Got my Sharp Aquos LC-32GP1U "Gaming" 1080p display today!

I picked up one of these this weekend at Best Buy, figuring to use it as a multi-purpose item: TV, Home Theater, Games, and (this was important) large external monitor for my MacBook Pro.

I'm not yet entirely happy with how it looks as a computer monitor, though I've followed suggestions for settings here on this forum, and they definitely help. I'll play with fonts to see if it improves, but it is not yet the 'larger version of my dell 19" that I was hoping for.

I was basically hoping to get a near equivalent to the 30" Apple Cinema Display or the Dell 30" monitor with a good HDTV thrown in. Since those displays run at 2560 x 1600, I guess the Sharp will never be quite as good.

I have a question that will betray my ignorance of monitors and resolution and how to set them up:

when I use the Sharp with my macbook pro, the entire screen is not used-- essentially, I'm getting a 27" monitor, with 1920 x 1080p resolution. Is there a way to fill the whole screen at that resolution?

I may end up returning this, as it may not fit all my needs, but I want to see its optimum performance as a PC monitor before I let it go.

TIA
 
Hi All,

To get full screen, first you should have your Aquos connected to the DVI Input with a DVI to DVI cable. Second, in View mode select Dot BY Dot. That should give you a full screen
 
Hi-- I am using a DVI to DVI cable and have it set for DOT BY DOT, but the image still doesn't fill the entire screen. :( I must be doing something wrong... any other suggestions?
 
Hi-- I am using a DVI to DVI cable and have it set for DOT BY DOT, but the image still doesn't fill the entire screen. :( I must be doing something wrong... any other suggestions?

Check your Mac display properties (if there is such a thing) and see if there's a "underscan" or "overscan" setting.

My ATI X1900 wanted to underscan by default, which gave me the black borders around the display..had to set it to "0" using a slider in the Catalyst Control Center, all was well after that...and the text clears up a good deal when you're not underscanning.
 
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, the Mac doesn't seem to have an 'underscan' control; there are, apparently, some shareware programs (SwitchResX ?) that might do the trick.

Before I get into that, is there anyone here who has successfully connected the Sharp to their Macbook Pro, and if so, how?
 
Problem solved! I was able, in fact, to select the 'overscan' option in the displays preference pane... (I'm an idiot, but don't ask me to humiiate myself further by saying what I did wrong the last time around). Thank you thank you thank you for your help.

By the way, properly adjusted and set up this is not half-bad as a monitor. I may hold on to it after all... :)

Thanks for your help.
 
My PC settings:

OPC on (my "office" is sunlit brightly during the day, and very dark at night, OPC saves me the hassle of adjusting backlight constantly)

Contrast +30
Brightness -25
Color -5
Tint -3
Sharpness -4

In Advanced:
Color Temp Middle
Black ON

In Option
Digital Noise Reduction OFF

The above settings give me a very decent text display and good video and gaming results...the ONLY place it falls down is on THIS forum and the inline ads (the double-underlined red text looks fuzzy).
 
Picked it up after work today and hooked it up to my Shuttle via DVI->HDMI cable. Def needs calibration. Sharp's factory default settings are horrible. I think i got an instant tan the first time i fired up MS Word. :eek:
 
I just picked this up as well. It's a pretty nice monitor but this backlight is killing me. While watching movies or viewing web pages I can see the backlight flickering. Is this normal or did I get a bad one? It is not the dynamic contrast issue. I played enough with the settings where that issue is now tolerable but this backlight flicker is annoying. The only way it goes away is if I turn up the backlight all the way up, I believe 16 is max. Each time I lower it the flickering becomes more apparent. I can't run the backlight maxed out as it's way too bright. :(
 
I just picked this up as well. It's a pretty nice monitor but this backlight is killing me. While watching movies or viewing web pages I can see the backlight flickering. Is this normal or did I get a bad one? It is not the dynamic contrast issue. I played enough with the settings where that issue is now tolerable but this backlight flicker is annoying. The only way it goes away is if I turn up the backlight all the way up, I believe 16 is max. Each time I lower it the flickering becomes more apparent. I can't run the backlight maxed out as it's way too bright. :(

That flicker is not normal. Try turning OPC off, and if it's already off, try turning it ON, then going into advanced settings, Range of OPC, and set the max and min values so that they are only 1 apart (default is +16 max, -16 min).

One other thing to try is to block the light sensor..it's the dot to the left of the power LED...put a piece of tape (or even your finger) over it, see what happens.

If neither suggestion helps, you probably need to return/exchange it.
 
I will be at CEDIA today and plan to stop by the Sharp booth. I will see if anyone there is a tech expert who might know how to completely disable the dynamic contrast. I will post anything I found out tomorrow.
 
Is there a protective glossy screen on this? I didn't notice any mention about this over the last 30 pages. I'm assuming no but please confirm either way. I have the 30" HC Dell and i'm considering this model instead.
 
That flicker is not normal. Try turning OPC off, and if it's already off, try turning it ON, then going into advanced settings, Range of OPC, and set the max and min values so that they are only 1 apart (default is +16 max, -16 min).

One other thing to try is to block the light sensor..it's the dot to the left of the power LED...put a piece of tape (or even your finger) over it, see what happens.

If neither suggestion helps, you probably need to return/exchange it.

Tried all of the suggestions and the OPC range is 0,-1 and I can still see a slight annoying flicker on certain colors. It's really obvious on hardforum. This is definitely going back.
 
Alright...I just picked one up from BB. I'm going to compare it to my Dell 30-HC and see who's big daddy.
 
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Just got my XA2.

:D
 
Looks just as good with a $250 HD-A2, btw...I couldn't tell any difference between the A2 at 1080i and the A20 at 1080p, nor could I tell any difference when upconverting SD DVD via HDMI.

The XA2 and/or A20 make more sense with larger displays, and the XA2 does have more audio output options, but the scaler on the Sharp is VERY good, and combined with the small display size there's not a lot of reason to pony up three times the retail price for the XA2 for better picture quality because there really is none on a display this small.

Audio, now that's a different story, but still hard to justify the price difference, because the conversion from HD audio to DTS is very well done on the A2/A20 as well.
 
The main reasons why I got the HD-XA2 over the HD-A2 are: Superior upscaling and picture quality of the Silicon Optix Reon-VX chip, the ability to decode High-performance SHARC® DSP, Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch, Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch, DTS® 5.1ch, DTS® HD (core only), CD, CD-R/-RW (CD-DA) audio formats inside the player so I could pass them to my Onkyo receiver via the 5.1 analog outputs, and lastly, 1080p output. Oh, and it also fit my budget, ;) I got it for a great deal on Amazon at the end of August when they were giving away three free HD-DVDs plus cutting $27 off the total price. That AND the five free HD-DVD promotion by Toshiba got me hooked.

Also this player will have DTS-HD Master Audio support soon with a firmware upgrade [confirmed by Robert over at the AVS Forums]. This player is definitely a nice piece of equipment and will last me a long time. If I do decide to get a Blu-Ray player down the road it’s probably going to be the PS3 because if HD-DVD wins I’ll still have a gaming console, but if Blu-Ray wins I’ll still have an amazing upscaling DVD player that will play my HD-DVD collection. The format war is not going to go away any time soon. DVDs are what people buy the most of.

Although HDTVs are becoming more common, there are still many people who don’t have a HDTV set let alone a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player, not to mention the uneducated folks who automatically assume since the player has a “HD” in the model name it automatically means the player can read HD-DVDs. Example, OPPO DV-981HD.

I chose HD-DVD because most of the content I wanted was in the HD-DVD format, the discs are region free so I could buy imports if I wanted, and all the interactive features are available to me [no profile 1.1 or waiting for the updating of profiles].
 
I wasn't bagging on the XA2, it's a fine player and the high end of Toshiba's line for a reason, and will remain the high end even when the 3rd gen players are released this fall.

I was just saying for a 32" 1080p set, the "low end" HD-A2 1080i HD-DVD unit provides the same practical level of picture quality, the only real advantage the HD-XA2 has in this case is the analog 5.1 audio output (and for a lot of people, that's not even an advantage if they don't have an analog 5.1 receiver).

Where the XA2 really rocks is on large 1080p displays, 50" and larger, where you CAN see the difference between 1080i and 1080p, and you CAN see the difference between the REON and the lesser (but still quite good) upscaling chip in the A2.

The upscaling abilities of the "cheap" A2 are nearly as good as the Oppo 970 and 981 (I own a 970, btw).

And yes, it may have fit your budget. It fit mine too, but I decided on the A2, and I could put the money saved into a larger HD-DVD collection, or towards upgrading my receiver to a more modern HDMI audio capable one.
 
Well here's my feedback...I currently have a Dell 3007 HC but was looking for something around the same size but offered a larger view or font size. Everything is very tiny on the 30" Dell. So my primary use for the Sharp was for a PC (gaming and photos).

Overall appearance of the sharp is very nice. The glossy black appearance is great.

Image quality is average at best. I have tested many of my games (BF2, CSS, Fear, COD Airborne, etc...) This doesn't even come close to the Dell. Blacks are good but the rest i'm not impressed with. For those who are upgrading from a 17" or 19" I could see how you may be impressed. But if you already have a decent 24" or 30" LCD you won't be impressed with this model at all. Major downgrade image quality wise.

My 8mb Photos look amazing on the Dell. Average at best on the Sharp. I have spent hours messing around with the color settings and even used suggestions from this thread and other threads. I'm connected DVI to DVI, 1080p, dot to dot but just not happy with the results.

Trust me guys I really wanted this to work. My buddies 37" Westy seemed to be better than this model. Again, my primary use was for a PC desktop. I have a different Big Screen for my Xbox and HD Movies. I'm going to mess around a few more days but plan to return this unit. For the cost of this LCD it just doesn't work a PC desktop.

oh and I have 2 stuck green pixels.
 
For those who are upgrading from a 17" or 19" I could see how you may be impressed. But if you already have a decent 24" or 30" LCD you won't be impressed with this model at all. Major downgrade image quality wise.

Easy with the blanket statements there champ. YMMV. I ditched a good 24" for the Sharp 32" and I'm more than happy.

And IQ wise, try running that 30" Dell at 1920x1080 and seeing how IT looks. Not pretty, or you 1:1 map it and turn it into a 22".
 
Easy with the blanket statements there champ. YMMV. I ditched a good 24" for the Sharp 32" and I'm more than happy.

And IQ wise, try running that 30" Dell at 1920x1080 and seeing how IT looks. Not pretty, or you 1:1 map it and turn it into a 22".

Relax there Francis...I simply stated my opinon. I think the Sharp has strong points just not for a PC Desktop. There's no way you can tell me that this Sharp outperforms a good 24" PC wise when it comes to image quality.

Not interested in turning down the resolution on my Dell when I only run 2560x1600 which is why I bought it.
 
I will agree that this is not a monitor for CAD-CAM work or for professional image manipulation, etc. The problem I had with the 30" Dell is the same that I had with my 20" pro-quality CRT, at full native resolution the screen fonts and menus were just to tiny to read sitting back in my chair. Running the 3007 WFP in less than full resolution pretty much looks crappy (to me at least). I will admit that my once 20/15 near vision has faded a bit and I often find myself leaning far forward to view items on the screen and have had sore neck and back issues.

When I run the Sharp at 1920x1080 "dot by dot" I can sit back in my chair and easily read everything on the screen and I am quite happy with it for using Photochop and editing my HDV videos. Having the AV functionality is definitely a plus as well.

So no, it's not going to be endorsed by any professional photographers, but I am very pleased with the image quality (I'm very picky) and can enjoy my comfortable desk chair finally.

YMMV of course.
 
I check that site every day waiting for when the LC-32GP1U shows up
When it does I will go for it
.
 
Well here's my feedback...I currently have a Dell 3007 HC but was looking for something around the same size but offered a larger view or font size. Everything is very tiny on the 30" Dell. So my primary use for the Sharp was for a PC (gaming and photos).

Overall appearance of the sharp is very nice. The glossy black appearance is great.

Image quality is average at best. I have tested many of my games (BF2, CSS, Fear, COD Airborne, etc...) This doesn't even come close to the Dell. Blacks are good but the rest i'm not impressed with. For those who are upgrading from a 17" or 19" I could see how you may be impressed. But if you already have a decent 24" or 30" LCD you won't be impressed with this model at all. Major downgrade image quality wise.

My 8mb Photos look amazing on the Dell. Average at best on the Sharp. I have spent hours messing around with the color settings and even used suggestions from this thread and other threads. I'm connected DVI to DVI, 1080p, dot to dot but just not happy with the results.

Trust me guys I really wanted this to work. My buddies 37" Westy seemed to be better than this model. Again, my primary use was for a PC desktop. I have a different Big Screen for my Xbox and HD Movies. I'm going to mess around a few more days but plan to return this unit. For the cost of this LCD it just doesn't work a PC desktop.

oh and I have 2 stuck green pixels.

JD03Cobra said:
There's no way you can tell me that this Sharp outperforms a good 24" PC wise when it comes to image quality.

FWIW, I totally agree with JD here. Several months ago I owned both the Sharp 32" gamer version as well as the Westy 37". I ended up keeping only the Westy, and it wasn't because of the size. I actually preferred the size of the Sharp, given the distance I sit at the computer. I've grown accustomed to the Westy's uberness, but occasionally I'll find myself saying "WTH...this thing is almost too big!"

I've actually considered downgrading to the Dell 2707 because I prefer 1920x1080 to the 2560x1600 of the 30", but taking into account the current prices it looks like I'd have to take a loss on the Westy and then pay additional money to go to the smaller screen of the 2707 which I think makes no sense whatsoever.

But back to my point, JD's observations of the Sharp's image quality echo mine. I really liked the glossy bezel and tried very hard to be satisfied with the Sharp but I could never get the image quality up to par. Don't get me wrong, it looked great...until one day I opened up the Westy and put them side by side for a direct comparison. Things went downhill quickly from there, and it was only a matter of time until the Sharp was put up for sale. I took a bunch of pics at the time and planned to make a big comparison thread, but most of the pics turned out like CRAP thanks to my old digicam not being up to snuff. I managed to find a couple of pics that turned out OK and help illustrate what I'm talking about. They are intentionally large to help show detail; sorry about the size and I wouldn't bother clicking if you're on dial-up unless you happen to need a lengthy bathroom break.

Sharp 32" IQ

Westy 37" IQ

These pics do a pretty good job of showing what I mean. Open the images in tabs side by side, and notice how the images look noticeably smoother and more natural on the Westy, while they appear grainy and more "digital" on the Sharp. That is not a camera effect and was the case with any material -- whether surfing the net, viewing pics on my PC, and to a lesser extent, playing games. I fired up Far Cry running both monitors simultaneously, and in-game colors on the Westy were actually more vivid and natural looking than on the Sharp. It was a fairly large difference, though I probably wouldn't have known any better had I only tried the Sharp. It's possible I could have fooled around with the color settings even more to get it looking closer to the Westy, but that would have thrown the colors off for everything else (desktop use). At that point my mind was pretty much made up as even if I could get the colors to be as vivid as the Westy, I just couldn't get used to the stupid dynamic contrast bullcrap that was infuriatingly present no matter how much I fiddled with settings and tweaked the unit.

I followed the advice of fellow Sharp owners that had calibrated the unit, but even after tweaking the display I could never get the image quality up to par with the Westy or even my old Dell 2001FP.

I can fully understand people who don't know any better wanting to be in denial about this, and it's likely that one would never really think the image quality is lacking unless they viewed it side-by-side with another quality monitor. And I'm not talking about a 22" TN panel, I mean a GOOD monitor.

If you guys are interested in more pics I do have a few, but as I said, most of them didn't turn out well and do a pretty poor job of showing the differences between the two. It's not my intent to bash the unit, but it's definitely not perfect and to be honest I expected more from it considering the cost. I do miss the integrated TV tuner, though. :eek:
 
My 32" Sharp flanked by a pair of Paradigm Active Sudio Reference 20s along with a Slimdevices Squeezbox 3 and Benchmark DAC1 USB. Running the Sharp Dot-by-Dot at 1920x1080 from an EVGA 8800GTS.

Desk_1_lores.jpg
 
checking the orignal OP images, the display looks like it has BAD banding on it, the curves, seeing the lines...


is that just the OP's pics or is it that bad?


how good is this sucker as a daily monitor ?

27f04a19.jpg
 
checking the orignal OP images, the display looks like it has BAD banding on it, the curves, seeing the lines...


is that just the OP's pics or is it that bad?


how good is this sucker as a daily monitor ?

Those wavy lines are a moire effect caused by the camera, you wouldnt see that in person.
 
I got the non-gaming model for $958 shipped from Buydig. It arrived last week, perfect condition, no stuck pixels, even backlight, etc. However, after using it for a while, I do notice the contrast shift, but in my opinion, limiting the OPC range to 0, -1 diminishes it enough to the point where I don't notice it unless I try.

Basically, unless I toggle purposely between this forum and MS Word, I don't notice anything.


Has anybody Spydered this thing yet? I see settings throughout the thread, but they all seem to be personal preference...
 
Yeah Reagan that definitely helps reduce the annoying effect. I ended up using it for our bedroom TV for a little while before I sold it, and even on SDTV it makes for an amazing LCD set! I almost kept it for that reason but I figured I'd be better off sticking with the Westy for my monitor and trying to pick up another 32" LCD on the cheap when they have the post-holiday sales this year. The 32" 720p sets are pretty inexpensive already when compared to last year, so I'm sure there will be some killer deals to be had during the sales after Thanksgiving.
 
These pics do a pretty good job of showing what I mean. Open the images in tabs side by side, and notice how the images look noticeably smoother and more natural on the Westy, while they appear grainy and more "digital" on the Sharp. That is not a camera effect and was the case with any material -- whether surfing the net, viewing pics on my PC, and to a lesser extent, playing games. I fired up Far Cry running both monitors simultaneously, and in-game colors on the Westy were actually more vivid and natural looking than on the Sharp. It was a fairly large difference, though I probably wouldn't have known any better had I only tried the Sharp. It's possible I could have fooled around with the color settings even more to get it looking closer to the Westy, but that would have thrown the colors off for everything else (desktop use). At that point my mind was pretty much made up as even if I could get the colors to be as vivid as the Westy, I just couldn't get used to the stupid dynamic contrast bullcrap that was infuriatingly present no matter how much I fiddled with settings and tweaked the unit.

which Sharp 32 do you have? there are 3 of them.
 
which Sharp 32 do you have? there are 3 of them.

Had the LC-32GP1U, the "gamer version." At the time that I bought it, there was also the LC-32D62U which was basically the same set but without VyperDrive. Didn't know there was a third one...

I posted about getting it a few pages back in this thread, but my enthusiasm for it dwindled after comparing it with the 37W3. Both are nice units but for what I wanted the Westy was better.
 
PaRaNoiDJaCK n00bie

Does anyone know if there is going to be a uk release date for these LCD`s ?

They should be for sale in UpState New York already.
.
 
what one is the gaming model.
im planning on getting one in a month for ps3 and 360 and tv.
 
Hi All,

I went & ordered the LC-32GP1U from Newegg on 28 Sept 07, it arrived via UPS on 2 Oct 07.
First impression is that this is a fabulous display. Once I hooked it up to my PC & tweaked the settings ( My thanks to all of the folk who contributed their tweaks in this thread) I was rewarded with a sharp crisp picture. I ran Dead Pixel Buddy & found 1 dead/stuck pixel. I then ran UDPixel for about 3 Hrs & the dead/stuck pixel no longer exist. Pictures are coming, I promise.

Let me say that I was quite conflicted about purchasing this display. All of the negative reports mixed with the glowing ones really had me sitting on the fence. To those of you out there who are considering purchasing this display, I say go for it.

About dead/stuck pixels, admittedly I only had 1, however I didn't see it at all until i ran Dead Pixel Buddy. Without trying to insult anyone, I think if you look hard enough you'll find something wrong with any & all of these LCD Displays.

As far as color & image quality I think it's more about personal taste more than anything else. I recommend that anyone purchasing this LCD or any other one for that matter take their time when adjusting it. In addition make sure that you read the Manual. Most of the Manuals can be downloaded from the manufacturers website in PDF form. You might want to do that prior to purchasing.

Anyway that's my take on this display. I'm very pleased with it & am glad that I purchased it.
 
I just bought a 42D64U for $1200 at Circuit City. I had a refurb 37W3 that worked for a few hours, giving me enough time to compare the two pictures. The Sharp is definitely more vivid and has much better blacks. Here are some pics.

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I am still waiting on my HDMI-DVI cable from Monoprice, so I have only had my Xbox 360 connected via component so far.
 
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