and broadband broadcasts with what promises to be an easy-to-use controller.

The company says that it is the first time that it has combined the functions of a personal computer with one of its LCD televisions.

Consumers will be able to view the related websites of the shows being viewed as well as make related purchases.

With a huge 500GB hard drive, the new products feature plenty of room for digital photos, music and broadcast recordings.

They should be on Japanese shelves by the end of next month.track

Today Sharp loosed their new Internet AQUOS TV / PC combo systems. At the top end is the LD-37SP1 LCD and PC-AX50M mini-PC kit capable of pumping out (and recording) those Hi-Vision (Japanese high def) broadcast pixels onto a 37-inch LCD with 1200:1 contrast ratio, 6ms response, 176-degree viewing angle, and HDMI and HDCP DVI ports. A wireless (RF) keyboard and remote are perfect for getting all potato-like up on the couch. The PC manages to eke out 500GB of SATA disk for hi-def recordings and such, up to 1GB DDR2 RAM, a DVD combo drive, and SD and xD picture card slots with direct-to-card MPEG-4 recordings — all powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo T2300 CPU and XP Home. The kit is also available with a 32-inch LCD (LD-32SP1) and PC sporting a terrestrial analog tuner and a 250GB disk (PC-AX50M) all of which you can mix-n-match to your heart’s desire. No doubt, we like the design, but these systems are kept out of the high-end game with their Intel graphics cards, LCD resolutions of just 1366 x 768, and lack of a Windows Media Center Edition install option. Expect these to hit shelves in Japan sometime in May for an undisclosed price.