Sharp LC-45GD6U 45-Inch AQUOS Flat-Panel LCD TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Spectacular monitor...but not obsolescence proof
The 45\\" Sharp LC-45GD6U 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. I personally prefer the titanium look and the bottom speaker as I find it works as a cheap center surround speaker, although with the significant price difference between the GD4U and GD6U you might as well ditch the side speakers on the GD4U and buy your own center channel speaker. It surely will do better than the GD6U's 10 watts.    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.