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CNET Editors' Take
May 20, 2004 9:22 PM PDT
In late July, Sharp is due to ship its largest flat-panel LCD TV to date. The 45-inch (diagonal) LC-45GX6U, an Aquos-branded panel, sports a new titanium finish and a black-bordered design. This set will be the first mass-produced LCD with a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. This means you can view 1080i HDTV broadcasts without missing a single detail.
Upside: The obvious selling points are the LC-45GX6U's size (45 inches) and high resolution. None of today's plasmas and only a couple of large-screen LCDs can match its sheer pixel count; sure, they can display 1080i HDTV, they just don't show its full detail. The LC-45GX6U also includes a built-in HDTV tuner that can receive over-the-air broadcasts, as well as a Cable Card slot for cable DTV. Other highlights: an HDMI port, a one-bit digital audio amplifier, detachable speakers, and a PC Card slot for viewing digital photos or MPEG4 movies stored on a memory card.
Downside: You can get a 46-inch plasma for half the price. Although we haven't reviewed this TV yet in person, LCDs haven't performed as well as plasmas in our tests, especially in terms of home-theater picture quality. And if you're counting, Samsung's LCD is an inch bigger.
Outlook: People with deep pockets who prefer LCDs to plasmas, for whatever reason, have been waiting for larger-screen sets like this one and Samsung's 46-inch LTP468W. At $9,999 list, the LC-45GX6U is clearly a luxury item, although if you can't afford this model, Sharp offers smaller LCDs, such as the 30-inch LC-30HV6U. Since we don't have to buy our review samples, we don't have that problem, so you can expect a full review from CNET Labs later this summer.
Upside: The obvious selling points are the LC-45GX6U's size (45 inches) and high resolution. None of today's plasmas and only a couple of large-screen LCDs can match its sheer pixel count; sure, they can display 1080i HDTV, they just don't show its full detail. The LC-45GX6U also includes a built-in HDTV tuner that can receive over-the-air broadcasts, as well as a Cable Card slot for cable DTV. Other highlights: an HDMI port, a one-bit digital audio amplifier, detachable speakers, and a PC Card slot for viewing digital photos or MPEG4 movies stored on a memory card.
Downside: You can get a 46-inch plasma for half the price. Although we haven't reviewed this TV yet in person, LCDs haven't performed as well as plasmas in our tests, especially in terms of home-theater picture quality. And if you're counting, Samsung's LCD is an inch bigger.
Outlook: People with deep pockets who prefer LCDs to plasmas, for whatever reason, have been waiting for larger-screen sets like this one and Samsung's 46-inch LTP468W. At $9,999 list, the LC-45GX6U is clearly a luxury item, although if you can't afford this model, Sharp offers smaller LCDs, such as the 30-inch LC-30HV6U. Since we don't have to buy our review samples, we don't have that problem, so you can expect a full review from CNET Labs later this summer.
