Sharp Aquos LC-32D40U Television

Sharp Aquos 32D40U Computer PS3

By a  Dec 6, 2006 | 7 out of 8 found this Sharp Aquos LC-32D40U review helpful

Pros: Good viewing angle

Cons: bad support, uggly remote,

I've had a Sharp Aquos 32D40U that i paid a little over 1k two months ago. This Sharp model has a good angle viewing. I use this TV mainly for computer cloned display and PS3 gaming. All my movies come from the computer...that's my setup.... The 32D40U does not have any PC input. So you have to use a DVI-to-HDMI converter to hook your PC in. The 32D40U does 720p/1080i. Like most computer to 16:9 TV setup (DVI to HDMI), wether you use as main or secondary clone display you will end up with an overscan issue (you won't see your windows taskbar). An Overscan means that the screen will be bigger than normal and you will miss maybe 5% all around the edges. In order to eliminate the overscan you must underscan (lowering the resolution signal). To better understand OVerscan and Underscan you can google :"DVI HDMI Overscan underscan" If your computer has an ATI graphic card, The Catalyst Control 6.11 will allow you to underscan by choosing 1776x1000 and from there you can modify that given resolution to something custom (mine is 1824x1028). You do not need install Powerstrip anymore. If you have an NVIDIA card, you can also underscan. Unfortunately, the latest NVIDIA drivers have a serious video issue. NVIDIA does not scale videos (AVI, MPG, WMV) on 16:9 properly and you will endup with vertical streched video until they fix it. Solution: get an ATI card until NVIDIA fix their drivers. In other words, you can use this 32D40U as secondary cloned display after you change the setting in your video driver (ATI Catalyst or NVIDIA). The screen seem to flicker a little bit. It is not as crystal clear as the computer LCD monitor is. But texts are perfectly readable at 1776x1000 on this TV. For gaming this TV does a good job too, i don't see any ghosting and i tested it with a PS3. Only beware that this TV is a 1080i not 1080p (1080p are true HDTV) this TV is not. Some PS3 games are 1080p. Turning on this TV can produce a strange "hummmm" electrical noise if your backlite option is set too low. To stop the "hummmmm" noise you have to increase the Backlite and set it to factory default or higher. The 32D40U commes with an ugly remote control. The remote control is so ugly that even universal remote control made in the 90s look better. Changing channels is slow. But atleast you can watch cable channels because there's a coaxial-input which allow you to receive analog cable signal and the TV tuner is built-in. No picture in picture function though. Sharp Customer service is not very good either. There is no tool free number to call. I called them regarding several known issues and Sharp always pretended not to be aware of any issues and will call you back when they find answers to your problem. Read more Less