Sharp LC-26GD6U 26" AQUOS HDTV-Ready LCD Flat Panel TV

Rating:
Summary: Great picture, but could use a few 'extras'!
Review: First let me say I have no complaints with the picture quality of this set. I have it hooked to digital cable and a Toshiba DVD player with HDMI/upconversion, and the digital cable feed looks great, but not as good as the one HDTV channel I can receive over my cable system (JAG looks pretty darn good in HDTV)! I'd really have to compare the HDTV to the DVD/upconversion to tell which one looks best...
Note that the good/bad applies to my particular use of this set (bedroom), and are loosely listed in order...YMMV!

The Good:
1. Great picture
2. Built in HDTV tuner-I get 1 HDTV channel over my cable system for free-can't see paying `em for HDTV until they offer more choices-they have only `bout 6 channels for around $6/month? The cable rep was fuzzy on choices/prices!
3. Screen tilts down more than many I've seen-I have it on top of an armoire. Thought `bout going to the 32 inch Sharp, but the screen either doesn't tilt down or not as much as the 26 inch Sharp (`course, $900 higher price didn't help)!
4. Screen pivots horizontally (more than some I've seen)
5. Option of auto brightness setting (constantly changes according to room light)
6. Stretch mode for conventional TV broadcasts (in order to fill out widescreen) looks pretty darn good.
7. Plenty of inputs!

The Bad:
1. No Clock! I used my old TV as my alarm clock (it's nice to wake up to the Weather Channel)
2. Lighted remote pretty darn useless! Functions OK, but some buttons (`specially the sleep timer) buried under flip open panel). Also, having to hit the `Light' button in order to get remote to light up is pretty darn useless? I'd prefer having the remote light up if you hit any button. Unless you memorize the key location (which isn't too easy on this remote), ya gotta get a flashlight to find the remote light key!
3. Limited/no control over picture stretch etc when using HDMI input (I have it hooked to a Toshiba DVD player with HDMI/upcoversion). I often use the DVD player's zoom feature when watching super wide screen movies.
3. No individual input settings memory (color etc)
4. A little more swivel left/right would be nice (maybe 5 or 10 degrees more?)
5. One more HDMI input might be nice? (has only 1)

I originally ordered a Toshiba equivalent (which had a clock), but decided the built in HDTV tuner on the Sharp (the Toshiba was an HDTV monitor) was more important than the clock.

Rating:
Summary: Great TV, Bad Technical Support
Review: I second Michael Franz's comment about their customer support. I called the support line with a simple question about whether this TV supports multiple systems (NTSC/PAL) and they were simply referring to the same information that I could get from their website. When I asked to talk to a technical person, they said they don't have any technical people in their office. Their only reference is the product manual!

I have seen this model at Best Buy and the picture is just spectacular. I will also probably wait for a few months before I buy this.



Rating:
Summary: Buggy Firmware
Review: The picture of this unit is amazing, particularly when connected to a digital cable feed. Unfortunately, the built-in software has problems - so don't buy the first version of this, but wait a few months until they have fixed the Firmware! I contacted Sharp's customer service about my problems, along with detailed instructions how to reproduce the bugs. Note that these are reproducible bugs, meaning they happen every time you follow the same sequence of events. Sharp asked me to drive 50 miles and bring the brand new device to an authorized service center. Instead, I just sent it back.

If software glitches don't normally bother you, consider this: This unit has a fairly noisy built-in fan. The fan probably won't bother you while you are watching TV with sound on, but on this TV with the version of the software that mine had built in, the TV's fan will spontaneously turn on in the middle of the night (the TV itself stays off). The fan then just stays on until you pull the plug or turn the unit on and back off. And when you turn it off, about 30 minutes later, the fan will turn back on again.

This happens when the TV has a CableCard inserted and is connected to a digital cable feed.

It is normal for the CableCard to contact your cable provider several times per day to exchange cryptographic keys. But there is absolutely no reason for the TV's fan to turn on while this happens, as the rest of the TV should stay powered down during this transaction. This is a major software bug, and it makes it impossible to place this TV in a bedroom.

If you are watching only analog TV, or if you don't use CableCard, this problem will not affect you. But you may regret the purchase if you later upgrade your cable.

Sharp is completely unresponsive and their technical support people obviously don't understand the technology they are selling. I am an Engineer myself with a Ph.D. in computer science, and I don't expect a customer support person to be an expert, but they should at least have a high-level tech support person to whom calls could be escalated. In Sharp's case, there was no such person and the "technical support" people I interacted with (multiple phone calls and emails) had the technical knowledge of a 12 year old (and I know 12 year olds that understand a lot more about technology).