A great TV monitor; one shortfall.
Written: Jan 30 '04
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Pros: Fantastic picture, smart-zoom for wide-screen display.
Cons: Lacking support from Sharp.
The Bottom Line: Buy it, but comparison shop. The price differences are enormous. If you wall mount it, get the longer cable.
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| wallstbull's Full Review: Sharp AQUOS LC-37HV6U 37 in. HDTV-Ready LCD TV |
We already own a Sharp AQUOS LCD for another of our bedrooms (LC-20E1U), so when it came time to rebuild our master suite, an LCD based monitor was definitely on the short list. While it's slightly smaller than a comparably priced plasma TV, we thought that the picture quality achieved with LCD far outweighs the smaller size.
That said, we looked at the LC-37HV6U, and found it to be fantastic. The brightness of the display, even on a sunny day in a well-lit room, is impressive. Viewing angle is another plus for LCD type monitors, even though in our situation the angle would be almost always "straight ahead". Regarding resolution and color reproduction, this TV will simply blow you away. It does a great job displaying your standard cable or satellite feed, but it really excels at DVDs. We don't (yet) have HDTV, but there's no reason that the set won't do just as great with that high resolution image.
One important design decision for our remodel was that the TV had to be wall mounted, with no wires dangling down to other components of the overall system. Therefore, the separate AVC unit (basically a box containing all the interfaces to other components, itself connected to the monitor by a supplied three-part proprietary cable) was a factor influencing our buying decision positively. By the way, the AVC unit is larger than the pictures on Sharp's website will have you believe; in essence, AVC will take the same room as two DVD players, or a simple amplifier/receiver unit.
One issue we have with the set (or rather, with Sharp) is that the cable used to connect the monitor with the AVC is relatively short (fully stretched it comes to about 7ft). That is fine for most applications, such as standing the TV on a table or TV furniture. However, if your design requires wall mounting and routing the cable through a wall cavity, the cable is simply too short. Sharp explains that you should use an accessory cable if you need more length (the model number for that is AN-07SC1), but that cable is not available anywhere - at least I couldn't find it.
The solution to this problem is to get a cable by the name of AN-PZAVC1, which is the design used for the LC-37HV4U and other AQUOS models. If you do not need the capabilities of the 1-bit amplifier connection (we don't because the sound of the system is routed elsewhere, not through the TV monitor at all), this will work for you. The difference between this cable and the one Sharp specifies is that AN-PZAVC1 misses one component; in other words, it is essentially two cables tied together rather than three. You will only connect two out of three inputs on both the TV and the AVC unit.
The AN-PZAVC1 is a $500 expense, so budget that into your purchase.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 4200.00
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wallstbull
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 1
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