Sharp Aquos LC-30HV4U 30-Inch LCD Flat-Panel HD-Ready TV Editorial Review: The LC-30HV4U combines the elegance of AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television design with a widescreen 30'' Advanced Super View panel that is HDTV-compatible (720p) and PC-compatible.1 The AVC System, a separate box that houses all terminal connections.
Customer Reviews: excellent LCD HDTV This is my first wide screen HDTV and I am impressed. Just watched "Friday Night Lights" with a composite video cable from a progressive scan DVD player. Now I know it's pathetic to use that low end cable but it's all I have until I get component cables. Even with that the picture was great! And the form factor is beautiful with the separate AVC box.
2 thumbs up.
best money i did'nt spend so a close freind of mine wants me to set up his home theater (i am a nerd after all) and this is the tv i found and when it arrived i realy... realy, did'nt want to give it up, off air 480i looks pritty good, DVD's 480p is the best i have yet to see.
HD is, wow, real, real good (1080i on my samsung ATSC tuner).
it has the most well thought out inputs i have yet to encounter (eg, 2 ant. in, 1 ant. out, 2 componint inputs ,dvi ;for five and pc totel) other great pointless featurs too.
sharp realy knows how to make a good LCD.
it even looks great when its off.
Truely is worth every penny In all seriousness, if you are looking for a quality flat-screen TV, your search is over. The clarity, plus the features, and the good customer service make this a great buy. It would be nice if it were slightly larger for the price, but I can't really complain.
I have a warning though. It's highly addictive and really should be sold with a Surgeon's General Warning on it. I used to be an active, productive citizen of this country, but since I purchased this tv, my productivity has plummetted down the chutes. Even as I speak, there is a graveyard of pizza boxes and potato chip bags surrounding me. I can't leave the tv. I used to have an inferior "box tv", and thought it was plenty enjoyable. But when I got this tv, it was like trying "Ecstasy" for the first time... I had never experienced such a realistic picture, that it was almost surreal! When I thought back to what I had before, I never wanted to go back. Now I am a "Flat-Screen Junkie".
(This makes a great retirement gift, because old people already have money and don't need to be productive)
Sharp and Stylish and Family Friendly UPDATE 16/10/2004-- IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF THIS TV, HEAD ON OVER TO TIGERDIRECT WEBSITE. THEY GOT A LOT OF DETAILED PHOTOS.
In choosing an Lcd Tv, there are a couple important things to keep in mind: one, video-image quality-- not just what the specs claim for contrast ratios and response times, but what _YOU_ as a human viewer think of the image, and two, is the Tv going to last a long time? Lcd is fragile, and it's expensive!
I searched long for a colour Lcd Tv. The only thing I knew for sure was I wanted a 27 or 30 inch set for affordability considerations. The previous reviewer about right: 30" is good from about 8-10 feet-- 2-3 meters for us who prefer metrics. I think you ought to go to a store and see for yourself what screen size is good for you.
To borrow an analogy from the Mp3 world, the Sharp 30" Tv is like combining the style and friendliness of the iPod and the unmatched output quality of a Creative Zen. Well-- the sound on the Sharp itself is acceptable but not home theatre grade. You should get your own audio setup-- my suggestions include Onkyo, Yahmaha, so forth. What it excels is topclass video quality. Prior to getting this Tv, I spent many hours doing homework and watching tons of Tv in stores. My end conclusion was, Sharp has the best quality-- plus smart cable management so all those messy Av cables get hidden. Since I was going to spend a bloody bunch of money on a Tv, I expected it to be topclass and perform like a champ. What pleasantly surprised me was this excellent 30" Tv was actualy cheaper than many 'no-name' brands I found at CircuitCity, BestBuy, and other stores.
I just got my Tv last night, and so far it's met and exceeded my expectations. I had seen it many times at Tweeter's, but now that I have one in my living room, I realise how much better it looks, aesthetically and video-wise. O yah, you _SHOULD_ get the Avid tuning disc which you can order for $35 from Amazon.
My summary: Lcd Tv is still a high-expense item for most families, but if you've got the money, go for the best-- Sharp Aquos Lcd Tv!
The best money can by Well, I'm an unhappy shopper! This 30" widescreen LCD from Sharp was the one I really wanted to buy, after salivating over it many times at my local Best Buy, but because it was well over two grand (plus I was unemployed), so I could only look but not own. Finally I got a cheaper Olevia set, which I'm happy with, but now that Amazon has lowered the price on this Sharp, I wish I had waited. The Sharp's image quality and overall reliability makes it worth the several extra hundred dollars.
Ok, enough venting from me. In case you haven't compared the various LCD TVs from different brands in person, there's no doubt that Sharp's LCD offerings are among the best. Compared to other brands (including my beloved Syntax Olevia), Sharp offers these following advantages:
- Top-of-class image quality. Well some other companies may cite higher contrast or brightness in their tech specs, none offers the same kind of image quality that you'll perceive *subjectively* as Sharp's high-end LCD TVs. Whether it's live sports or the latest DVD movies, the Sharp just does it better. Maybe they use better liquid crystals, or (more likely) better signal processors, Sharp LCDs just give you a better picture.
- Better black-level details than other brands. LCD TVs are notorious for failing to reproduce details in the dark end of the spectrum. If you enjoy movies with lots of dark scenes, you should probably stick with a CRT like Sony's Trinitron. The new Sharp models are better than most, though.
- More refined styling and user interface. Older Sharp Aquos models had the typical first-generation bland looks, but the latest models are stylish and cool.
- Better reliability. I speak this from experience (my own and my friends'). LCD monitors (like all other monitors) have limited bulb life. Almost all LCD TVs you'll encounter now claim "up to 60,000 hours" of bulb life. But when you compare the Sharp with a Syntax or Westinghouse or HP or LG, you'll notice that the Sharp has a more solid feel, which gives you more confidence over its life span than with the other brands. (If you are a Mac or Sony fan, you know what I'm talking about.)
I think if money is tight but you still want an LCD TV, you should consider the Syntax Olevia model. But for the best LCD TV money can buy, get a Sharp. This 30" is good if your viewing distance is less than 8 feet -- a rule of thumb is the you should get a screen size four times the viewing distance. If you want a bigger screen, LCD TVs aren't the answer yet -- the 37" Sharp Aquos costs twice as much as this 30" model! For bigger screens you may want to consider a plasma (Hitachi and Panasonic and Pioneer are the best) or (gasp!) DLP or LCD-based rear projection TV. But for freedom from screen burn-in, better image quality than plasma, and thinness, LCD is the way to go, and this Sharp, at the new price, is simply the best.
Closer Look
