Mini-Review: Sharp Aquos LC32D62U 1080p (loads of pics)

Joined
Oct 1, 2004
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744
After dreaming of big displays, but not wanting to:

A: Fork over huge cash for Dell's 30-incher...
B: Fork over cash for a videocard upgrade to power the Dell 30-incher's native rez...
C: Go for the Dell 27-incher...
D: Import a Westy LVM-37W3 37-incher from the USA...

I decided to go with the Sharp Aquos LC-32D62U 32" 1080p HDTV.
http://www.sharp.ca/products/index.asp?cat=30&id=683&mod=specs&f=

Luckily I have a friend who works for FutureShop who managed to knock 300 bucks off its price for me ($999 from $1299).

This model is virtually identical to the GP1U "Gaming" series of the same size, except for a couple minor things.
-No "Vyper-Drive".
-No DVI input.
-2 HDMI inputs (GP1U has 3)

gp1uvsd62uspecsec1.png


Its size is impressive - definitely something your friends will drool over. Below is a comparison shot to my former displays..
L-R: Aquos 32" (1920x1080) --> Acer 22" (1680x1050) --> Dell 19" Trinitron (1600x1200)

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Initial setup was easy. Since the D62U lacks a DVI port, I had to use a DVI-->HDMI cable (although a DVI-HDMI adapter would probably work just as well.) Powered on my comp, selected INPUT4 (HDMI) from the remote, and voila, it worked.

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SETTINGS:

Sharp REALLY needs to do a better job calibrating their displays if my TV is any indication. Backlight and brightness were on max, and with this thing, it lit up the room. I had to go into the TV's Display Options and turn things down and tweak things.

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I read somewhere (I think here on [H]) that somebody wanted to know about the pixel shape - they had heard they were "round" and wanted someone to verify this. Well, they look round to me. Weird. The camera shot isnt the greatest, but even getting up close and looking with the naked eye shows a similar pattern. They definitely arent square...

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PERFORMANCE:

With a native rez of 1920x1080, a high-end card is the way to go. You don't need to blow money away on an Ultra or SLI setup, but last gen's mid-range should be the bare minimum to use.
I myself am running a Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro 512mb PCI-e, and even some games running maxxed settings can cause some grief.

Before I get into the games, I would like to point out that this monitor sucks displaying red text on a dark background. I've tweaked all sorts of settings to try to correct this, but to no avail. If anyone with this series TV knows a fix, please share.

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SETUP AND GAMES:

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HL2 - Lost Coast (1920x1080 / all graphic settings on high / 6X MSAA / 16X AF / HDR)

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Doom 3 (High Quality / AA on / altered DoomConfig.cfg to run @ 1920x1080 with 105 FOV)

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BioShock

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And a shot of my fave stress-reliever, Wolf:ET

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PICS AND TRAILERS:

(Pics and trailers are natively 1920x1080)

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IN CONCLUSION:

Honestly, my camera doesn't do the pictures justice. It's an older model Canon digital that doesnt offer a lot of different settings - its pretty generic. I tried to keep a steady hand as best I could.

This is an excellent monitor/HDTV for games and movies, however, it's only OK for general computer usage. My main gripe is the red text issue - I've so far found no workaround, and while it's annoying, I can live with it. But it does take away points in my book.

I give it 8/10.
 
the red text problem is a problem with all sharp lcd panels, reds are oversaturated even on my 37d40u
 
lol
I also just bought this model today!
32" is massive! Much bigger than I thought..

I want to fiddle around with it a bit more before giving feedback & pics, but so far I'm giving it a 9/10 for first impression. Planet Earth HD on this bad boy is a delight for the eyes.

Edit: I also get the red font on dark bg problem, but that's not a big deal to me because none of the sites I visit really use that color scheme.
Also, dynamic contrast is definitely noticeable going from dark to light background, but so far I can live with it.
 
I just bought the LC-32GP1U on Friday and it's going back Monday. The reds are horrible and is average at best for a PC desktop gaming LCD.
 
I just bought the LC-32GP1U on Friday and it's going back Monday. The reds are horrible and is average at best for a PC desktop gaming LCD.

same reason why I returned mine last Friday.. and also had 2 dead pixels :( and the red font is just too annoying for me... so I decided to keep my dual 2407-HC :D.. No dead pixels and colors are perfect. i'm happy camper now..
 
2000:1 native contrast? is this correct?

It's pretty close to accurate for native contrast. The dynamic contrast is not fully defeatable, so if you tried measuring full on / full off contrast, it will probably measure over 2000:1 in a dark room.
 
I was wondering if there is any gaming lag with this monitor, not the vipor drive one. I play Wow,, Nr2003, CSS and Quake.
 
You have any problems with really dark blue text? I knew about the red problem, but man, the dark blue text blurring problem makes me want to stab someone.
 
boglwe: Never noticed any.

MooMooCow: Actually, I havent come across any issues with dark blue text yet. I'd be less ticked off with that being a Sharp issue....more so with the idiot who would design a webpage using that colour combination.
 
Futureshop and BB are even less than that right now.

As for the lag question, you'd have to be very sensitive to notice it...I play BF2/2142, HL2, Bioshock, ET:QW, etc, with no lag or ghosting issues.
 
Are there overscan issues at all? If there are - do you fix them via the PC, or on the TV? I tried plugging a PC into a friend's 46" 1080p sharp 62u and there was some overscan at 1920x1080 but I was in a rush so didnt play around/look at how to fix it.
 
It was underscanning by 15% when I first set it up. Just set it to 0% in Catalyst CC to fix it. Looks better too. No issues with that at all.

I don't regret this purchase at all. If you can live with blurry red text on a dark background on the few websites that have it, and have a card good enough to drive 1920x1080, this screen kicks ass.
 
I just purchased this product. I will let everyone know how I like it as a monitor. I paid $999 on newegg.
 
Well, Mine should be here any second now. Knowing that it was sitting on a truck near my house and i was unable to pick it up in the middle of the night was meh. BUT, still could not sleep. Cant wait.
 
And just in time, since it seems that the inline ads on the Hard Forums have been switched to green instead of red. The double underlined bold red was next to impossible to read with the Sharps. :)
 
Well, I have it now, and I simply love it. i dont think I could have made a better choice.
 
is the red on black problem only on text. i am considering this tv to replace my old 19 inch samsung lcd thats just to small. i wont use it as a pc monitor just forr 360,ps3, and tv.
 
Only for text that I can see, but videophiles will see it differently , I am sure.
 
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